How to Aid Economy During Coronavirus: Pass the Budget | Eastern North Carolina Now

On Tuesday, March 10, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency for the state of North Carolina.

ENCNow
Publisher's note: The author of this post is Brenee Goforth for the John Locke Foundation.

    On Tuesday, March 10, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency for the state of North Carolina. At the time, there had been seven confirmed instances of the Coronavirus. As of the time of this writing, there are fourteen presumed cases in the state.

    Declaring a state of emergency has made North Carolina eligible for at least $13.8 million in federal funding to deal with the outbreak; however, the Carteret County News-Times offered another way to financially aid the state during the outbreak: pass the budget.

    In an editorial published Wednesday, the News-Times shares why North Carolina should pass the budget during this time:

  • The governor needs to focus on cushioning the state from the impending economic impacts resulting from declining investment and business activity during the COVID-19 epidemic.
  • The solution is simple - the governor needs only to remove his veto of the state budget and allow the state's coffers to open up for needed community and educational services.

    The story then brings up the reporting of Carolina Journal's Julie Havlak to emphasize what the state is missing when it lingers without a new budget:

  • Julie Havlak reported in the John Locke Foundation's Carolina Journal that professors in the state's community colleges earn less than K-12 teachers in the state's public schools. This pay inequity is creating concerns in the administration of the college system and is resulting in unfilled teaching positions.
  • ...But the economic barriers posed by the governor's veto don't stop with salaries. There are hundreds of millions of dollars of capital funding for school construction that are frozen as well by the governor's veto.
  • According to N.C. Senator Norman Sanderson (R), Minnesott Beach, because of the governor's veto $52 million has been denied to his 2nd senatorial district alone. Among the funds bottled up for his three-county district are $36 million in capital funding for K-12 schools and $10.2 million for capital improvements for Carteret, Craven and Pamlico community colleges.

    The editorial concludes:

  • The removal of the veto will go a long way in helping the state weather the financial storm resulting from the COVID-19 virus epidemic and in the process, position the state to take advantage of the economic rebound that will surely occur once the epidemic is past. This is not the time to play politics; the governor must release the state budget so action can begin immediately.

    Read the full story HERE. Read Julie Havlak's story on community colleges HERE, and find out where the $13.8 million in new federal funds is positioned to go HERE.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




D.C. Deals and the Coronavirus John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Another Cruel Coronavirus Slap for Greensboro


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

The existing School Board should vote to put this project on hold until new Board is seated
At least one person was shot and killed during an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday at a political rally in Pennsylvania in which the suspected gunman was also “neutralized,” according to the U.S. Secret Service.
As everyone now knows, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to grant presidents immunity for "official acts" has given Donald Trump unlimited power to do literally anything he wants with zero consequences whatsoever.
President Joe Biden formally rejected on Monday a bill in Congress that would require individuals to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in elections for federal office.
Watch and be sensitive to the events which will possibly unfold in the coming days.

HbAD1

illegal alien "asylum seeker" migrants are a crime wave on both sides of the Atlantic
majority of board member are rubberstamps for liberal superintendant
like the old Soviet Union, Biden put DEI political officers in the military
ssick perverts running Deere sponsored homosexual event for 3 year olds

HbAD2

 
Back to Top