Rep. Bill Cook defends his vote, his position to the Democrats' claims that reducing state spending is "devastating" | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: North Carolina State Representative Bill Cook has provided BCN our publication's first installment of his periodic discussions with his constituency back home in Beaufort County.

    The N. C. House has passed what I believe to be a very responsible budget for the next biennium. It calls for reduced spending, and no new taxes. In fact, it makes good on the Republican party's promise to eliminate the "temporary" sales tax increase. All of this was necessary because the Democrats left the state with a $2.5 billion-plus deficit this past year. But we will still spend a whopping $19.3 billion.

    The Democrats are screaming. They call the GOP budget "devastating," "draconian" and even worse, while the Minority Leader said it would "dismantle" the public school system. That's just not true. So let me tell you what the truth is.

    The House budget represents a 4.2% decrease in actual state spending in FY 2012 from what it will be this year. Less than 5% of a $20 billion budget. Click here to review all the numbers.

    In these tough economic times I doubt there are very many households in this state that have not had to cut back at least 5% on their spending. Most have had to cut much, much more.

    As for education, the picture is similar. Click here to review all those numbers. But here's what the truth comes down to: Education spending would be reduced by only 5.2%. And the public schools (K-12) would be reduced by only about 3.3%.

    Folks, that is simply not unreasonable. The Democrats can trot out a Kindergarten teacher who got a pink slip if they want, but considering the increases we've had in education spending in recent years, a 3.3% reduction is in fact very minimal.

    Now the budget is in the Senate's hands. I expect they will make some changes. Then the House and Senate will have to reconcile the differences.

    But don't believe these horror stories you're hearing about "draconian" cuts in either overall state spending or in education. It is simply not so. In fact, I believe overall state spending should be reduced even more and I believe the Republican Party will do so over the next few years.

    Here's what the GOP House Majority Leader, Skip Stam, said about the House budget:
    Now that the House has passed its budget, it is time for a reality check. Big government groups are howling at the "draconian cuts" in state services. But documents prepared by the Fiscal Research Division show that actual "cuts" in expenditures are only about 5% from this year's spending to next year's. And that is even truer in the public schools. Projected cuts in (K-12) education expenditures are about 3.3%.

    In a state where, over the last three years, families and businesses have learned to tighten their belts with real cuts of 10, 20, and 30% to their own budgets, North Carolinians will recognize our actions as a modest rightsizing of state government rather than any kind of decimation of services.

    It is time to get real. We did it the way we promised - without raising tax rates in a recession. By not extending the "temporary" tax hikes we saved you $1.4 billion next year - the largest real tax cut in North Carolina history. That means there will be $1.4 billion more that you can spend or invest. And that's how you create real jobs. Indeed, it is "time to get real."

    Study these numbers. I'd like to hear from you about how you feel about this. You can contact me at bill.cook@ncleg.net.

    And thank you for all your support as we try to get North Carolina's financial house back in order.