Being on the safe side: State treasurer right to push for conservative measures

The new state treasurer, Dale Folwell, is recommending that state government start setting aside money each year to cover the future cost of state employees' health care and to ensure that pensioners are paid at the levels they have been promised for years to come.

North Carolina is traditionally one of the country's most conservative states, financially speaking, and there is currently no problem with the state retirement system, which is one of the most solid in the nation.

But Folwell is looking down the road, and he says that preparing for payments that will need to be made in the future needs to start now.

Lawmakers should heed his warning.

We are old-fashioned in our thinking and believe in conserving assets in order to make sure there is plenty of money to cover the cost of health care and retirees' pensions. Some other states are beginning to have problems in these areas, and Folwell doesn't want North Carolina to become one of them. He says the state can become a national leader in fiscal policy. We like the sound of that. Putting money away for a rainy day is always the right thing to do when you can.

Published in Editorials on February 3, 2017 9:37 AM