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 Perdue’s First Major Challenge
by Tom Campbell
February 19, 2009
Governor Beverly Perdue’s first month in office has been impressive. She has demonstrated she is anything but “status-quo Bev” in attacking the state’s budget problems, in taking positive action to fix the public school governance issue and in putting what most believe is a good team in place to administer state government.
Now comes the governing. The federal stimulus package did not provide the budget relief the Governor anticipated, so tough choices must be made in either cutting programs and jobs or raising taxes, or both. She has told us she doesn’t mind making the tough decisions and has pledged to be bold in cutting waste in state government.
Greensboro’s Representative Pricey Harrison and Jacksonville’s Representative George Cleveland have provided Governor Perdue the first big chance to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Harrison and Cleveland have introduced legislation that would rescind the provision granting of in-state tuition rates for out-of-state athletes at our state-supported universities. The provision was slipped into the state budget several years ago primarily at the insistence of Citizens for Higher Education, a PAC consisting largely of influential UNC Chapel Hill supporters and athletic boosters. This last minute provision in the state budget is now costing the taxpayers of North Carolina 11 million dollars a year, not including the amounts we spend for special tutoring needed by these athletes in order to pass their coursework.
Here’s Perdue’s test. Does she have the courage to stand up to big-time college sports and high-dollar contributors to political campaigns? Democracy North Carolina reports that Citizens for Higher Education has pumped almost one million dollars into candidates running for office over the past few years, including contributions to many legislators and statewide candidates. More importantly, is the Governor willing to stand up to the Senate leadership that slipped those provisions into the budget?
Governor Perdue needs to decide which team she is on in this contest and we shouldn’t allow her to take a pass on this issue. This obscene giveaway was wrong when it was surreptitiously enacted but it borders on criminal now that our state faces potential employee layoffs, reductions in help to children without health insurance, cutbacks in education and other program cuts. Governor Perdue can use her bully pulpit to declare an end to favors, tax breaks, exemptions and exceptions to special interests while standing for good government.
An 11 million dollar savings may not be much in a 21 billion dollar budget, but it is a highly-visible and symbolic place to start. And it should be only a beginning. If the Governor, her advisors or legislators need help there are many who would gladly make recommendations for other places to look for savings.
We will be eager to see how well our Governor meets this first major challenge. |
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