North Carolina House and Senate spending plans released last week show that the big problems facing the state won’t be solved without asking wealthy, profitable corporations to pay taxes.
Lower income tax rates paid by the wealthy and profitable corporations means billions of dollars less for people to spend on current priorities. By maintaining income tax cuts and implementing plans to completely repeal corporate taxes without considering the rising costs we all face, our elected leaders are choosing to ignore the fact that public dollars could make our lives better.
Ensuring child care facilities are paid and can stay open, paying teachers and school staff competitive salaries, cleaning our air and water to reduce public health issues, and ensuring everyone who needs health care can get it are all priorities that people across the state want to see addressed. In a recent opinion pollNorth Carolinians rejected the income tax cuts pushed by legislative leaders in favor of allocating funding that puts people and communities first.
It is unfortunate that the public only got to see the spending plan last week at the last minute, which was the result of closed-door negotiations among some lawmakers and should have been made public from the start.
Not surprisingly, these budget proposals fall short of current needs, and even more worrying, disagreements among a small number of lawmakers may prevent a final budget from being passed by the fiscal year's deadline of June 30.
The lack of public input and transparency in the budget process is alarming, but it also demonstrates the unlimited power a small number of legislative leaders have over public funds each year.
The budget that emerges from this isolated process will inevitably be out of touch with the realities of everyday North Carolinians and will fail to fund a better future for all of us.
There are several examples where these proposals fell short. The House budget uses federal funds and reserves for small, one-time payments for child care needs that fall short of what both agency officials and child care advocates have called for. Rather than addressing a looming child care crisis that severely impacts North Carolina families and businesses, legislative leaders are proposing to redirect more state funding toward private school vouchers that primarily benefit wealthy families.
Meanwhile, the state's constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic public education to every child goes unfunded, and needed pay raises are not being given to teachers, civil servants, and other public employees.
But the proposed budget isn't the only policy development of concern in Raleigh recently. The state Senate is seeking to amend the state constitution to cap state income taxes at 5 percent, an unnecessary, undemocratic and costly move that would primarily benefit high-income earners and highly profitable corporations. With an income tax cap, instead of asking a wealthy few to pay off debt, lawmakers would likely make up for lost revenue with fees, sales taxes, expanded gambling and cuts to public services, resulting in a higher burden for the vast majority of North Carolinians.
We should all be clear that this is a political ploy that does nothing to ensure that public dollars are spent wisely, that our tax system is fair, or that the majority of North Carolinians pay low total taxes. It makes it much more difficult for future voters to have a say in how tax policy aligns with their priorities.
We can build a thriving economy for all when North Carolina's leaders start requiring a few wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to pay taxes so they can invest in our people. These critical investments help our communities provide the well-being that all our citizens deserve.
We need bolder, more responsive leadership who are willing to implement a budgeting process that reflects the priorities of the people. North Carolina can thrive, but it will require a commitment to transparency and a focus on the needs of all our residents, not just the privileged few.