Perdue's budget - good and bad, says group

The N.C. Justice Center's Budget and Tax Center weighed in on Gov. Bev Perdue's budget this morning, and gives the governor good marks for "avoiding deep personnel cuts in education and health and human services" (report from the NC Budget & Tax Center finds). But the group pans the budget plan for costing thousands of jobs while backing an ill-advised corporate tax cut.

Calling their assessment "comprehensive and balanced," the group said that “several key recommendations of this budget deserve praise,” particularly the governor’s "appropriate and fiscally sound use of one-time savings to reestablish the Mental Health Trust Fund ($75 million) and replenish the Rainy Day Fund ($150 million)."

The group said the state sales tax "remains a disproportionate burden to low-income North Carolinians, [but] the governor’s decision to extend the current state sales tax at 5.5 percent also provides the boost in revenues needed to sustain key state services and avoid even deeper cuts in education and health and human services.”

The report knocked the Perdue’s corporate tax cut proposal and widespread elimination of jobs.
“Corporate tax cuts are unlikely to spur significant job growth,” said Alexandra Forter Sirota, BTC director and one of the report’s authors.

Perdue’s budget also eliminates up to 5,800 state positions – some vacant and some filled – as well as cuts funding to local governments that could result in the elimination of as many as 4,100 non-teacher positions in North Carolina public schools. That's not good, the group said.