News-Record.com

The N.C. Senate's proposed budget counts on $580 million in expected new revenue, or tax increases, but doesn't specify what they are, WRAL reports.

Senate leaders say, don't worry, we'll come up with those details later.

Unbelievable.

How can senators be asked to vote on a budget proposal today, which was just released to them Monday night, without knowing where all that new tax money would come from?

It matters.

Gov. Perdue put it all together in her budget plan. She proposed big tax hikes on tobacco and alcohol.

Do Senate leaders back that proposal? So far, they're only saying how they want to spend the money, not where they would raise new revenue.

The finance people are working on it, we're told.

Well, not all taxes are alike. Some may be more feasible than others. If I were a senator, my vote on the budget might change depending on what kind of tax increases were supporting it.

OK, the Senate will vote on the tax plan once it passes the budget framework, appropriations chairman A.B. Swindell says. If senators vote it down, they can go back to square one.

What's the point? Why not put the whole package together in the first place, as the governor did when she presented her plan? Why the rush to pass the budget framework today? Take your time and do it right.