The New Leadership of the NC Senate Knows How to Make the Tough Choices for Our State

The North Carolina Senate has tentatively passed Senate Bill 13, the Balanced Budget Act of 2011.  Final approval in the Senate will come after the 3rd reading of the bill, probably early next week.  It will then go on to the NC House of Representatives for consideration.

This is excellent news for all North Carolinians as it provides  $800 million in savings that will help close a projected $3.7 billion budget gap and help the private-sector create jobs.

The Act, which would give the governor the authority to cut spending for the current fiscal year and calls for immediate cost-savings to help tackle next year’s budget.

The governor’s office agreed to cut $400 million to help fill the gap between current spending and revenue.  Senate Republicans added an extra $400 million in savings to the bill Wednesday that will help eliminate the deficit while minimizing negative impacts on school teachers and state workers.

“Our job is to make tough choices to balance the budget.

The people expect Democratic legislators and the governor to do more than sit back and say ‘no.’ We are still waiting for them to bring us their ideas,”

said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham).

“We are forced to make these decisions because they have not put forth adequate cost-saving measures after spending us into a budget deficit of several billion dollars.  These sacrifices are necessary to close that deficit.

“We are doing this to minimize harm to classroom teachers and rank-and-file state employees and to foster an environment that gives the private sector the means to create jobs. Letting the current taxes expire, as Democrats said they would, will be a far more effective incentive for businesses than unspent money from government grants and programs,” Berger concluded.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Your blogger concurs with Speaker Pro Temp Berger.  There is much talk these days about the role government should play in our lives, and at KCC, we believe that the role should be minimal.

It is NOT the role of government to be handing out money (so-called “incentives”) or corporate welfare to businesses to come or stay in our state.

Instead, to help create jobs, the government should keep its HANDS OFF, lower taxes, and allow businesses to flourish on their own.

It isn’t fair to small and medium-sized businesses that are already located here, to provide this corporate welfare to incoming industries.

Small-businesses provide the vast majority of jobs in our nation.  When this blogger hears liberals complain about “jobs, jobs, jobs”, she reminds them how President Barack Obama poured billions into our national economy in the form of a “stimulus” act, only to see our economy fall, rather than rise.

One Response to “NC Senate Passes Balanced Budget Act of 2011”