Legislators' spending target $24 billion, $500 million less than governor's
Published March 21, 2019
by Dan Way, Carolina Journal, March 19, 2019.
Republican legislative leaders have reached agreement on a 2019-20 General Fund budget cap of slightly more than $24 billion, shaving about $500 million from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed spending plan.
Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, made the announcement Tuesday, March 19. They agreed to a 3.45 percent increase in spending over last year’s budget total. Cooper proposed raising spending 5.4 percent.
Berger and Moore issued a joint statement after reaching the agreement.
“Responsible Republican budgeting has led to a boom decade for North Carolina. We don’t intend to change the formula that’s balanced our budget, provided revenue surpluses and record savings, lowered taxes for 99 percent of taxpayers, and resulted in more North Carolinians working than at any time in history,” they said.
With the topline figure settled, House and Senate budget writers will fill in the details in the coming weeks, the news release said. The nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division estimated revenues will total $24.8 billion next year.
The $24 billion budget figure does not include payments for the state’s debt service, which will come from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund.
The budget agreement is in line with state spending deals approved by Republican legislators this decade to limit spending growth while prioritizing new money for education. GOP leaders have tried to keep growth levels below anticipated increases in population and inflation.
Berger and Moore noted in their statement the National Education Association issued a report this week showing North Carolina jumped ahead of 18 states in average teacher pay over the last five years. Teachers received five consecutive pay raises, representing the third-highest increase in the entire country.
March 24, 2019 at 11:10 am
Norm Kelly says:
Teachers have rec'd raises each of the past 5 years. For around 9.9%, according to some numbers I've seen.
Cooper insists, as do all democrats, that Republicans hate teachers, hate public schools, and hold both groups in the lowest of esteem. Yet, Cooper's budget plan calls for teacher raises of just over 9% over the next few years. So, democrats were the last group to actually cut teacher pay. Now democrats are calling for a lower percentage increase than Republicans HAVE PROVIDED.
So, according to democrat 'logic', it's Republicans that respect and honor teachers, and democrats who have disdain for public education.
The biggest challenge with any of this is these are FACTS. Everyone knows that facts are meaningless to democrats, and are automatically ignored. Facts simply get in the way of democrat/media talking points, so will be left out of any discussion of relevance.
And democrats do not care that 99% of NC residents rec'd tax cuts. Democrats will continue to claim that only the 'rich' got paid by Republicans. See, democrats believe that allowing you to keep what you earn is 'paying' you for support. Democrats believe it is not possible to be financially successful without being dishonest, taking advantage of 'the poor'. So democrats penalize financial success. They claim it's to be fair, but it's actually so they can buy votes from 'the poor' and the easily misled.
Reduce spending? Never happens under democrats, won't even be considered. Reduce taxes? Never gonna happen. Last time democrats implemented a temporary sales tax increase, it remained temporary for only a short time. Then they turned it into a permanent increase. Ask yourself, when was the last time any democrat proposed or supported a tax cut? When was the last time democrats refused a pay increase for themselves?
As for regulation, which democrat has voted for or supported any cut in regulation? Too often democrat regulations are implemented or strengthened for the sole purpose of enhancing their supporters, and has virtually nothing to do with public safety. Whenever Republicans propose cutting any regulation, democrats come out of the woodwork to visit their media allies to whine about public safety or some such nonsense. (and, yes, whining is the default response to anything they disagree with. followed by taking their opponent to court to force their will on the majority.) Democrats can't control the masses unless they are allowed to implement their schemes, which almost always includes more regulations. Like gov't health insurance/care.
