Perdue: GOP playing politics with jobless

By Laura Leslie

Posted: April 13, 2011

Governor Bev Perdue was asked this afternoon for her reaction to H383, a measure that links an extension of jobless benefits to a spending resolution intended to reduce the governor's bargaining power in the budget process.

The bill won tentative approval this afternoon in the Senate on a straight party-line vote. The text of the measure is here.

"Sounds like extortion to me, dereliction of duty, all those words," Perdue said.

"You’ve got about 37,000 families today worried about getting that extension of unemployment. I mean these are real people who need milk and bread and stuff to pay their light bill and their gas bill," said Perdue. "And you’ve got a bunch of politicians – leaders, they’re supposed to be - who’re sworn to take an oath – I mean they took an oath on the bible – to do what they need to do, and their core responsibility is passing the budget?”

"These are real people. You can't do this. It just makes me sick for North Carolina," Perdue said.

You can see the short interview on YouTube, where Perdue's office posted the video.

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We are one of those families. Our expenses are not terribly high, but if we lose the house we have NoWhere to go. My partner was laid off last month. He was with the company for a bit over 9 yrs, prior to that he was outsourced at least 8x. It is so very hard to keep a steady life going under the circumstances, because it was being laid off after a few years just when you get to the point you've paid off all the back debt from when you were laid off before. We have seen our income fall by 75% in just the last 12 yrs. We do not carry credit card debt and we only have house, car pmts, upkeep for both(hardly), and we have cut all the niceties out.

The Reprehensible party has done nothing for the middle class more like done too us. Then have the bloody gall to use us as hostages. Some times hostages turn the tables........just sayin.

rwprjr
April 14, 2011 8:56 p.m.

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Bev, of course it is extortion..........unless it's the dems doing it...then it's A-OK.

driverkid3
April 14, 2011 1:34 p.m.

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I hope we all remember these Republican "government by extortion" tactics when we vote the next time; assuming, of course, that our nation survives their attempts to destroy it.

winderwoman1
April 14, 2011 12:24 p.m.

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I hope Gov. Perdue will stand up to this blackmail. NC citizens are being punished for purely political gain!

jpt
April 14, 2011 11:44 a.m.

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The Repubs ran on the claim that they would not pull dirty tricks and now they put 37 THOUSAND people at risk. There's controversy over unemployment 'handouts' but you can't argue that in a recession, people need some help, and are not unemployed by choice. If you or I had been laid off, we could need it to feed our families too. They're holding guns to 37,000 heads and telling Bev that if she cares about these THOUSANDS of families, she'll have to forego the checks and balances that our government is designed to have in budget negotiations. Otherwise, 13% would come off across the board of the Governor's budget if they can't all reach a compromise by the deadline. This could be potentially worse than either plan individually. This costs the state NOTHING. No matter which side of the argument you are on, everyone should be apalled at these tactics. Instead of following the rules of the game, the Repubs want to bend the rules to their favor at the cost of the pawns, I mean the people.

Flow Easy
April 14, 2011 10:23 a.m.

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Perdue: GOP playing politics with jobless

5 Comments

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