The voters in North Carolina clearly sent a message in the November elections that we expect responsible government. The Republican Party has taken control of the General Assembly for the first time in over 110 years. The first 100 days of this session is fast approaching and their pledge to the people has not been too successful. The new fiscal budget deadline is also approaching and the cuts to state workers and social engineering programs will have an impact on both the state economy and civil unrest. 
Governor Purdue is using partisan politics to enforce the Obama agenda but the truth is that the people of North Carolina will be used as pawns to pay for the failure of our politicians.
David DeGerolamo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
N.C. Gov vetoes jobless benefit “extortion”
Gov. Beverly Perdue forced by GOP legislators to choose between halting unemployment benefits and accepting 13% budget cut
(AP) RALEIGH, N.C. – Forced by Republican legislators to choose between halting unemployment benefits for about 37,000 people and accepting a double-digit budget cut, Gov. Beverly Perdue has vetoed legislation that would have kept checks flowing.
Perdue’s announcement came at the end of a chaotic Saturday, following the deaths of at least 16 people in a rash of tornadoes that swept through the state. The Democratic governor issued the veto close to midnight after she declared a state of emergency and held a news conference about the storms.
A handful of House members had met earlier in the day to start the clock on a choice Perdue had to make before authorization for the federally funded jobless benefits ran out Saturday.
The legislation would have changed a formula for calculating unemployment benefits and allowed the federally funded program to continue for people out of work for up to 99 weeks. But poison-pill language added by Republican lawmakers would have forced Perdue to also accept a 13 percent cut from the spending plan she proposed as a starting point for negotiations over the budget year starting in July.
