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Gov. Easley's budget proposal
Share your thoughts on Gov. Mike Easley's $21.5 billion budget proposal. What parts of the budget stuck out for you? Any thoughts on his plans to raise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes?
Read the story and see the budget here.
I agree with the comments of
I agree with the comments of the not so silent majority of State Employees. Right now, Easley is looking for his legacy as governor on the state level (i.e. a continuation of the repressive Hunt years) and on a national level is only endorsing the Clintons in hopes that Hillary may appoint him to some position in her administration.The money is available to provide all state employees with at least a 4% pay increase as there is no budget shortfall and the state budget is prepared on a 2-year cycle. However, my main question is where has all the money gone from the lottery revenues that were supposed to help with education?
First, I am a registered
First, I am a registered republican and still I have to agree with the governor.Many people seem to forget back in the Hunt era ,how he left teachers and other state employees behind in raises for many years.Second ,if you had investigated the finer points of the lottery money you would have known that it was never intended,at least the bulk of it was not intended for teacher salaries.
Certainly not last, I am a teacher and have been for 22 years and I take great offense to most of you who are backhandedly insulting the job we do .Yes there are many other state employees who deserve a raise, but to hear others, (Basnight/Hackney) say it will not happen basicly because of an election year,well that is really stepping up to the plate to fix what is really broken.(No Child Left Behind),OVER TESTING,ETC.TAXING BOOZE AND CIGS.,not too bad!
The lottery is not what you think it is
People get a little confused about the lottery and fiscal policy. All of the lottery net proceeds do go to education. The lottery earns about 30% on the dollar. So when politicians say that the lottery contributes directly to education, they are in fact telling the truth.
Here is what they are not saying. The budget for education is not increased in proportion with the amount that the lottery contributes. In numbers: (Use $50 million as an example). The lottery contributes the $50 million to the education budget (let's say $250 million total). You would think that the total budget would increase to $300 million. No. The $250 from the other sources (taxes) is then reduced by $50 so that the net budget is still $250. This gives the government $50 in taxes to spend elsewhere. (the majority of states that have lotteries do this now. I think Georgia is the only one that doesn't)
So to sum it all up. They do not lie when they say that all of the money goes to education. They just don't tell you that they allocate the other part of the pool to something else.
I'd love to see an N&O investigative report.
Governor, General Assembly, State Employees, and Retirees
The retired state employee appears to overlook the many state employes, who are not on the teacher pay scale that work for the North Carolina schools. The pay situation splits the staff in the schools and leads to morale issues. It is so unfair that many teachers are supporting a raise for the state employees so the support staff at their school can get paid better.
The Retirement System would have more money for a raise for retirees, if the Governor had not diverted funding from it. Since retirees traditionally are granted raises based on excess in the plan, it would help if the General Assembly and Governor would see that interest is paid into the plan for the money withheld. Having the extra money in the plan might take a little drain off the budget, since the retirees could be paid totally from the plan as it was designed instead of taking money from the annual budget as has been done recently.
Easley cannot run for
Easley cannot run for Governor anymore, which is a good thing. I supposed he is getting in his last digs to state employees by only proposing 1.5% pay raise. I think this stinks, but this is what state workers have come to expect from Easley. He could care less about state employees, outside the teachers of course.
Gov. Easely's Budget Comes Home
Two of the main stories today were the Gov. Easely's budget proposal and the conitnued crisis in Wake County probation department. Are these two stories linked? Ask the parents of Eve Carson. The continued policy of going high for state employment requirements and paying low salaries is coming home. Today's college grads are asking why risk my life everyday with the most violent criminals on this planet to be the lowest paid staff at the Courthouse. It is easy to look down on folks when you make more than 5x their salary and are personally protected by cops. Drop the body guards, take a big cut in pay, hit the streets and then lets talk about how much you think you are worth!
Easley stinks
Once again, Easley sticks it to state employees. This SOB can't get out of office quick enough for me.
Maybe he wants to be a teacher
A 7% raise for teachers, and 1.5 for other state employees? What a joke! Glad to see him go--and if they think his endorsement of Hilary will get me to vote for him, think again! I am so sick of his pandering to the teacher's union, and giving teachers the big raises, when I haven't seen any improvements in the educational system. Yeah, I'm a state employee, and I am really tired of being at the bottom of the priority list--having endured years of low raises while the teachers get big hunks. I'm for raising the pay of the new teachers, but the rest need to pony up like the rest of us state employees.
Gov. Easley's budget
I am a retired State employee. Over the last several years, the Governor has been balancing the budget on the backs of the other state employees that are not in the school systems. We are the ones that get everyone to work and home with the good roads that we maintain. I think that it is a good idea to raise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, but the additional money needs to also go to other state employees as it is costing them just aa much to get to and from work as other state employees.
The retirees also need to have a larger increase than 1.2%, which is only a measly $12 on each $1,000 dollars. This just a kick in the face. The money for reitree raises does not come from the State but from the retirement account money, which is the second soundest retirement system in the nation.