Together NC Response to Governor’s Pledge Not to Raise Revenue

Together NC Response to Governor’s Pledge Not to Raise Revenue

RALEIGH (Dec. 17, 2010) -- Yesterday, Governor Perdue pledged that she would not extend the temporary tax package passed in 2009 or raise revenues to offset the anticipated $3.7 billion budget shortfall.

To explain her decision she said, “I’m going to make a lot of people unhappy, I’m sorry…you have to do some bad things, I guess—it’s that difficult.”

An apology won’t keep well-trained teachers in our classrooms. It won’t provide job training at our community colleges.  And it won’t maintain health coverage for sick kids who need to see a doctor.

North Carolinians aren’t looking for an apology; they’re looking for leadership that moves us forward. Just two days ago, speaking before the legislature at a budget briefing, the Governor stated that “the decisions we make will either keep us firmly on the path to continued recovery and global competitiveness, or else will shift us into reverse.  Backing up is not an option.”

Governor Perdue’s proposed cuts-only approach would shift North Carolina in reverse and move us away from prosperity and recovery.

Together NC, as a coalition or more than 115 non-profits, service providers and professional organizations, calls on the Governor to reconsider her vow to not raise any revenues in 2011 and stand up for North Carolina’s children, working families, and seniors, now and into the future.

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Together NC is a collection of more than 115 non-profit organizations, service providers, and professional associations who have come together to promote wise choices for shared prosperity for all North Carolinians.  For more information, visit www.togethernc.org

CONTACT: Together NC Coordinators--Louisa Warren, (919) 801-0465, louisa@ncjustice.org or Rob Thompson, (919) 649-2449, rob@nccovenant.org.