http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/27/news/economy/state_budgets/index.htm?hpt=T2


In State Budget Deficits. Ahead of big liberal spenders with unionized state workers like NY, IL, Michigan, etc...


Good job Bevvy!! Keep up the good work

7/27/2010 10:31:52 AM

Don't worry, it's imaginary money.

7/27/2010 10:33:28 AM

We were a mess way before perdue

7/27/2010 10:34:18 AM

I guess I've been out of state too long, but how the heck does a state like North Carolina rack up $1.2 billion in budget deficits?! If you're rivaling massive states like California and Texas in terms of budget deficits WITHOUT having the excuses of idiotic constitutional structures that limit your budgeting skills, then something really has gone off the rails in Raleigh.

7/27/2010 10:35:09 AM

Hello DOT

7/27/2010 10:38:06 AM

^^^

7/27/2010 10:39:16 AM

^^^^

Also, my post from another thread:

Quote :

"We are in a weak economy. We have to cut services or increase tax revenue (increase taxes, increase tax collection rate, or find new revenue sources to spread the pain) We have a thread arguing against the firing of people who work for the school system. We have a thread against combining the undergrad zoology & animal sci programs to save money at a public institution. We've had dozens of threads it feels like against paying more taxes. We've had a thread recently about how evil it is for government to publish the names of people who aren't paying their taxes (a common mechanism to increase the collection rate rather than raising taxes over all). And now we've had a thread saying don't try to find new revenue sources like taxing online purchases, even if that revenue source is mostly luxury items that wont affect hurt vulnerable populations like the poor & the elderly who don't do lots of online purchases of DVDs. As a unit, TWW has opposed decreased spending, opposed increased taxes, opposed increased tax collection rates, and opposed new tax revenue sources. Individually we all have our own positions, but we have elected officials that have to serve units that are much larger and less educated on average than TWW."

[Edited on July 27, 2010 at 10:47 AM. Reason : .]

7/27/2010 10:45:21 AM

Quote :

"We were a mess way before perdue "

We have to go back pretty far then since perdue was Easley's right hand woman for years prior to being gov.

7/27/2010 10:50:35 AM

It was the fault of that 2 billion dollar surplus from a few years ago.

7/27/2010 10:51:11 AM

North Carolina already has high taxes. Are we trying to drive all the job opportunities out of the state by raising them even more? As long as the state is having to pay unemployment and medicaid, we're going to have to cut spending elsewhere.

7/27/2010 10:53:18 AM

I don't like Bev Purdue. But this can hardly be totally her fault. Blame the economy, man.

7/27/2010 10:57:42 AM

i cannot remember a time when the Democrats in charge of the NC State legislature have ever balanced the State budget.

i single out the Dems only for convenience, as they have been in charge for the majority of the time in NC. i am sure the Pubs, especially recently, would not have done much better.

7/27/2010 11:37:17 AM

Since medicaid is drowning the states, the solution is clearly to expand medicaid roles.

7/27/2010 12:11:21 PM

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/30/1534129/nc-budget-to-avoid-key-cuts-but.html

Quote :

"The legislature did the best it could given the circumstances, said State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison. The cuts weren't as severe as some ideas legislators were kicking around. For UNC system leaders, their $70 million cut was half what the House had proposed. "On a relative basis and particularly considering the economic climate, the 2010-11 state budget we received from the General Assembly was nothing short of remarkable," UNC President Erskine Bowles said Tuesday. ... "I've heard all this talk about tough decisions," said Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincolnton Republican. "I suggest to you there's not one tough decision in this bill.""

Okay, so they only cut public college spending half as much as they should have instead of making a tough decision. How does that generous act get presented to the interest group itself?

http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/nc-state-tuition-increase/

Quote :

"“The need is immediate and the options are few,” NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson said. “This is the second consecutive year of deep budget cuts. ... The new state budget takes $99 million from universities. In the last three years, the state’s universities have taken a budget cut of $575 million. This year, the state legislature gave universities the option of raising tuition by as much as $750. Budget projections indicate NC State could lose up to 200 course sections and 6,500 classroom seats without the tuition increase. “At some point, we have to stop the erosion or risk long-term damage to one of the state’s greatest assets: its higher education system,” Woodson said. “But even a tuition increase of this size is no silver bullet. NC State will still see about a $3 million shortfall.”"

