|
Here
is the letter to NCCBI from the Senate Republican Caucus:
July 11,
2001
Dear Phil and Leslie:
Your recent letter to the Members of the General Assembly
explaining the decision of NCCBI’s Executive Committee to
recommend new taxes came as a huge disappointment.
You described a call for an $800 million tax increase as
“courageous.” We suggest the real courage would be to cut
wasteful government spending. We do not have a revenue
problem, we have a spending problem. State government
collected $400 million more this year than last year, and next
year we will have $640 million more than this year.
It is true that North Carolina’s population increased by
“one million new citizens in the last decade,” but as
state population increased 21 percent, state spending
skyrocketed 113 percent – from $6.9 billion in 1991 to
almost $15 million. Since we are presently experiencing an
economic slowdown, it is not “courageous” to take more
from hard working families. This huge tax increase will have a
negative impact on businesses and jobs in North Carolina.
As you know, Republican Senators supported the University and
Community College bond package last year. NCCBI should
remember that support among many North Carolinians for the
bond package was conditional upon there being no need for new
taxes. You made that promise to the people.
We feel you have an obligation to your members to print our
letter. The Senate Republican Caucus is united in our
opposition to your call for this major new tax increase.”
Here is the
July 6 letter
from Moody’s Investors Service
to State Treasurer Richard Moore:
Dear Mr. Moore:
Thank you for the recent update on the status of budget
deliberations. As we discussed, once a biennial budget is in
place, we would like the opportunity to meet with you and
other appropriate state officials to discuss the state’s
credit condition. As you know, we have concerns as to whether
North Carolina continues to meet the standards of a AAA-rated
state. We would like to discuss these concerns and the extent
to which the adopted budget either addresses or exacerbates
these issues.
The attached Moody’s report on the State of North Carolina
outlines our view of the state’s credit standing. However,
recent economic and fiscal events have created a new round of
budgetary stress and challenges. Moody’s now has concerns
that reductions in the level of state reserves, decline in the
state’s audited GAAP year end fund balances, and the
slowness to restore long-term structural budget balance after
a series of adverse financial events have established negative
state credit trends. These trends reduce the financial
flexibility of the state to address additional unanticipated
adverse events should the economy weaken or recovery be
delayed.
We appreciate the complexity of the issues you are currently
facing as you seek to adopt a balanced budget in the face of
rising costs for Medicaid and health care, while the state’s
economy continues to experience weakness relative to the
robust growth of recent years.
Sincerely,
Renee
Boincourt
Managing Director
State, High Profile and Infrastructure Ratings
Return to Page One
|
