Let me take you waaaay back to April 21, 2009, just one short week before Gov. Perdue announced the budget deficit was much worse than originally thought (now $3.3 billion).
According to N&O Under the Dome, Perdue told a gathering of NFIB:
Gov. Beverly Perdue said the early news on the April 15 tax returns is that the state revenue picture is better than expected.
After being briefed this morning by budget director Charles Perusse, Perdue said she was told that sales tax revenues for the last quarter are "fairly good" or "not as bad as it could have been," Rob Christensen reports.
"Better than expected."
So was she "expecting" a $4 billion deficit and just not telling anyone? Or did her budget office not count correctly?
Either way the public was not well served.
Somehow, the deficit is $1 billion bigger than it was last week and either she didn't see it coming or she didn't give the public the full picture of how bad things really were. Either way, it stinks to high heaven.
It makes one have to ask, is there another surprise coming in a few weeks? Will she announce three weeks from now that she's giving state employees another pay cut or is raiding more funds?
The budget situation is serious and Perdue needs to come clean to the public just how bad it is and keep the public informed and up to date. Don't play shell games and hide the truth for her own political expediency.
I think she’s lying without a doubt. There is no way that the “furlough” which may save 75 million dollars does a thing to touch 4 billion dollars. Get ready because BIG cuts are coming.