The following is a statement from Speaker Joe Hackney on the House budget.
Just months before the start of this decade, Hurricane Floyd slowly pushed through eastern North Carolina. The storm pulled heavy rains along with it, but at first appeared to be nothing more than another relatively anonymous hurricane.
The truth proved to be far different. In the coming days, rivers spilled over their banks. Widespread flooding destroyed homes, businesses, communities and ways of life. About that same time, recession hit North Carolina and the nation. As we spent millions of dollars in savings to help hurricane victims, our thriving economy stalled, leaving us at times with more than a billion-dollar deficit.
Eight years later, this state thrives again. The sound policies of the governor and the General Assembly have returned vigor to our economy. Just since 2004, we have added 280,000 jobs in this state. At the end of this fiscal year we will have $915 million in reserves and we remain one of just a handful of states with a Triple A bond rating from all three rating agencies. That allows us to borrow money at cheaper interest rates than we would be able to otherwise. Our fiscal conservatism saves us millions of dollars.
We spent decades in North Carolina building this tradition of financial integrity, and those of us elected to do the people’s business are stewards of this responsibility.
We preserved this tradition in the House budget approved last week. And we did it without sacrificing investment in those programs that matter most. And we did it without adding or raising taxes.
Without question, education remains the top priority of House Democrats. We propose spending $11.1 billion – more than half the total $20.3-billion budget – on education. House Democrats take particular care in this plan to ensure we provide resources in public schools to those who need it most – the poor and those at risk of dropping out of high school. We expand need-based financial aid by $27 million and appropriate $75 million for the governor’s EARN Scholars initiative. We increase spending on community colleges by $34 million. Under our proposal, cost should no longer be a barrier for talented students who could otherwise not afford college. The return on this investment will be incalculable.
The House also proposes spending $100 million for Medicaid relief. Half of the money will be targeted to counties with Medicaid populations of 20 percent or more.
Those counties are typically among the poorest in the state and have been the most weighed down by increasing medical costs. Our relief would reduce Medicaid costs in some counties by more than half.
Our proposal also offers nearly $290 million in a broad tax-relief package. It would give breaks to working people, small businesses, emerging industries, those planning for retirement, environmentally friendly industries and farmers. The centerpiece of the package is an earned-income tax credit expected to benefit 825,000 taxpayers in North Carolina who earn about $40,000 or less. The estimated tax savings for these workers would be $69 million in 2008-09.
These tax credits balance the needs of workers and the needs of business. It helps those who need relief from taxation and those who drive our economy. It protects the poor and rewards those who create jobs.
This plan represents the ideals of the House Democrats and, we believe, the people of North Carolina.
Such a proposal would have been difficult to craft in 2000, but with resolve and financial discipline this state remains a fiscal model for the nation. We carry one of the lowest tax burdens in the country. We foster an economy friendly to business, workers and the military. We use our collective wealth to care for the people who need it most. We invest in education. We save for the future.
We do these things in large part because we believe they reflect the values of our constituents. There’s always some quibbling around the edges, but we take our guiding principles from you.
You have guided us well over many years. You have brought us through hurricanes and hard times, and we continue to prosper.
And as our investments in education and economic development pay off in years to come, our children will gladly, proudly, inherit a legacy that balances the future with the needs of the moment and the cost of action versus inaction. They will grow up knowing that storms blow over but that the resolve of people in North Carolina remains bound to an ageless dedication to equality and responsibility.