Gary Pearce posted on July 19, 2012 08:38
Given the fiscal cliff facing states, maybe it’s not a bad time for Democrats to let Republicans own Raleigh.
Speaker Thom Tillis says Republicans already “own” North Carolina’s economy. If Pat McCrory wins and they keep the House and Senate, they’ll have sole ownership of the state budget.
The State Budget Crisis Task Force, a nonprofit co-chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch, says states face long-term budget burdens that could cripple their ability to pay for basic services such as law enforcement, local schools and transportation.
The big fiscal threats are Medicaid spending growth, underfunded retirement promises, unreliable tax bases, the impact of federal spending cuts and local governments’ fiscal problems.
And McCrory promises to cut taxes.
If things go bad and people get mad, the Republicans will blame it all on what happened before they took over. But they’ll own it, just as they say President Obama owns it today regardless of what happened before January 2009.
Then, in two and four years, voters will decide how they like it.