Budget cuts unfair
Published September 15, 2017
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, September 15, 2017.
Politics is politics, but the budget cuts made by the Republican-led state legislature to Democratic-run state offices is not good government, nor is it good for the citizens of North Carolina. The state budget has increased spending for some Republican-led departments, but it’s significant and disappointing that the budget has been cut for the operations of the governor and the attorney general, as Gary D. Robertson of The Associated Press reported recently.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget was cut by almost $1 million. Many functions of the governor’s office should have little to do with partisan politics. The governor will host dignitaries from other states or countries. He will try to attract new businesses and industries. He will attend public events as the duly-elected representative of the state. If he can’t do so effectively, it won’t just affect his office, it’ll affect the whole state.
The cuts to Cooper’s office were “punishment for him being a Democrat — and winning” last November, Rep. Mickey Michaux of Durham, the top budget-writer when Democrats led the House, told the AP.
But even as he promotes a Democratic agenda, it’s not proper for the Republican legislature to cut his budget simply because he’s a Democrat. He was elected by the people and deserves all the resources that were afforded his predecessor, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.
The legislature also cut $10 million from Attorney General Josh Stein’s budget. Stein wasn’t able to be as flexible as Cooper and had to lay off more than 40 lawyers and staff, the AP reported. These were lawyers who work on behalf of the residents of the state, who prosecute criminals. Cutting the AG’s budget makes the state less safe.
One good way to make an administration less effective is to cut its resources. That’s also a great way to seed the ground for later claims that the administration wasn’t as effective as it should have been.
If the Cooper administration succeeds or fails, it should do so on its own merits — not as the result of Republican budget games.
