The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina said the jobless rate hit 10.1 percent in July – an increase from 9.9 percent in June.

The ESC said while the private sector gained 6,900 jobs, state government jobs decreased by 300 and local government jobs decreased by 11,800. Employment data indicates that a majority of the local government jobs were in education, including teachers.

“Job growth in North Carolina’s private sector was offset by declines in both state and local government employment,” said ESC Chairman Lynn R. Holmes in a statement.

The rate also increased in June as community colleges, universities and other state government employers cut 7,600 workers that month.

The nearly $20 billion state budget took effect in July, and the spending plan included planned layoffs throughout state government.

6/15/11

Thank you all for coming to our going away party! Today, we’re bidding farewell to something we all love: good old North Carolina.

You see, the budget passed last night – at midnight, after most of our neighbors had gone to bed. And this budget isn’t just any budget. It sends our old friend, the North Carolina that was, into retirement.

We had some great times with you, North Carolina, and we’re here to celebrate them. For decades, we had a tradition of investing in people. We created jobs. We educated kids. Remember that? Those were good times.

And like with any good party, we should celebrate those good times as we look back!

Remember when our award-winning early childhood programs won national recognition? Remember how they helped close the achievement gap, and gave kids the tools to succeed in school? … Even though those programs have been gutted – we’ll always have those memories.

Or how about our world-class public universities? Remember how we built those together by investing for the state’s future? How they became the envy of other states? That was great.

And now, thanks to last night’s midnight vote, they’ve been cut 15%. That way, our memories can remain in the past, where we can safely idealize them.

There are those among us who would call the events of last night “cowardly.” Maybe even “shameful.”

I take a different perspective. All things come to an end – or, if you prefer, “retirement.” Besides, now we can look back on all those fond memories with you, North Carolina.

So relax! Have some lemonade, and we’ll have cake later. For now, enjoy our party favors. They’re pink slips. You might have one of these already. And if you’re feeling left out because you don’t have one, hey, with this budget, you probably will soon.

Before we cut the cake for good Old North Carolina, Rob Thompson from Together NC has a few words he’d like to say.

APOLOGY

When someone retires, it’s time to put old grudges to rest. And we’ve had a few of those, haven’t we, North Carolina?

I’m not talking about internal squabbles. Every so often, we’d get into it with that … other Carolina. I remember it like it was just this year.

Now, we don’t want to get into a he-said, she-said about “who made a video mocking who,” or “which state’s residents angrily called who for a solid month.”

But one of the reasons Together NC made our video gently poking fun at our neighbors to the south was our pride in North Carolina’s public investments. We figured that there was no way we’d ever spend less on education per student than South Carolina would!

If Old North Carolina were sticking around, we’d never have slipped below Mississippi and South Carolina in education funding. But we’re bidding Old North Carolina bon voyage today. It won’t be the same without you, old buddy.

So since we were wrong, and our lawmakers actually did let North Carolina slip below South Carolina in school funding, we’d like to say we’re sorry.

We’re sending this letter to South Carolina today.

We hope they accept our humblest apologies. I’m sure both states cherish the fact that we’re now closer to each other – at least in education funding – than ever before.

CUT THE CAKE

Now that we have the reconciliation out of the way, it’s time to cut the cake.

This is a farewell party, but it’s also a time of congratulations. We’re here to congratulate North Carolina on decades of achievement.

And as Old North Carolina goes off into the sunset, the new North Carolina – the one caused by this budget – already has at least one achievement of its own.

As you can see from the cake, we’re now 49^th out of 50 states in education funding. It’s hard to make that happen overnight! Not every legislature could have done that. But ours did.

Enjoy the cake, everyone. Don’t forget to sign the farewell card to such vital public investments as education, natural resources, and health systems.

Oh, and that reminds me: don’t eat too much cake: we hear the new North Carolina isn’t thrilled about paying for catastrophic health care, either.

May 31, 2011

Dear Governor Perdue,

We write to you now to express our deep concern with the pending compromise state budget proposal in the legislature. The joint House and Senate budget would abandon North Carolina’s traditional commitment to education, economic growth and innovation in favor of an inflexible and ideological approach to managing our state’s resources.

While legislative leaders have reportedly restored some funding to K-12 education, let us be clear: the budget as proposed will still cost thousands of public school personnel their jobs and is far from a laudable and forward-thinking investment in education.  Millions of dollars cut from one of our most critical public structures is nothing to stand up for.

Moreover, the legislative budget still:
•    Undermines our system of early childhood education that is copied around the nation;
•    Cuts billions out of essential health care programs such as Medicaid, does significant damage to mental health services, and hampers the progress made towards reducing obesity and smoking by eliminating the Health & Wellness Trust Fund;
•    Dramatically reduces the affordability and quality of our stellar public universities and community colleges that are the envy of states around us and essential to ensuring that we are globally competitive;
•    Slashes millions out of our public safety institutions and community-based programs, and restricts access to the courts through regressive fees;
•    Threatens our natural places and basic infrastructure such as roads, rail, water, and sewer by nearly eliminating the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, dismantling DENR, and limiting environmental regulations to minimal federal requirements.

The compromise budget put forward by the legislature is nothing to be proud of.

What’s most frustrating is that all of these cuts would be mitigated, if not completely restored, if legislators chose the simple solution: maintaining our current tax rates.

Soon, the legislative budget will be on your desk and it will be up to you to decide whether North Carolina goes forward or backwards.  Whether we chart a path to economic recovery or stumble over more job losses.  Whether we maintain our commitment to a strong quality of life or dismantle the public structures that make this state great.

We know you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders.

But we also know that you have stood up for our state before and that you believe in North Carolina’s future, education, health care, clean water, and safe communities.

