Home > Uncategorized > State budget will leave 30,000 without jobs, BTC analysts say

State budget will leave 30,000 without jobs, BTC analysts say

Post on June 13, 2011 by 6 Comments »

The state budget could move 30,000 North Carolinians to unemployment lines over the next two years.

The N.C. Budget and Tax Center, a Raleigh-based non-partisan research group, released the 30,000 job loss figure today in a report about the future effects the $19.7 billion budget passed by the GOP-controlled legislature would have on the state’s economy.

To read the report, and look at how the analysis was conducted, click here. (Full disclosure: The N.C. Budget and Tax Center, like N.C. Policy Watch, is housed under the N.C. Justice Center, a non-partisan advocacy group for low-income North Carolinians.)

The BTC figure includes a total of 44,576 job losses over the next two years, and the creation of 14,793 new jobs from the budget’s proposed tax package, which combines a lowered corporate income tax rate with the expiration of a one-cent temporary sales tax. The takeaway? 29,782 jobs lost over the next two years.

Job losses will be felt most acutely by middle-class worker, with the average salary of a lost job at $40,438, according to the BTC report.

The BTC estimate comes the day after N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, vetoed the budget passed by the GOP-led state legislature. The legislature can move to override Perdue’s veto as early as tomorrow, and GOP leaders have been confident that five House Democrats who voted for the budget will join them in an override of Perdue’s veto.

The BTC report is the first comprehensive attempt to look at what will happen in the state if thousands of state government positions are eliminated. A UNC study conducted earlier this spring at the behest of legislative leaders showed that up to 20,000 jobs would be created in the private sector by scaling back the state’s corporate income and sales taxes. But the UNC study didn’t look at what job losses in state government-funded positions would mean in North Carolina communities. (To see a previous Progressive Pulse post about the UNC study, click here.)

The BTC report used the similar methods as the UNC study, but expanded to look at the job losses as well as job creation.

Update: A previous version had a broken hyperlink for the BTC study. It should be working now.

 

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Comments (Closed):6

  1. frances
    June 13, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    Okay, would you please line up the budget for the General Assembly and the budget for Governor so the public can see the differences, dollar for dollar.

  2. Sarah Ovaska
    June 13, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    Frances, the N&O’s Lynn Bonner had a good break-down in her story today. Look at the graphic to the right of the story. (http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/13/1269923/perdue-vetoes-the-budget-gop-set.html).

  3. Bill
    June 13, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    That’s OK, with all of 99ers out there who have used up all our benefits there will be room in the unemployment lines!

  4. Marvin E. Rouse
    June 13, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    As my letter to the editor of the Fayetteville Observer asserts; the majority of jobs lost will ones held by women. My letter makes clear that the majority of laws passed this session are aimed at curtailing the rights of women. Woman regardless of race/party should take a long look at the things that the Repugs have passed.

  5. frances
    June 14, 2011 at 6:51 am

    I read the comparison and I was shocked at the lack of differences. Perdue is using this to her advantage and it has nothing to do with helping the children. Shame on the press for falling for her politics.

  6. Doug Gibson
    June 14, 2011 at 7:51 am

    Well, Perdue funds Smart Start at 95% of the base budget. The senate funds it at 80%. That’s a pretty significant difference.

    Also, Democrats are up in arms over the entire $580 million in cuts—relative to Perdue’s proposal— spread throughout the entire budget. The Senate wisely decided to match Perdue’s K-12 education spending to the extent they could, figuring that the voters Republicans depend on wouldn’t care nearly as much about cuts to Medicaid and environmental protection.

    Listen to the Republican talking points, and you’ll hear how carefully they chose their position. “No difference in K-12 funding. No difference in K-12 funding. No difference in K-12 funding.” It’s like there’s nothing else in the budget. Pre-K and post-secondary education got slashed – even relative to Perdue’s proposal – and other vital services took a beating as well. But Republicans don’t want to talk about that; nor, apparently, does the press.

    Finally, I’m not clear why the discussion needs to be limited to Perdue budget vs. NCGA budget. Check out Policy Watch’s great “Devil in the Details” series about the House budget. Many of those screwed-up priorities remain in the Senate budget, and many, of course, appeared in Perdue’s budget. Nevertheless, if you thought Perdue’s budget was bad, the NCGA budget is inarguably worse. Why not applaud a veto of the greater of two evils?