When we think of the state budget, we mainly focus on the General Fund.  That is the funding source for education, Medicaid, and a number of other familiar state government services.  But what about all those other non-General Fund expenditures?  For example, transportation and the employment security commission are two large expenditures that are not included in the General Fund.

So when we talk about the state budget, we need to focus on the larger picture, $50,377,831,400.  That is the total amount of spending in North Carolina during the current fiscal year.  A scary figure to think about is how much of our state spending is made up of Federal dollars, $17,700,741,181.  What happens if we have another government shutdown?  Or what happens if the Federal Government defaults on its debt when interest rates begin to rise?  All things we should be thinking about before taking on more federal money for state programs.

General Fund Hwy Trust Fund/Hwy Fund Other Federal Total Budget
$ 21,082,110,145 $ 2,930,663,707 $ 8,664,316,367 $ 17,700,741,181 $ 50,377,831,400

 

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