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State budget cuts: Not so much

Gov. Bev Perdue's proposed budget calls for a cut in state spending of about 1.8 percent next year but bouncing back the year after -- to the highest level ever.

It would trim about 1 percent of the state's work force, on paper. Actual job losses apparently would be much less.

Federal stimulus money helps soften the blow of lower state revenues.

The governor hints that some of the cuts are overdue:

"My budget reduces or eliminates more than 20 programs that are duplicative, costly, inefficient or nonessential."

I haven't read the whole budget but here's one place where the ax falls on a Guilford County facility:

Close Umstead and Guilford Correctional Centers

It is recommended that Umstead and Guilford Correctional Centers be closed due
to above average operating costs. To accommodate the inmates at these
facilities, Lincoln Correctional Center will be converted from medium to minimum
custody and Warren Correctional Institution will be partially double-celled. There
is no anticipated savings for FY 2009-10 due to the upfits required to
accommodate additional inmates at Warren Correctional Institution. The
anticipated closure date for Umstead and Guilford is June 1, 2010.

Appropriation - ($4,627,854)
Positions (107.000) (107.000)

Smokers take the biggest hit. If Perdue's recommended increase of $1 per pack of cigarettes is enacted, the total state and federal tax in North Carolina would jump to $2.35. It's been 66 cents. I believe I'd quit.

Oh, wait. She's going after beer, too. And even Irish whiskey. Governor, how could you? On St. Paddy's Day!

Comments (7)

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Doug Johnson said:

Seems Perdue wants to eliminate more NC jobs. Sorry Doug, that's why we shop in Virginia, buy our gas in Virginia, as do most folks with in 50 miles of the boarder.
Perdue is just another tax and spend liberal, that's why NC is a high tax state.
Of course Purdue like most liberals get a free ride in the liberal media. Write a nice story about her involvement in the Parton Theater, from what I hear she made out like a bandit on this. If I worked for a paper, that was dying, I believe I forget my liberals are good stance, and start printing the real news.
like how we went from the good road state, to the state roads are a POS .



Sensei said:

Paddy? I always thought it was St. Patty's Day.

Doug said:

Paddy comes from the Irish for Patrick, Padraig.

http://www.theologic.com/oflweb/secular/stpat.htm

As in Padraig Harrington, the Irish golfer.

And in the insulting terms Paddy wagon: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=paddy%20wagon

and Paddy whacker: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=paddy+whacker

tonymo said:

Even Pravda West (the N&R) did not endorse Perdue! She was swept in on the coat tails of a corrupt Community Organizer, and the groupthink, monolithic vote of the Lemming-American community where the vast majority knw nothing about Perdue except that she had a D in front of her name! Hope they're not smokers or beer drinkers!

tonymo said:

Even Pravda West (the N&R) did not endorse Perdue! She was swept in on the coat tails of a corrupt Community Organizer, and the groupthink, monolithic vote of the Lemming-American community where the vast majority knw nothing about Perdue except that she had a D in front of her name! Hope they're not smokers or beer drinkers!

tonymo said:

Even Pravda West (the N&R) did not endorse Perdue! She was swept in on the coat tails of a corrupt Community Organizer, and the groupthink, monolithic vote of the Lemming-American community where the vast majority knw nothing about Perdue except that she had a D in front of her name! Hope they're not smokers or beer drinkers!

tonymo [TypeKey Profile Page] said:

Sorry, but the post just never showed up so I hit the preview button. Computer Glitch. Couldn't have been me!

A CBS radio news report listed the amount of new revenue that will be raised by these tax increases on cigarettes and alcohol. Gee, I guess they thin that every person who bought cigarettes or alcohol will buy those things in the same numbers at the new much higher prices.

I still want one of you liberals who support this nonsense to explain to me that if raising taxes raises revenues, why do all retailers LOWER prices during shopping seasons. Why don't they, like the idiots in government, raise their prices? I'd really like to know.

Due to recent automated spamming attacks on our blogs, we are temporarily requiring commenters to authenticate themselves via TypeKey® before posting comments to any News & Record blog in order to prevent denials of service. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

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