You’ll be seeing a lot in the news about the current state budget – but there’s only one place you’ll see the whole story: our updated public policy guide “Unlocking the State Budget 1985-2015.”
To really understand what North Carolina’s state government spends and why, check out “Unlocking the State Budget” for the whole 30-year story of intrigue, deception, corruption, boundless optimism and money. Want high-stakes drama? At $20 billion a year, the stakes don’t get much higher.
And looking at what has happened is a real eye-opener, as this policy guide reveals that over three decades:
➤ Spending has increased nearly 400 percent
➤ Tax revenues have increased by roughly 400 percent
➤ Per capita state debt has risen by about 700 percent
These numbers, however, only tell part of the tale. It is the budget process – the politics of how certain priorities and programs get funded over others – that is the full story. With that point in mind, the current guide not only provides a detailed analysis of spending and taxation trends in North Carolina, but also a year-by-year narrative that identifies the people responsible for making these decisions.
Coming soon: updated policy guides on transportation, education and healthcare. Keep an eye on nccivitas.org and other Civitas media for more news about them.
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