BY REP. TODD CARVER

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is an idea which should not invoke a partisan divide the way it has. We can argue about the implementation or the methods, and there is a time a place for that discussion. This article is not the time or place for that discussion. Today, I’d like to share my thoughts about the idea at the root of DOGE and its role in North Carolina.

First. let’s make some distinctions which must be understood. The federal debt is over $36 trillion. The federal debt makes our country weaker. In real terms and symbolic terms, it tells the world we cannot mange our own finances. The federal debt must be dealt with for us to continue to be a world leader.

This is a problem that weakens our ability to fight off potential foes. We need to face our debt issue and identify areas where we can reduce or eliminate wasteful spending.

North Carolina is not in the same situation as the federal government. The North Carolina budget must be balanced with every budget year. The State of North Carolina does not possess the ability to print money or issue debt against the state. If our state takes in $100 in revenue, it can authorize the spending of $100. At the end of each budget session, we must reconcile the difference between what we want to spend and what we have to spend.

North Carolina is also different from the federal government in that we have a position called the NC State Auditor. That person, Dave Boliek, is charged with rooting out wasteful and inefficient spending in our state budget. We should all be supportive of the work he is tasked to do because he is charged with protecting our tax dollars. The federal government does not have a cabinet level position charged with ensuring the tax dollars are spent wisely.

The other difference in what’s going on in Washington versus what’s taking place in Raleigh is fundamental to the checks and balances’ system of our government. The Washington DOGE effort is being initiated by the executive branch. The Raleigh DOGE effort is a joint effort between the General Assembly and the State Auditor. The other difference is the money appropriated by the General Assembly comes with oversight by its very nature.

The idea behind DOGE is not something which should be controversial in Washington or Raleigh. We all want our tax money to be spent wisely. We all want our tax dollars to be spent on wise and fruitful purposes. Republicans and Democrats are both vested in the future of our country. No one wants our money and the money of future generations to be spent on waste. With that said, we should all be supportive of the effort. We should be willing to lend a hand to identify wasteful, inefficient spending.

I am not naïve enough to think that waste only occurs in Washington. I am willing to help look for it. When and where we find it in Raleigh, I am willing to do my part to make sure it gets stopped. Finding waste and stopping it is a sense of duty we should all share, no matter what we call the group looking for it.

Rep. Todd Carver represents the 95th District in the N.C. House.


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