7/27/2010 12:38:29 PM

http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/state-local/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=226200258

Quote :

"Exclusive: North Carolina To Privatize IT Operations, Jobs Faced with a looming, $3 billion budget deficit, North Carolina is eyeing a major shakeup of its tech operations that could see the state outsource the bulk of its IT work to the private sector while consolidating other operations internally. "The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) issued a Request for Information to seek input and ideas from the vendor community for improving the delivery of IT in state government," Perdue said in the memo, dated July 21st. ... Through the RFI, North Carolina is looking to hire a firm that can help it identify outsourcers that could take over operations from internal IT units at state agencies, and also provide a blueprint for achieving additional savings and efficiencies. "The goal is to move aggressively toward an improved IT infrastructure that will lower costs, reduce complexity and redundancy, improve the utilization of resources and increase security," Perdue wrote in her memo. Under the RFI's rules, the firm that wins the consulting gig will be disqualified for bidding on the outsourcing contracts that follow."

Just saw this article that specific mentions the budget, Perdue, and outsourcing to save money, so it seemed right up this thread's alley.

7/27/2010 1:01:21 PM

Quote :

"Okay, so they only cut public college spending half as much as they should have instead of making a tough decision. How does that generous act get presented to the interest group itself? "

I think a good analogy for comparing the macro effects of cutting education is like an individual
signing up for one of those "rent-to-own" programs, foregoing investing in a 401k to afford
a car payment for a new Mustang, or habitually buying sub-quality products that you will end up paying more for in the long
run instead of paying more up front for quality that will last.

All the state is really doing by cutting education is fucking themselves in the ass. The internal education pool will shrink.
A less educated population received less paying jobs. Further a less educated population tends to becomes an exponentially expensive burden as proportion
of the population committing crimes, living on social programs, and overbreeding rises.

Lets save money by cutting funding from the system that creates more high tax paying, less crime causing, productive citizens. GOOD THINKING BEVVY

I bet they will not touch the free lunch programs that 40% of the NC school population is enrolled. I would love to be educated on how 40% of families can afford less than $2 it takes to throw a few slices of meat on bread and a bag of potato chips.



[Edited on July 27, 2010 at 1:22 PM. Reason : a]

7/27/2010 1:19:25 PM

^what level do you think it should be at. I mean if your criteria is cut things, but not one important to me like education, then surely you support some level of feed hungry school kids to help them perform better/get a better education?

7/27/2010 1:37:54 PM

Here's where some of our tax dollars are being wasted:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/13/1496882/211k-pension-draws-scrutiny.html

Quote :

" In 2005, Charles Franklin filed for retirement after running the Albemarle Mental Health Center for 34 years. The first and only director of the public agency serving one of the state's poorest areas started collecting an annual pension of $145,000. But Franklin didn't really retire. He returned to the center in the northeastern part of the state as a contract employee, with pay and perks totaling $289,000 one year and $319,000 the next. When the state Treasurer's Office learned of the deal, it said the contract violated state law; Franklin was forced to return the pension money he had received. By early 2009, Franklin had been fired. The center was shuttered, a victim of mismanagement, lavish benefits and financial conflicts of interest. But for taxpayers, that's not where the story ends. Today, Franklin is receiving an annual pension of $211,373 - 46 percent more than what he would have gotten if he had really retired five years earlier. "

That's just the first portion of the article, and just one example of egregious waste of tax dollars.


So, I take issue with the only solutions presented by Bev and co. to be raising taxes or cut the programs that affect the most people. No one seems to have the will or courage to trim the fat.

[Edited on July 27, 2010 at 2:00 PM. Reason : .]

