Asheville Daily Planet
Here we go again with the parade of lies on the campaign trail. First from Senator Kay Hagan and now from Brian Turner, Representative TimMoffitt's opponent in his re-election bid from District 116. They both have said in campaign ads that the North Carolina General Assembly "cut $500 million from public education."
That's simply untrue. The Washington Post knows it. They gave that canard two “Pinocchios.” FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com know it. They flat out debunked the oft-repeated falsehood on their websites too. Even WLOS-TV has finally had enough. They recently broadcast a story that set the record straight. In his report, anchor Frank Fraboni said, “For viewers and voters, the deception is disturbing.” (http://goo.gl/GqRAfw)
SarahCurry of the John Locke Foundation pulled the relevant numbers from the state Fiscal Research Division and determined that the legislature actually increased spending on public education this year by $302 million*. In fact, over the last four years, education spending increased by nearly a billion dollars. What's more, in the final two years of Democrat control, $610 million were cut from public education.
So, there you have it: the current General Assembly did NOT "cut $500 million from public education."
TIM PECK
ASHEVILLE
RELATED
The Pete Kaliner Show, Oct 2, 5:0p, "$500 million lie."
