Best of Both Budgets:
Budget negotiations between the House and Senate typically lead to higher spending, as each side accepts all or part of an item the other wants. Another approach would be to…
Budget negotiations between the House and Senate typically lead to higher spending, as each side accepts all or part of an item the other wants. Another approach would be to…
The North Carolina House is debating its version of a 2001-03 state budget this week. Although imposing only a $6 million tax hike in contrast to the $233 million tax…
State employees can't be blamed for seeking better compensation. All workers do. But to fulfill their responsibility to taxpayers, lawmakers should rely on solid data when evaluating pay requests. The…
Putting the House's FY 2000-01 budget into proper perspective requires careful consideration of how spending should be measured and how it has changed over time. Furthermore, proposed changes in how…
A recent report showing that many state university buildings are in very poor repair and warning of explosive UNC enrollment growth has led to a proposal that would allow the…
Some state lawmakers are discussing a plan to give local governments the authority to raise their sales taxes by up to 1 penny while simultaneously eliminating state tax reimbursements. While…
The FY 1999-2000 budget approved by the House Budget Committee would increase operating spending by 5.6 percent, despite talk earlier in the session of a state fiscal crisis. Although the…
North Carolina's Unemployment Insurance trust funds continue to be bloated due to overcharging workers and employers. A series of tax cuts during the 1990s has failed to bring the system…
The N.C. Senate is debating its budget proposal for FY 2001-03. For all the furor about "severe cuts" in the plan, it would increase total General Fund spending next year…
The American Lung Association's recent report on ozone fueled a media frenzy in North Carolina, with repeated suggestions that the air in the Triangle and Charlotte was "more polluted than…
For all the talk of a fiscal crisis this year and the need to tighten the belt of state government, Gov. Jim Hunt's proposed adjustments to the FY 2000-01 budget…
As state lawmakers grapple with a projected budget gap of at least half a billion dollars, some observers have blamed recent tax cuts for the problem. But modest tax reductions…