Governor Stein's October Column: It’s Too Expensive. Let’s Start Acting Like It All Year Round.

This month Governor Josh Stein is providing updates on his work to lower the cost of living. Media outlets are invited to publish the column below from Governor Stein.

--

If you saw your gas prices drop a few weekends ago and wondered what happened, you're not the only one. On October 8, the average price of gas in North Carolina was $4.10 a gallon; today, it's $3.45, the lowest in the nation. That's because on October 9, I signed into law a bill suspending the state gas tax until the end of November. It was a bipartisan bill, and I thank the General Assembly for pushing the action through.

I signed this law because people need relief now. North Carolina families are feeling the squeeze every time they fill up their gas tanks, buy groceries, pay their electric bills, or take care of their children. The cost of living is too high across the country.

But let's be clear: We should not wait until right before an election to take action; costs are too high all year round.

North Carolinians struggle in January when the heating bill arrives. They struggle in the spring when child care payments come due. They struggle in the summer when they have to fill up the tank to get to work, buy groceries for their families, and keep the lights on.

Housing costs are too high, and North Carolina will need an estimated 750,000 additional homes over the next four years to meet demand. Health care costs are so burdensome that some people are skipping medications and putting off appointments they need. Electricity costs are rising, and the General Assembly continues to pass policies that threaten to push those bills even higher. Child care remains out of reach for too many parents, with roughly five families competing for every available child care slot. And federal tariffs are driving up grocery costs even as changes under H.R. 1 threaten food assistance for families who depend on SNAP. So, suspending the gas tax to respond to the war in Iran is one temporary step, but it cannot be the last.

Since my first day in office, my administration has worked to make life more affordable for North Carolinians. We have relieved more than $6.5 billion in medical debt for 2.5 million people through the largest medical debt relief program in the nation's history. We established a bipartisan Health Care Affordability Commission to identify ways to get health care costs under control. And I signed an executive order focused on building more housing and bringing down housing costs.

Through our Energy Saver Program, we have helped participating families reduce their power bills by nearly $1,000 a year. And when the General Assembly passed legislation instructing Duke Energy to raise costs on everyday customers while lowering them for large corporations, I vetoed it. Unfortunately, legislators overrode that veto, leaving families facing higher costs to power their homes. Now, I am calling on the Utilities Commission to approve large load tariffs so that families do not foot data centers' bill.

We are taking action because affordability is not a seasonal concern. It is a responsibility we have every day.

For two consecutive years, I have proposed a Working Families Tax Credit to help low- and moderate-income workers keep more of what they earn. For qualifying families, that credit could mean as much as $823 a year - money that could help cover groceries, gas, school supplies or an overdue bill. Yet legislators have refused to take it up.

I have also proposed a refundable Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to help parents manage the cost of child care. Most children under age 5 have both parents in the workforce. When child care is unaffordable, parents can be forced to cut their hours, turn down employment opportunities, or leave their jobs altogether. Helping families afford care strengthens our kids' futures, our workforce, and our economy.

I also proposed a sales tax holiday for back-to-school items, stronger unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, free community college for students pursuing high-demand skills, and free breakfast for schoolchildren so they can start the day healthy and ready to learn.

These are some concrete and practical ways to give families breathing room and help people build a more secure future. Yet instead of acting on these proposals, the General Assembly continues to protect tax breaks for corporations, their out-of-state shareholders, and the wealthiest North Carolinians.

It's a question of priorities. And, right now, too many priorities are upside down.

I will work with anyone - Republican, Democrat, or unaffiliated - who is serious about making life more affordable for North Carolinians. There is no reason working families should have to wait for another election cycle to get help we can deliver today.

North Carolina families need more than temporary relief. They need leaders who show up, do the work, and deliver results.

Life's too expensive all year round. Let's start acting like it.