hurricane relief

Nobody knows when a hurricane or a recession will hit North Carolina, but everybody knows they will. State legislators kept spending in check and built up a $2 billion Savings…

State lawmakers are being asked to tap the rainy day fund to finance hurricane relief. They should look more closely at the details of the administration proposal. It provides large windfalls to businesses, farmers, homeowners, and others far beyond what is needed to alleviate immediate suffering and repair public infrastructure. A relief plan reflecting better priorities could be financed with budget savings, so the rainy day fund could be used to repay $240 million in illegal taxes.

As leaders of the N.C. General Assembly discuss the possibility of a special session in December, preliminary indications are that appropriate state spending for hurricane relief will be far lower than expected. The Hunt administration's emergency request for $1.8 billion from Congress was inflated and its assumptions unrealistic. For government infrastructure and aid to those without other access to relief, total cost will not exceed state funds already available for next year.