7/27/2010 1:55:38 PM

It takes a lot of anecdotes to reach a billion dollars

7/27/2010 1:59:36 PM

teachers have long done practically the same thing I don't see why it's ok for them to and not someone else... of course I think its wrong on both accounts.

7/27/2010 2:01:37 PM

ah yes, let's just stick our heads in the sand and increase taxes, because it takes less effort!

7/27/2010 2:03:59 PM

Quote :

"[quote]then surely you support some level of feed hungry school kids to help them perform better/get a better education?"

sorry 40% of school kids do not come from such meager, poor, and desperate households that they need free/reduced lunch.

Hell I would rather keep funding the same and give additional benefits (beside food benefits) to the bottom 15% who really need it than ensuring
that Sally Sue can afford her weekly manicure down the road from the trailer park since she does not have to make a brown
bag for her rascals everyday.

7/27/2010 2:42:41 PM

Interest comment on cnn post:

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/peo_est_num_of_ill_imm-people-estimated-number-illegal-immigrants

Top 10 states with illegal immigration:
1. California
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Illinois
5. Florida
6. Arizona
7. Georgia
8. New Jersey
9. North Carolina
10. Colorado

Coincidence?

7/27/2010 2:49:01 PM

Quote :

" sorry 40% of school kids do not come from such meager, poor, and desperate households that they need free/reduced lunch. Hell I would rather keep funding the same and give additional benefits (beside food benefits) to the bottom 15% who really need it than ensuring that Sally Sue can afford her weekly manicure down the road from the trailer park since she does not have to make a brown bag for her rascals everyday. "

YOU ARE RACIST. OBVIOUSLY THE SHACKLES OF OPPRESSION THESE PARENT'S ABILITY TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN. THEY SHOULD COMPENSATED AND ENCOURAGED TO HAVE MORE. DOWN WITH WHITEY.

7/27/2010 2:59:02 PM

N.C. ranked fourth laziest state
Updated: 14 minutes ago

"Laziest" States:

1. Louisiana
2. Mississippi
3. Arkansas
4. North Carolina
5. Tennessee
6. Kentucky
7. West Virginia
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Delaware

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8042328/

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/07/0722_laziest_states/1.htm

7/27/2010 2:59:06 PM

Scientists say they're also less attractive physically, and while others speak in a well-educated manner they tend to use low-brow expressions like "oh yeah?" and "come here a minute!"

7/27/2010 3:01:56 PM

Quote :

"N.C. ranked fourth laziest state Updated: 14 minutes ago "

I completely FAIL to beleive NC is lazier than SC. Also, thinking/socializing is not really "being lazy."

Their are no major metropolitan areas in SC that can rival RTP or Charlotte Metro in terms of productivity, innovation, and education. What are the hot spots in SC.... Columbia, Charleston lol

7/27/2010 3:17:58 PM

^ Yeah, I put "Laziest" in quotation marks. I mean, just because folks in other states get less sleep or watch less TV or what have you doesn't mean that they're accomplishing more.

I don't necessarily agree with the story. I just posted it as FYI.

7/27/2010 3:23:45 PM

Thought this was worth throwing into the mix. I mean budget gaps is a very fair concern to raise, but some states in terms of economy and population size are working in entirely different arenas. Its a bit like complaining that the US spends too much on its military, I mean just look at how its at the top of the list on the size of the military budgets compared to Norway, Ireland, France, and Sweden!

7/27/2010 3:42:24 PM

shocking that California has the largest deficit

/sarcasm

7/27/2010 3:42:50 PM

I think it's a valid point that although a state may have a large deficit in actual dollars, when adjusted per capita or in relation to the overall GSP, it takes on a very different meaning.

7/27/2010 4:14:02 PM

http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/visualizations/per-capita-state-budget-deficit-ma

This data is a bit older than what OP posted, but it makes one wonder is this is new thing. One would think with a number that high that our per capita deficit should be fairly large. So there must be something more recent that has caused the rise.

7/27/2010 4:29:07 PM