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From Red Hat to Red Chinese: Looking for Friends in All the Wrong Places
Making “Crony Capitalism” Work Governor Bev Perdue started 2010 by donning a red hat and announcing almost $20 million in taxpayer money being given in the form of “incentives” to software maker Red Hat.[i] By early April she was no longer wearing a red hat, but getting help from the “Red Chinese” in her effort [...]
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High Speed Rail Funds Race Ahead
House Bill 422, No High-Speed Rail Money from Federal Government, has been under attack by major media outlets, special interest groups, and big-spending politicians in Raleigh. True to its name, the bill would prevent North Carolina’s Department of Transportation from spending federal grant money it receives designated for high-speed rail projects without approval of the [...]
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House Budget Proposal: Education
Earlier this week Republican lawmakers released their $10.6 billion budget proposal for public education for the coming fiscal year. Budget discussions have been framed by how lawmakers would address the state’s estimated $2.4 billion budget deficit. In the end, lawmakers sought to roughly balance the reductions across all three components of public education. The overall budget [...]
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House Budget Hits Health & Human Services
Early this week, the N.C. House rolled out the preliminary stages of its much anticipated biennium budget proposal for the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), which was recently presented before the House appropriations committee. Not surprisingly, this proposal featured deep cuts to a plethora of government programs in order to reconcile an over [...]
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A Taxpayer Bill of Rights for North Carolina: Examining Misleading Claims about Colorado’s TABOR Experience
Likely North Carolina voters overwhelmingly favor a measure to restrain the growth rate of state spending. According to the April 2011 Civitas Institute poll, 67 percent of respondents support the ideas contained in HB 188 – which would limit the growth rate of the state budget to a formula based on recent changes in state [...]
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Bad Projects Leading to Bad Government Investments
North Carolina government has a serious problem with the way it looks at good ideas. Traditional state government logic holds that if a project, proposal, or idea is good or was once good than government support will make it better or restore it to its former glory. There are countless examples that demonstrate that this [...]
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How Much Does Your Smart Start Administrator Make?
A Civitas investigation reveals large compensation packages and salaries in the Smart Start organization which account for a large portion of the reported administrative overhead of 11% of the program. High salaries are particularly pronounced in many of Smart Start key administrators’ compensation. For example, a recent IRS filing shows North Carolina Partnership for Children [...]
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House Bill 188 Introduces Much Needed Spending Reform
A constitutional amendment to restrain spending would smooth out state spending over business cycles, and help avoid painful, unpredictable budget crises. Leading up to the current recession, state budget increases outpaced the expenditure limit in HB 188 by more than $10 billion in just five years If North Carolina had passed HB 188 and used [...]
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Perdue’s Budget Breaks Tax Promise, Nearly Doubles State Spending From 15 Years Ago
Gov. Perdue released her budget proposal earlier this week. Because of the daunting $2.4 billion deficit, Perdue’s recommendations were highly anticipated. Following is an overview the Governor’s proposed budget plan: TOTAL SPENDING STILL UP NEARLY 90% IN 15 YEARS Perdue’s budget proposal would spend $19.9 billion for fiscal year 2011-12 Total spending in the current [...]
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Senate Bill Gets Tough on Deficit
In a bold move to proactively address an historical budget shortfall expected this summer, Senator Richard Stevens (R – Wake) and two other Republican senators, introduced SB 13, also known as the Balanced Budget Act of 2011, early last week. In anticipation of a $3.7 billion shortfall, the bill empowers Gov. Perdue to hold back [...]
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Get the Facts: Senate Bill 13
After being approved by both the state House and Senate, Senate Bill 13, the “Balanced Budget Act of 2011” now sits on Governor Perdue’s desk awaiting either her approval to make it law, or a veto. Many observers are speculating that Perdue will wield her veto stamp on SB 13, as she has been outspoken in her opposition to the bill, [...]
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It’s Time to Link State Spending to Growth
The 2010 elections marked an historic transfer of power in North Carolina’s General Assembly. The new Republican majority was swept in largely based on their promises of fiscal responsibility. But if North Carolinians are to take the promises of fiscal restraint seriously, the new leadership in Raleigh should pass two pieces of legislation that are [...]
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Time to End Unauthorized State Debt
An overwhelming 77 percent of voters believe that the North Carolina General Assembly should not be allowed to borrow money without voter approval. In spite of such massive public opposition, state lawmakers have issued billions in new debt over the last decade without one penny of it being approved by voters.
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State Spending Rose Most Quickly During Times of Little “Need”
In light of the continuing deep recession, much of the current debate surrounding North Carolina’s state budget deficit involves concern over the public’s demand for government services.
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Tax Reform Not On Menu for New State Leadership
The new GOP leadership in North Carolina’s General Assembly will be facing many challenges this upcoming legislative session, the projected $3.2 billion budget gap being foremost among them. Facing that daunting task, along with a still struggling economy, the soon-to-be majority leaders have signaled they don’t think now is the right time to tackle any significant reform of North Carolina’s tax structure.
Weekly Newsletter
@NCCivitas
- Medicaid Blues http://t.co/iX6ffoOOT8 #ncpol #ncgop
- FY 2013-14 Senate Budget Proposal: Large Tax Cut, Spending Nearly Identical to McCrory’s Plan http://t.co/B9CvVAKPa8 #ncgov #ncga
- How much do you know about NC's public campaign financing program? Take this week's quiz and find out: http://t.co/dUCI544VQc
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