In recent weeks, the GOP has been bragging about good news for North Carolina. According to them, their tax reform that shifted the tax burden from the wealthy to middle class has worked. So far this fiscal year, North Carolina has a revenue surplus. But it’s come at a steep price.
For years, we’ve known that the GOP was shrinking government at the expense of our public schools and universities. Now, it looks like it comes at the expense of our safety, too. According to Secretary of Public Safety Frank Perry, budget cuts to his department have hampered terrorist investigations in North Carolina.
Perry says that the legislature’s budget interrupted ongoing investigations and disrupted “information-sharing connections with local and federal agencies.” He called the cuts a “’dangerous’ and short-sighted move that has hampered efforts to detect and prevent crime, including terrorism, in North Carolina.” Those are strong words at a time when people across the country are feeling insecure about another terrorist attack.
The legislators, though, took it in stride. They saved money! They made government more efficient! And most of all, they cut taxes! You know, smaller government and all that.
Republicans have a problem in Frank Perry. He’s got a bad habit of telling the truth. First, he let us know that one of Pat McCrory’s Charlotte buddies was demanding a contract extension for all the campaign contributions he’d made. That’s commonly called pay-to-play and it’s being investigated by the FBI.
Now, Perry’s telling the truth about the legislature. It’s not just that they cut his budget. They meddled in his department. Big Government conservatives aren’t just telling the department head to make cuts, they’re telling him how to do it. According to Perry, the budget eliminated two specific leadership positions without consulting law enforcement. By micromanaging state government, they’ve put North Carolinians at risk.
In 2014, Democrats in North Carolina outperformed Republicans in almost every other state in the nation because of GOP overreach. Back then, the issue was primarily cuts to education. As we enter 2016, with the country on edge about terrorism, the GOP put slashing government and cutting taxes ahead of protecting citizens. Republicans can crow about their budget surplus all they want, but the voters are more concerned with their safety.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
I am sure if Aunt Loretta can come up with the goods on “Uncle Pat,” he will be toast. But I wouldn’t hold my breath, D.g. However, getting the feds involved in state politics may be the Dems best chance to win next year.
D.g., all the “local republicans” I know have their own cars. They would have no reason to “hot wire” mine.
That certainly is extraordinary—a legislative body “meddling” with an executive agency’s budget. I mean, after all, who is responsible for raising public revenues and allocating the funds for various public purposes. Oh, that’s right, now I remember. It’s the responsibility of the legislature, in this case, the NC General Assembly. ( PolySci 101)
Budgeting and meddling are utterly different. Budget cuts are not normally directed at specific job lines, unless it is the clear intention of the legislature to send a signal. They sent one in this case, which is they don’t give a damn about public safety. PolySci 101 may or may not teach this, but several decades of all too much familiarity with city and state budgets taught me the basics (and a bit more). You should try reality sometime, not academics.
As for having a surplus, there are as many ways to produce an apparent surplus as there are to avoid gun safety laws in NC. Budget gimmicks are the lifeblood of most, if not all, state legislatures. NC is not an exception.
Wow, now a new tact from the left. Charge that Republicans “don’t give a damn about public safety?” Sorry, Norma, but I doubt that dog is gonna hunt.
And I realize, of course, that all you liberals know more about state revenue surpluses
than the nonpartisan staff of CPAs and economists at the NCGA’s Division of Fiscal Research. No doubt these professionals will be exposed as creating phantom surpluses during next year’s election campaign.
I wondered about that too. I don’t think he’ll go quietly if that happens.
Really wondering if Frank’s head will role. He’s hanging on an 0 and 2 count, having now created two dust-ups for the NCGOP. Is it “2 strikes and your out,” or 3?
You can take the man out of the FBI, but you can’t take the FBI out of the man. I *may* have been unfair to Frank in the past. His association with Les Merritt and Art Pope’s “Exposing Public Corruption” org left a sour taste in my mouth, even moreso due to it being dissolved after Republicans came into power. But Agent Frank seems to have a spine after all. Unfortunately, since the SBI answers directly to the Governor and not Frank Perry, certain crimes will likely continue to go unpunished.