GOP: Perdue's cuts too kind

Republican leaders of the House and Senate on Thursday said Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget didn't cut deep enough.

Sen. Phil Berger, of Eden, and Rep. Paul Stam, of Apex, said Perdue avoided taking obvious cuts that would amount to at least enough to avoid raising taxes on cigarettes and beer, as Perdue proposed.

"There are some fairly easy savings to look at," Berger said, highlighting GOP proposals to cut spending that would further reduce school class sizes or to use computer software to avoid improper payments to Medicaid providers.

Stam said Perdue made "phantom" cuts that really didn't reduce money being spent, such as eliminating unused salary money, or didn't cut nearly as deeply as expected, given Perdue's warnings of pain. The Republican leaders suggested the state be prepared to reduce workers' hours, order furloughs or impose layoffs, as the private sector is doing.