Carolina Public Press reports:
For Smart Start of Buncombe County Executive Director Ron Bradford, the impact of the North Carolina legislature’s 20 percent funding cuts to the early childhood program have been “an incredible roller-coaster ride.” ...

Bradford and other Buncombe community leaders Thursday evening shared at a program at the YWCA how cuts in the state budget passed in June have impacted their organizations. The event, which included a presentation by the North Carolina Justice Center’s Budget and Tax Center about proposed tax code changes, was organized by the Women for Women giving circle of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

About 70 people attended the meeting co-sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Just Economics, the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, Children First/Communities in Schools, the League of Women Voters, and the YWCA of Asheville. ...

Educator Wendy Hannah told the crowd that the statewide educational budget cuts have impacted her professionally and are impacting Buncombe County Schools students. ...

YWCA of Asheville Preventive Health Director Alphie Rodriguez said at the meeting that state budget cuts resulted in the organization losing about $400,000 in public funds this year. ...

North Carolina Justice Center Senior Policy Advocate Louisa Warren said funding cuts the General Assembly passed this year in its budget were not due to “a runaway spending problem.” The national recession played a large role, she said, as did the fact that legislators looked only looking at spending cuts to address the budget shortfalls. Warren said, for example, the extension of a 1-penny sales tax increase that already was in place could have generated more than $1 billion.

But another root problem, Warren said, is that North Carolina has “a 1930s revenue system for a 21st-century economy.” ...Read the full article