“Governor cuts pay, calls for furloughs for state employees.” “[North Carolina governor] suggests sales tax increase.” “[North Carolina Governor] Signs Billion Dollar Tax Hike.” These Great Recession headlines from 2009 refer to the state under Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue and a Democratic-run General Assembly.
But firing teachers and raising the regressive sales tax that harms low-income families disproportionately are things progressives claim to despise.
How did the state get to that point?
A generation of irresponsible and reckless spending guaranteed the state was ill-prepared for the Great Recession (2007–09). During the thirty years prior, North Carolina’s state budget tripled in size, even after adjusting for inflation. Real expenditures grew at three times the pace of population.
When the recession hit, the government cut state employee pay and jobs and introduced new taxes costing taxpayers $1.1 billion to avoid budget shortfalls.
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