Gov. Beverly Perdue presented a $21 billion budget proposal Tuesday that whacks more than 1,000 jobs from state government and slices $360 million from overall state spending.
Spending will be slashed across every single category of state spending, Mark Johnson and Ben Niolet report.
The state Department of Correction was hit particularly hard with a loss of 527 jobs and a budget reduced by $68 million. Universities will lose $167 million and 73 jobs.
Perdue is proposing raising a tax on cigarettes by $1 a pack. Other tobacco products would see a tax increase. The increases, which would take effect in September would raise $350 million in new revenue.
A new 5 percent alcohol tax would generate $158 million. Perdue is also proposing increasing the annual license fee on professionals from $50 to $200. The increase would generate $27 million, according to her budget proposal.
Perdue, a Democrat in her first year as governor, told education leaders Monday that the budget would focus on education and jobs at the expense of others.
Blog RSS feed
Re: Perdue proposes $21b budget
Start at the top, 5% decrease in salary for Perdue, 5-10% decrease in all state government jobs above the $90,000 mark. Do away with the extra fringes given to the government officials, I have to pay for my own gas going to work and bring my lunch, why should they get reimbursed for these same items. Perdue wants and open book policy on government spending, let all state officials disclose every dollar spent and what it was used for that they will be reimbursed for. Let those same officials they make the rules of cut backs and no raise live in our shoes for a while. Increase of spending for schools by giving someone a job that was already filled and being paid for by the budjet, come on. Now we have two people doing one job and they are both being paid big bucks. Not my kind of cut. Cuts of state workers pay by increasing insurance preimums, and giving us time off without pay-- what do they want next, possible working one day a week without pay. For the last 5 years, everytime state employees received a pay raise, they have increased the insurance also, either with preimums, co-pay, medication etc.
A $1.00 increase in a pack of cigarettes, why not also a $1.00 increase in a can or bottle of beer, $1.00 in a bottle of wine -- with the ABC (or government) controlling those items, they could not withstand the pressure that would be applied.