<< Back 5/29/02 Easley’s spending plan shows a true lack of leadership SMN Blaming the current budget crisis entirely on Gov. Mike Easley would be just plain wrong. On the other hand, the first-term chief executive deserves a heaping helping of criticism for conjuring up a budget that relies on non-existent lottery revenues and for raiding those revenues before they’ve even hit the books. Easley inherited a mountain of fiscal woes, some the state could be blamed for and some beyond its control. We all know about the hurricane cleanup, the lawsuit over taxes taken from retirees, the rising cost of Medicaid and state health insurance, and the faltering economy. Take those woes, add them to some of the new state spending, and we’ve built a shortfall that some expect to surpass the $2 billion range. It’s a mountain of spending and a trickle of revenue. All that’s not Easley’s fault. But the top leader in this state last year failed to take the budget shortfall seriously enough. He started his own programs — like the “More at Four” pre-school initiative — that are needed but that we simply could not afford at that time. A year or two delay to put the program on solid footing would have been wise. So the state is looking for ways to stem the flow of red ink. Easley produced a balanced budget, but only part of it is the product of reasonable and sound fiscal decision- making. In that portion, Easley has frozen salaries, transferred money from the Highway Trust Fund, frozen state salaries, lowered teacher raises, and taken money from human service programs like Smart Start. Agree or disagree with that agenda, but these are tough times. Drastic measures are needed. Irresponsible, though, is the governor’s plan to keep the $334 million in reimbursements due local governments. Worse, he includes $250 million in lottery revenues to balance his spending plan. Counting on the lottery money is simply a shirking of responsibility , and the governor knows it. If a lottery bill makes it out of the General Assembly — which many think is doubtful —it would have to be voted on in the November general election. If it passed, it would take months to organize the game and get revenue coming in. Easley’s budget neatly avoids the whole moral issue that goes with a lottery vote. Getting the state involved in gambling is a serious undertaking that should not be ignored merely because so many other states have started one. Even worse is how the governor would use the lottery revenues. Easley proposes using a portion of the money to pay the costs for enrollment increases at our universities and for teacher bonuses. Whoa! For years lottery proponents — including Easley — have promised that revenues will be used for extra education spending, not for recurring operating expenses. Now, before it has even gotten into a legislative committee, the governor is raiding the lottery money. That’s a disturbing sign. Citizens in this state can argue until they are blue in the face about whether the state has a revenue problem or a spending problem. One problem, though, is indisputable: Gov. Easley has not developed a good blueprint for solving our fiscal woes. So far this year, he’s getting a D – in leadership.