Fitzsimon File

Top House and Senate leaders of both parties made their annual appearance before the North Carolina Chamber Wednesday afternoon and their view of North Carolina and the prospects for the General Assembly session were as different as their personalities.

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, battling serious sinus problems which cut short his remarks, made news right away by declaring Governor Mike Easley's cigarette and alcohol tax proposals dead on arrival.

That prompted one audience member in the conservative crowd to whisper "I guess he just told the governor."  

Basnight talked about the importance of investing in education and said he wants to put a multi-billion dollar bond issue on the ballot to address the state's infrastructure problems, specifically mentioning the needs to replace the Bonner bridge to the Outer Banks.

Senate Minority Phil Berger followed with the usual litany of Republican talking points, complaining that income taxes are higher on corporations and individuals than neighboring states, that state spending is out of control and that the public schools are failing.

Berger knew audience and didn't mention any of the social issues that dominated the Republicans news conference at the legislative building earlier in the week. But he was the most partisan speaker, mentioning that Republican Senators are consistently ranked as more pro-business than their Democratic counterparts by the business group N.C. Free.

That's a ranking that is based largely on the opinion of corporate lobbyists and has little to do with many issues that directly affect economic development, like education and worker training. But it is useful in a soundbite and Berger took advantage of the opportunity to mention it to the Chamber crowd.

House Speaker Joe Hackney walked in during Berger's presentation and pointed out in his remarks that the state's overall business taxes are among the lowest in the nation according to many studies, including a recent report from the Council on State Taxation.

Hackney's overall view of North Carolina was much different too. He talked about the state's progress in education, economic development, and maintaining fiscal integrity.

North Carolina is one of a handful of states not facing a budget shortfall this year. Hackney and Berger both mentioned the high school dropout rate, Berger to say that more spending in education isn't the answer, Hackney to point out the dropout prevention grants funded last session that are now having an impact.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam was, well Paul Stam, talking in detail about the Magna Carta and applying what he takes as its lessons to the state's current challenges, mostly urging lower taxes and less regulation of the market and for state government to operate with citizens and businesses as their customers.

The chamber crowd heard four very different messages from four very different lawmakers. Basnight made the news in his folksy and sometimes difficult to understand language.

Berger made the partisan rhetorical appeal, though softening the hard right edges for the corporate crowd.  Hackney brought the cautious progressive optimism about the state of things in North Carolina. And Stam gave the crowd his version of a history and philosophy lesson about taxes and government. Then class was dimissed and it was back to Jones Street.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 9:19 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.