Prioritizing Spending

During the budget negotiations this summer, John Hood surprised some folks – including the the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) when he wrote that state employees had been poorly treated in recent years and therefore deserve a substantial pay raise. Hood went on to explain that the state needs a certain amount of talented people with expertise, and who perform well and are motivated to stay. Hood’s argument was featured in the October issue of The Reporter, SEANC’s monthly newspaper. Meantime, The Charlotte World published Paul Chesser’s CJ Exclusive about the September report issued by The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste. The report designated Representatives Howard Coble and Sue Myrick as “taxpayer heroes” for their voting records against wasteful spending and for tax cuts. Ranked as “hostile” to taxpayers were Representatives Bob Etheridge, David Price, Brad Miller and Mel Watt. Senators were also rated. Back in North Carolina, Chad Adams headed to Mitchell County this week for a speech to citizens about local property taxes and property rights in light of the recent anti-property rights U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo vs. City of New London. JLF analyst Daren Bakst recently released a Spotlight paper calling for a state constitutional amendment to prevent future North Carolina legislatures from giving localities the expanded power of seizing private property and giving it to another private entity for redevelopment.