Latest Job Numbers Should Kill Tax Talk on Jones Street

JLF budget analyst says double-digit unemployment signals continued problems

RALEIGH (Carolina Journal Online) - North Carolina's continuing unemployment problems should send a clear signal to lawmakers preparing the N.C. House budget: scuttle any plans for higher taxes. The John Locke Foundation's top budget analyst offered that recommendation after reviewing the numbers.

The N.C. Employment Security Commission's latest report lists the state's unemployment rate at 10.8 percent for April, unchanged from March rate. The rate has leveled off after climbing every month for more than a year.

"The latest numbers indicate that North Carolina continues to struggle with one of the nation's worst unemployment rates," said Joseph Coletti, JLF Fiscal Policy Analyst. "State government needs to take steps to help boost the prospects for job creation and entrepreneurial investment, not special breaks for select companies and higher taxes for everyone else. Unfortunately, Gov. Beverly Perdue and the N.C. Senate have prescribed more than $1 billion in new taxes over the next two years."