In the coming days, we urge you to stay strong and keep us moving forward.  We ask that you use your veto power to reject the legislature’s damaging budget and instead, chart an alternative path forward that includes revenue and a strong commitment to all of the public investments in our state.

Sincerely,

[more than 130 organizations from across North Carolina]

For full letter with the complete list of signers, click here.

RALEIGH (May 4, 2011)–The deep cuts included in the House budget abandon  our state’s traditional commitment to education, economic growth and innovation in favor of an inflexible and ideological approach to managing our state’s resources.

The UNC system and K-12 schools suffered budget cuts of $447 million and $759 million, respectively. Medicaid, which has been a lifeline for working families hit by the recession, is facing over $2 billion in cuts over the next two years. North Carolina’s award-winning early childhood programs, More at Four and Smart Start, have been deeply cut—to the tune of over $130 million—and restructured in way that undermines the core missions of each program. Lastly, the legislature would gut environmental enforcement programs and eliminate the state’s ability to purchase and protect vulnerable wild areas.

It’s both frustrating and reassuring to know that all of these cuts were avoidable. Since the beginning of the current legislative session in January (and even since hitting the campaign stump last fall), legislative leaders have remained obstinate in their refusal to consider new revenues or even maintain current revenue streams as a solution to the current budget crisis. Rather, they have held tightly to a rigid, impractical view that the budget should be balanced with cuts alone.

Despite Speaker Tillis’ refrain that all options are on the table, it’s been clear all along that all options have not been considered.

For example, if legislators had decided to simply maintain the tax package passed in 2009 (a one-cent sales tax increase and a small income tax surcharge for high earners), they could have maintained current funding levels for K-12 education, the UNC system, community colleges, and the More at Four and Smart Start early childhood programs.

Instead, we’re heading down a new path that favors ideology at the expense of pragmatism and progress.  Furthermore, it’s a path that ignores the will of the people.  Multiple polls conducted by Elon University and Public Policy Polling demonstrate that North Carolinians strongly support, by a 3 to 1 margin, additional revenue to maintain our state’s public investments.

Fortunately, the process isn’t over.   We hope that the Senate will reconsider these drastic and unnecessary budget cuts.

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Together NC is a collection of more than 120 non-profit organizations, service providers, and professional associations who have come together to promote wise choices for shared prosperity for all North Carolinians.  For more information, visit www.togethernc.org

CONTACT: Together NC coordinators: Louisa Warren, (919) 801-0465 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (919) 801-0465 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, louisa@ncjustice.org or Rob Thompson, (919) 649-2449 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (919) 649-2449 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, rob@nccovenant.org.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR ADS!

Ad campaign calls on NC lawmakers to support teachers, firefighters with new revenue
“Balance is a beautiful thing,” say the Together NC ads running in 15 communities across North Carolina

RALEIGH (April 12, 2011) — When our economy is out of balance, so are other critical parts of North Carolina, a new ad campaign says – and lawmakers should fix that by including revenue in their budget plans.

Beginning Tuesday, April 12, the coalition of 120-plus groups will begin running advertisements in 15 newspapers across North Carolina. The ads will highlight fire stations and EMS workers, schools and parks, teachers and libraries — the things that make our communities great places to work and live.

“Lawmakers, North Carolinians want a practical approach to our economy and our state budget–one that includes not only careful spending cuts but also new revenues that work for our changing economy,” the ads say.

Schools, fire stations, dental clinics, libraries and other vital public structures are in jeopardy, the ads emphasize, because of the threat of inadequate revenue.
Instead of taking a cuts-only approach, state leaders should fund these critical needs by taking a balanced approach to the North Carolina budget that includes new revenue.

“Balance is a beautiful thing,” the advertisements say.

Together NC is a broad coalition of groups who support preserving vital public investments in North Carolina’s future.

The ads will run in the following North Carolina papers: the Washington Daily News; Asheville Citizen Times; Elizabeth City Daily Advance; Charlotte Observer; Kenansville Duplin Times; Henderson Dispatch; Sanford Herald; Lumberton Robesonian; Reidsville News; Concord Independent Tribune; Rocky Mount Telegram; McDowell News; The Courier Tribune (Asheboro); Bladen Journal; and the Whiteville Reporter.

“North Carolinians want practical solutions to the budget crisis that preserve jobs and key public structures,” said Louisa Warren, one of the Together NC coalition’s coordinators. “To do that, our leaders must get serious about revenue.”

Together NC is a collection of non-profit organizations, service providers, and professional associations who have come together to promote wise choices for shared prosperity for all North Carolinians. For more information, visit www.togethernc.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Together NC coordinators: Louisa Warren, (919) 801-0465, louisa@ncjustice.org or Rob Thompson, (919) 649-2449, rob@nccovenant.org.

On Monday, Together NC will release a trailer announcing the launch of the new Speak NC website, which will highlight North Carolina citizens with a weekly video series.

Speak NC aims to show the human impact of state programs and services that touch thousands of North Carolinians every year.

Each Monday, Speak NC will post a new video that documents how an individual, family, or group of people benefits from various state services. Many of these services are at risk of severe cuts, as state legislators meet at the General Assembly and strategize how to balance the state budget.

“Missing from our state budget budget debate was a real sense of how state services impact real people, their families, and communities amidst all the numbers,” said Louisa Warren, a coordinator of Together NC. “Speak NC is about changing that and bringing forth the voices of North Carolinians to speak for themselves about how public investments have enriched their lives and paved the way for economic opportunity.”

Together NC invites citizens to watch the stories on Speak NC and share them with friends, family, and local legislators to demonstrate how many of these programs provide crucial aid to families and bolster local economies.