Gov. Mike Easley gave a state of the union address of sorts last week when he addressed journalists gathered in Chapel Hill for a N.C. Press Association ceremony. Though Easley is not commander in chief of the nation’s military, like President Bush he finds himself in charge at a challenging time: during a full-scale recession.
Credit Easley with keeping up the push for crucial improvements, even in the face of financial difficulties. And he hasn’t done it alone.
“I measure success by whether we make progress,” Easley said. He judged it, he said, by whether his administration, the legislature and the citizenry could respond to adversity “and still not get knocked off our stride.”
Despite negative growth, according to Easley, the state is continuing its pursuit of better education for its children by reducing class size in kindergarten and launching a pre-kindergarten program.
“That’s real progress,” said Easley, a Democrat. “We didn’t get knocked off our stride. ... We did this while other states were cutting education 10 to 15 percent.”
The state also started a prescription drug plan for seniors and passed a patients bill of rights.
How?By increasing an array of taxes at a time when the federal government is cutting taxes and countless legislatures are sitting pat.
This move has divided people in some parts of the state. Notably, key business leaders have begun to question the dual roles served by Salisbury native Phil Kirk, a Republican who heads the state board of education (a political appointment), and who leads the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry (a paid position). The business leaders are beginning to second-guess Kirk because he backed the tax increase as a way to support education, when some businesses would have preferred no tax increase. Kirk has said that the tax package the the legislature agreed upon was preferable to a business income tax increase, and that some tax increase was inevitable.
It takes courage to stand up to pressure like this. It takes courage to make decisions that risk short-term criticism in favor of long-term progress.
Has North Carolina made the right investment in its future?Were Easley, Kirk and the hundreds of legislators who approved the tax increase and program expansions right?The citizens of North Carolina certainly hope so.
People committed to progress see this as an investment in the future. That certainly is Easley’s claim, and education and health advocates hope against hope that he’s right.
“Any state can make progress in good times,” Easley said.
Only a great state can do so during trying times. That requires great leadership.
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