Can you break Raleigh’s budget impasse?

I built a budget simulator that lets you try to balance North Carolina’s budget yourself.

The General Assembly is still having a hard time coming up with a budget deal.

So why don’t you give it a try?

Today, I’m launching Break Raleigh’s Budget Impasse, a budget simulator web app that lets you put together your own version of a North Carolina budget.

You can start from one of the major proposals already on the table, then change it however you want. As you make changes, the simulator tells you whether your plan balances and gives you a rough sense of how your deal might land with the House GOP, Senate GOP and Governor.

If your plan runs a deficit, you have to fix it. If it balances, you can submit your deal and get a quick read-out on what kind of budget you built.

Every priority has a cost. Every concession creates a problem somewhere else. And if you want to make everyone happy at the same time, good luck.

Obvious caveat: This is not intended to be a 100% legislation-ready fiscal model, and I am sure there are some small errors in there. Real budgets include hundreds of line items, technical provisions and timing issues that a public simulator cannot fully capture.

Try it here: Break Raleigh’s Budget Impasse

Then send me your deal. I want to see what you come up with.

At a premium

Executive offices matter. Teacher recruitment shows why

Since Monroe Mayor Robert Burns has filed paperwork to create a committee to run for governor, I’ll also share this one again.

Could 'North Carolina's Mayor' make a run for governor?

Finally, in my latest newspaper column, I argue that toll lanes are a net-positive for North Carolina, but they also turn commuting into a casino where traffic relief is the prize and every driver has to decide what escape is worth.

Read it here: I-77 toll lanes turn your commute into a casino — and it’s working

Question of the week

Have you tried the budget simulator yet?