As a state employee, I am offended that this gov. is more concerned with the teacher assistants than any other state employee. She is more concerned about 1/2 of 1% than any other state employee on the chopping block.
"Not only our schools and our universities and our community colleges are damaged, but also our communities, our environment, our public safety system and our ability to care for those who need us most," Perdue said. This is one of the statements she made which leads me to believe she cares more about other state employees than you are giving her credit for. What I feel she is trying to emphasize is the more that the education of our children suffers, the more the future of our state and country has to lose. Money is not going to solve all of the problems with our educational system, but a lack of proper funding will further damage it. We are not just talking about losing teacher's assistants. Many teachers and other school staff will lose their jobs as well. Education touches every single North Carolinian and American in a lasting, generational way. Ask people why third-world countries remain third-world, and many will tell you it's because of the lack of education. It doesn't matter if their roads are paved or if their public buildings are properly landscaped. The people have to be properly educated to better their country. That's my honest opinion.
If she bothered to say that I missed it, but it is clear that everyone, other than teachers, are not here concern. The education system is producing un-educated achievers these days. Perhaps the thing to do is clear the slate and rebuild the system. What we have now is doomed to go nowhere.
I worked for the state for over 30 years and I can tell you that no governor since 1980 has given a damn about the "other" state employees. With the Dems in the legislature, the focus has been on "The" state employees (teachers). I endured 26 years of the Democrats throwing money at education and balancing the budget on the backs of the "others". Don't expect any gifts from the Republicans either.
Actually the GOP budget that she vetoed cuts less state employee jobs in non-education fields than the Governor's proposed budget did. Since non-education jobs have been cut and cut for the last few years, that actually makes sense. When you have a deficit, and no mandate to raise taxes, you have to cut the budget and when education makes up over 60% of the budget, you have to look there. Plus for the first time in over 10 years, the GOP budget fully funds the state pension plan. The veto is hardly courageous as some have claimed in other forums. It is party politics, plain and simple. The courageous ones are the 5 Democratic House members who are saying that they plan to override the veto. They are the ones crossing party lines and doing what they think is actually better for the state instead of marching lockstep with partisan politics. As far as being historic, is more predictable than historic. For the first time since the Governor's office in NC got the veto, we have a General Assembly controlled by a different party than the Governor. Partisan politics, nothing more.
Dems have been running this joint since the earth cooled and yet we historically rank among the lowest states in education. I find it hilarious that The Joker and Co. can say they are concerned with education. Like everything else with Dems, they think they can fix everything with more money.
