Tag: Phil Berger

Covenant with NC’s Children responds to budget proposal

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May 20, 2013 at 3:37 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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The good people at the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children just released this statement on the Berger budget plan:

Senate budget short-changes NC’s children
Budget would cut funding for early education and K-12 schools and remove cap on class size

RALEIGH – Late Sunday night, Senate budget writers released their 2014-15 budget proposal, which includes deep cuts to education, early care and infant mortality prevention.

“This budget continues the ongoing deterioration of our public school system,” stated Rob Thompson, Executive Director of the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children. “If the Senate is serious about improving student outcomes, then underfunding schools and removing the cap on class size are the last things it should do.”

In addition to deep cuts in K-12 education, the Senate budget appears to cut the Smart Start early education program by 42%.[1] Read More…

Senate leader’s budget “process” flies in the face of his own past complaints

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May 20, 2013 at 11:24 amCategory:Uncategorized

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The leaders of the North Carolina Senate announced their plan to pass a state budget bill this week. Note that I didn’t say a plan to “debate” the budget bill or “gather input” on the budget bill, “hold hearings” on the budget bill or, God forbid, “listen to the public” on the budget bill.

No, what the Senate announced was that the largest, most important bill of the year will be voted on four days after it was first seen late last night. And public input? To paraphrase the Senate leaders: “We don’t need stinkin’ public input!”

Mind you, this is a 413 page bill that deals with myriad topics. It is incredibly complicated and important to our state’s future. And how was it put together? Well no one knows; it was all done in secret.

What we do know is that it will be quickly reviewed in subcommittees this afternoon, passed by the full Appropriations Committee tomorrow and then passed by the full Senate on Wednesday and Thursday. Democrats will probably get to run a few amendments that will either be voted down on party-line votes or ruled out of order.

How’s that for democracy in action? As with so many areas, the folks running the legislature who used to complain mightily when they were in the minority, have now taken secrecy and lack of process to new levels that would have made their predecessors blush. 

Here’s current Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger complaining back in 2008 about Democrats limiting debate on the budget: Read More…

The greatest tax shift in North Carolina history

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May 10, 2013 at 4:10 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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An article in today’s News & Observer by John Frank focuses on the vague tax plan presented by Senator Phil Berger earlier this week. Preliminary projections by the Fiscal Research Division indicate that the majority of taxpayers would see a tax increase once the plan is fully implemented, reports Frank. Accordingly, Berger’s claim that his tax plan would represent the biggest tax cut in North Carolina’s history would instead represent the greatest tax shift in the state’s history, raising the tax load on middle and low income North Carolinians while providing the highest income North Carolinians with a tax cut. Read More…

Berger’s Louisiana tax plan

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May 7, 2013 at 2:21 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Bobby JindalMaybe it’s no coincidence that Senator Phil Berger’s new plan to cut taxes at the top, reduce public services and raise taxes on the working poor appears to have a lot in common with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s failed tax plan. It turns out the new and schnazzy website Berger unveiled today was produced by a conservative Louisiana ad firm – Innovative Advertising LLC.

As you can see by clicking here, the website domain www.nctaxcut.com is registered to: Read More…

The Berger plan: Slash services; shift taxes to the middle class and poor

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May 7, 2013 at 10:07 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Phil BergerThe experts at the N.C. Budget and Tax Center will be out with more detailed analyses in the hours and days to come, but here are some preliminary takes on state Senate President Phil Berger’s big tax plan announcement/opening salvo in his race for the 2014 GOP U.S. Senate nomination:

#1 – Same ol’, same ol’ – This is what we had to wait more than four months for? After all the delays and big promises, all Berger and his aides could come up with was a plan to slash the state’s most progressive taxes (i.e. the personal income tax, the  corporate income tax and the inheritance tax) and raise more money from the tax that hits poor and middle class people the hardest — the sales tax. Oh, and since the plan won’t bring in the revenue necessary to keep government going at its already underfunded levels, the plan also contemplates lots more spending cuts to essential services. No wonder these guys are championing bills to raise class sizes and cut pre-K!

#2 – Perverting a good idea – Read More…