To build a brighter shared future, getting accurate information is important. Here are three facts – supported by careful research -- about North Carolina’s budget shortfall.

Spending isn’t the problem. The reality is that spending per person is actually down from nine years. This is a fiscally conservative state, and we don’t go on spending sprees. There’s very little fat to be trimmed from vital state programs and services, but we can still make wiser, cost-saving budget choices.

We can’t cut our way to prosperity. Cutting alone is not only an insufficient solution to balancing our budget, but it would also jeopardize our past investments and future prosperity. The balanced way to address our current fiscal crisis is to make wise spending choices, while at the same time modernizing our antiquated revenue system.
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Reforming revenue is a fundamental requirement. The root of North Carolina’s fiscal troubles lies in how it collects revenue. The state’s antiquated, inefficient, and volatile revenue system plays a huge role in the current crisis. It is at least as much to blame for the state’s money troubles as the recession.