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Editorial - March 2003 |
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State of State address raises critical questions March 5, 2003 - Gov. Mike Easley’s upbeat State of the State address is a bright beacon during these dark and gloomy times. It is refreshing to hear him say things like “we are making the right choices” and “we are getting the state turned around.” He raises some important issues and challenges to a legislature that is likely to snub him on many of them. They probably shouldn’t. In the long run, they could look like the bad guys, as pointed out in the column appearing on this page by John Campbell of NC Spin. Easley calls for the creation of thousands of new jobs, higher salaries, accelerated road improvement projects and the expansion of Wilmington Harbor, yet he wants to hold the line on spending and calls for $800 million in spending cuts. So, how will he do it? We look on these promises like Lincoln County Rep. Joe Kiser did in comments to the Raleigh News & Observer: “I’d like to see the balance sheet.” Easley also renewed his call for a lottery, though this time he is not including revenues in his budget proposal. If times were booming and the state’s treasury was in good shape, North Carolina could shrug off the lottery issue and bank on normal revenues to meet pressing needs. But that’s not the case today, and it may not be for awhile. Easley makes a persuasive argument when he says North Carolina needs a another revenue source to fund education. Next year, he points out, there will be another 100,000 5-year-olds showing up at the school house door. They will face overcrowded classrooms and underpaid teachers unless something is done. With a lottery, we can keep education money in North Carolina, instead of sending it to South Carolina. We can reduce the class size and provide more money for pre-kindergarten programs. A lottery could also offer another $200 million in badly needed school construction funds, according to Easley. If North Carolina turns to this source, it follows the route taken by some 39 other states in the nation. Easley asks legislators to limit the length of time they can be in session and give him and future governors the authority to veto individual budget items. Legislators probably see Easley’s bid for a line item veto as an unwelcome step on their turf. But the fact is it could be an effective tool that would likely target spending areas that are not seen as critical. North Carolina is one of only six states without a line-item veto. Neither party should look at this submission of power from a partisan point of view, since all future governors would inherit the authority, regardless of party affiliation. Session limits should be a no-brainer. Any lawmaker who opposes this measure faces an automatic campaign issue at re-election time.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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