Uuuugh ... taxes: Predictable tax increases, but at least some cuts

One of the always amazing parts of any budget discussion in a state is how "easily" cuts are made when the bottom line is red instead of black.

It kind of makes you wonder why we were spending so much money before -- and if we had been a little more frugal with staffing -- could the whole shortfall thing have been avoided in the first place?

So, the news that cuts figure prominently in the 2009-10 North Carolina budget proposal is good news.

At least Gov. Bev Perdue is thinking like someone who has to balance a budget and not pandering to state employees' unions.

And perhaps the proposed taxes -- although really probably not that great a revenue enhancement -- will actually be a bit of a blessing in disguise.

At least we are not looking at some massive tax hike somewhere else.

But in the end, what North Carolina needs to learn from this latest bout with the budget pen is that saving money when times are good is preferable to watching it all slip away. Being penny-wise might have saved a lot of heartache.

But keep your eye on the tax increase machine.

You never know where it might stop next.

Published in Editorials on March 18, 2009 12:58 PM