Bev Perdue in 2011 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
Tax relief for corporations from highest rate in southeast
Tonight I propose giving North Carolina one more tool to attract new jobs and to grow jobs here in existing small businesses: Tax relief for corporations and for small businesses. Right now, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the southeast.
That means our businesses are paying more taxes when they could be creating jobs. That's a strike against us from Day One as we work to convince businesses that North Carolina is the best value. Businesses look at more than the bottom line, but the botto
line is the big difference maker in a company's relocation decision. So in this budget--we will continue to fund our business incentives for job growth and job recruitment. And I am asking the General Assembly to lower our corporate tax rate to
4.9%--the lowest in the southeast and one of the lowest in the nation. This change will push North Carolina to the forefront in growing jobs for our people. And that, my friends, must be the No. 1 priority for every one of us in this chamber tonight.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
On Education:
$400M federal funds for Ready Set Go! Initiative
A year ago I asked North Carolina to join me in our Career and College Ready Set Go! initiative. We challenged educators at all levels, from kindergarten through community colleges and universities, to focus on one single goal: to prepare all students to
graduate ready for a career, college or technical training. North Carolina accepted that challenge with gusto. Then we took it a step further. Using Ready Set Go as our foundation, we applied for federal Race to the Top funds--and we won.
Because we are not afraid to think differently and to demand more from our students and educators, we were recognized nationally as one of only 12 states leading the way in education reform. Career and College Ready Set Go! won us
$400 million in federal Race to the Top funds and a spot on the lists of states to watch. So we are resetting state government, and resetting education. And we are also resetting the way we go after businesses--and the jobs they bring.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
On Free Trade:
Visited China to see N.C.'s competition
Last year I visited China on a trip to recruit new businesses and develop our economic relationships with our second largest trading partner. It was my first trip to China; I wasn't fully prepared for what I saw or how I felt afterward. I went into
classrooms where children were studying concepts far in advance of American children of similar ages. They demand more work out of their kids. They require more involvement from parents. They expect no less than excellence from their students and teacher
and parents and schools. Education in China is a major part of the reason their workers are global competitors. Make no mistake--they are North Carolina's competition, and they have learned from our successes.When the factories started laying off
workers or closing, Chinese imports were competing with American products. The fires of the recession have forged a new North Carolina, one where we never lose faith in our possibilities. So many of those possibilities point directly back to education.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
On Government Reform:
Consolidate 14 state agencies into 8; cut $2.2B from budget
The budget that I deliver to you later this week is 2.2 billion dollars less than the budget that I inherited in 2009. It spends 11% less per capita and sheds thousands of state positions. Never before in history has North Carolina better lived the
phrase "doing more with less." And, we must continue to do more.North Carolina must be more agile, more responsive to citizens--less bureaucratic as we focus our limited resources on our core missions of jobs and education. I sent [a list of]
345 boards and commissions: Eliminate those that don't clearly benefit our businesses or our people. I submitted more than 900 state regulations that are outdated and confusing--the first wave of the results in our Regulatory Review. Eliminate those
900 now--and get ready to see hundreds more. Later this week, I will present a budget that consolidates 14 state agencies into 8, that privatizes some services, that continues the hiring freeze and halted pay raises in all but the most critical jobs.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
On Homeland Security:
N.C. is most military-friendly state in America
Tar Heel families give our sons and our daughters to the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, Coast Guard, and the National Guard. We cry together when they are wounded or give their lives for America, and we rejoice together when they come home.
Through it all, we declare ourselves--our North Carolina--to be the most military friendly state in America.We are the people who refuse to turn backwards. We have the ambition to conquer tomorrow.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
On Technology:
46,000 students in NC Virtual Public High School
We are providing a 21st century education imbedded with technology, more career and academic choices for students of all ages--and have established a new level of accountability for our teachers and administrators. Today, 46,000 high school students
are taking courses from the NC Virtual Public School. Teachers are using handheld computers to determine what a child knows, or needs to know, so the child can get the help needed, before falling behind and being unable to catch up.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018