For the week of
February 25, 2011
- carolinajournal.com
Reaction of the Week
RALEIGH — As Gov. Beverly Perdue and the new Republican-led General
Assembly consider options for closing a state budget hole, a new Spotlight report from the John Locke Foundation’s top budget expert shows how they can reach their goal while reducing tax rates.
“This budget proposal saves nearly $3 billion from projected spending,
reduces tax rates for individuals and businesses, ends targeted tax
breaks for selected companies and industries, and sets North Carolina
state government on a fiscally sustainable path,” said report author Joseph Coletti, JLF Director of Health and Fiscal Policy Studies.
“State legislators and the governor should transform government, not
just look for ways to spend less money doing the same things,” Coletti
said. “We all want better education, health care, and transportation for
all North Carolinians, but isn’t there a better, less costly way to
accomplish these goals than the approach the state has taken for a
generation?” he asked.
“Those policies have led to a $2.4 billion
spending gap for the coming budget year, with $21.2 billion in potential
spending and just $18.8 billion of expected revenue.”
News Features
CJ: Unnamed source paid for Perdue campaign flight
RALEIGH — When a Wake County grand jury indicted
Robert Lee Caldwell of Morganton Feb. 8 for obstruction of justice for
his involvement in a 2007 campaign flight for Gov. Bev Perdue, it
mentioned that “cash from an unnamed source” was used to pay for the
flight. CJ: Ramped up rhetoric underlines week of NCGA
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue and GOP lawmakers
formally crossed swords this week, as Perdue vetoed her first bill of
the legislative session and Republicans sent her a measure on the
politically divisive issue of exempting North Carolinians from the
federal health insurance individual mandate. CJ: Tax credit bill leads to war of words
RALEIGH — A bill introduced in
the General Assembly would reward lower income families who opt out of
the public school system with up to $3,500 in tax credits, a proposal
that’s angered Democrats and public-school leaders. CJ: Bill would let only barbers use barber poles
RALEIGH — As North Carolina lawmakers grapple
with closing an estimated $2.4 billion budget deficit, four-term Sen.
Doug Berger, D-Franklin, has introduced a bill making it illegal for
anyone who is not a registered barber to use or display a barber pole.
CJ: Move to reclassify creek swimming upstream
BREVARD — Concerns that state environmental regulators are seeking to take property along streams in Western North
Carolina without compensating property owners has drawn attention from
the General Assembly.
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 12:00 PM, Noon
A meeting of the Shaftesbury Society
with our special guest Clark Havighurst
The Provider Monopoly Problem in Health Care Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 12:00 noon
JLF/Federalist Society Bi-Monthly Law & Public Policy Luncheon
Featuring: Daren Bakst, Esq. & Philip Romohr, Esq.
North Carolina Supreme Court Review Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 11:00am- 4:30pm
A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop in Asheville, NC
with presenters Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael Sanera
What the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions
Can Teach Us Today Saturday, April 09, 2011 at 9:30 am- 3:30 pm
A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop in Monroe, NC
with presenters Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael Sanera
What the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions
Can Teach Us Today
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Capital Quotes
“It’s important that it’s built from the bottom up, not the top down.”
— Rep. Harold Brubaker, R-Randolph, talking to the Raleigh News & Observer about the process of coming up with a state budget. Brubaker is the chief House budget writer. “It’s a train wreck that continues to wreck at every crossing.”
— Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, talking to WRAL-TV about the State Health Plan, which is underfunded by $33 billion. “Now we have a two-headed monster.”
— Sen. Charlie Dannelly, D-Mecklenburg, as quoted by the Associated Press, commenting about a bill that removes the cap on charter schools in the state. The bill would create a new state agency to oversee charter schools, which the existing State Board of Education could overrule in certain circumstances.
“I think some of the language in our policy created some urgency that’s not there.”
— Bob Emory, chairman of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission, as quoted by the Wilmington Star-News, describing changes in his agency’s recommendations on climate-related sea-level rise. The new language replaces terms like “should” with “are encouraged to” when it comes to preparing for possible higher sea-levels over the next century.
On The Air This Week…
This week on C J Radio…
CJ’s Rick Henderson discusses an ABC-11 TV investigation into then-Sen. Bev Perdue; AFP-NC’s Dallas Woodhouse and House Majority Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) discuss school choice ideas; Rep. Verla Insko (D-Orange) and Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) debate ObamaCare’s individual mandate; Troy University’s Scott Beaulier tells why economic freedom is key to economic growth; and JLF’s Michael Sanera gives an update on light rail and high-speed rail projects in N.C.
This week on NC Spin…
Join moderator Tom Campbell
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. This week’s topic: Governor Perdue’s budget; Perdue and the Highway Patrol; and medical malpractice caps. This week’s panelists: John Hood and Becki Gray from the John Locke Foundation; Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; and political consultant Brad Crone.
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