In my ongoing effort to be fair and balanced, I commend today’s N&R lead editorial calling for state government to quit running up debt:
The state has “substantially exhausted” its general fund debt capacity until 2011, a statement issued last week by State Treasurer Janet Cowell’s office said. And combined debt capacity for the highway fund and highway trust fund has been “more than utilized.”
That means the same for state government as it does for a consumer who’s hit his credit card limit: Don’t borrow more until you pay down some of what you owe.
But, as anyone with a credit card knows, that’s easier said than done thanks to high payments due, plus interest, for purchases already made with borrowed money.
Still begs the question of exactly who was instrumental in running up that debt. Sen. Kay Hagan was one of the chief budget writers during her time in the state legislature, and it never failed to amaze me how much money the state borrowed under her watch, especially the $50-plus million for the Joint School of Nanoscience.
And yet Hagan insisted that the proposed federal health plan — now on life support —- wouldn’t increase the budget deficit.
