Triad legislators react to Gov. Easley’s suggestion that the state retain the temporary sales tax.

Sen. Phil Berger said….

“The fact of the matter is that it is pulling $200 million out of the economy that citizens should be deciding how to spend themselves. The fact of the matter is you can do a whole lot more good things with your money than the government can.”

….while Rep. Pricey Harrison said

“I see the governor’s point. That’s an awful lot of revenue and we have an awful lot of needs.
I just met way too many people on the campaign trail who are struggling with health-care costs,” she said. “We as a state government need to do what we can to keep people from falling through the cracks.”

It’s just what government does best: deciding how to spend your money for you. And there’s no amount too large or too small.