Editorial
Call for Help
You’ve
probably seen the TV ads in which a worried homeowner, sitting at the
kitchen table surrounded by stacks of overdue monthly bills, says the
family was facing bankruptcy until they picked up the phone and got
help from a credit counseling company. Gov. Mike Easley, in his role
as head of the state’s budget, made a similar call last month and we
predict he will receive similar financial salvation.
The governor’s call for help went out to 16 prominent business
people and other civic leaders whom he appointed to the new Commission
to Promote Government Efficiency and Savings on State Spending. He
asked the commission to discover how the state can make our tax
dollars go further, a simple but supremely important bit of knowledge
in these recessionary days.
The governor has proven he’s quite skilled at using the budget knife
during the three budget emergencies he’s declared in just 14 months.
He’s sliced more than $1 billion in spending so far and still the
state essentially is broke. And while even more spending cuts may be
necessary, it should be obvious to all that such short-term solutions
won’t solve North Carolina’s long-term financial dilemma. That was
the big picture NCCBI was focused on last fall when it persuaded the
General Assembly to sanction creation of a government efficiency study
commission, a body now breathed into life by the governor.
As he did last year when he appointed members to the revamped state
Economic Development Board, Easley pulled extensively from NCCBI
leaders in picking members for the Commission to Promote Government
Efficiency. NCCBI figures named to the commission include Duke Power
President Bill Coley, TIAA-CREFF executive Lisa Crutchfield, First
Citizens Bank executive Jim Hyler, Alphanumeric President Darleen
Johns and Shelton Vineyards owner Ed Shelton. They and the other
commission members should be given wide latitude in exploring why it
is that the state has been thrown into such financial turmoil by a
relatively mild recession.
North Carolina certainly isn’t alone in its current budget woes. At
least 16 other states are running as much or more red ink than we are.
But few of them have enjoyed as much economic growth as North Carolina
in the past decade and none possess our storied traditions for fiscal
strength.
We can’t cut our way back to solvency, but we can think our way
there. Luckily, when the governor made his call for financial help, he
turned to some good thinkers. -- Steve Tuttle
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