RALEIGH – Here they come. Consider yourself warned.

North Carolina state government is back in the spending business. That’s the story that’s gotten out across the state. As a result, those aspiring to grab your money – I mean, “invest” public dollars – are lining up around the block down at Jones Street.

The spending lobbies don’t necessarily expect to insert their favorite programs in the FY 2005-06 budget, since Gov. Mike Easley’s plan already includes $741 million in higher-than-scheduled taxes. In some cases, they hope to insert their pork – I mean, their “investments” – in the FY 2006-07 budget, when the magical revenue-growth machine might finally kick in. But for the most part, the lobbies see state borrowing as the tool of choice, given that it provides quick cash for largesse while pushing the cost to taxpayers far out into the horizon.

As the Associated Press recently reported, Gov. Easley’s call for a (relatively modest) cap on state debt of 3 percent of personal income isn’t getting a warm reception from the political class. Nor is his call to subject non-traditional debt issuances of $25 million or more to a statewide referendum, a welcome move that would close a loophole lawmakers have been exploiting for years essentially to obligate taxpayers to pay off debts without allowing them their constitutional prerogative of a vote.

Who are the spending lobbies resisting any talk of constraining state borrowing? Some examples include:

• Rural and small-town interests. They want to force urban and suburban taxpayers to fund improvements to their water and sewer systems. Some peg the magnitude of this redistribution scheme – I mean, “investment in infrastructure” – at $7 billion. Apparently, this is not meant to be humorous.

• Local school boards. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Wake, and other urban and suburban school systems are bursting at the seams. Dozens of new schools have to be built in the coming years just to accommodate enrollment growth, officials say. They also admit that enrollment pressures are coming in part from lower-than-anticipated enrollment in charter and private schools, though they noticeably don’t favor expanded parental-choice offerings to alleviate the problem at a lower cost than building new public schools. Nope, their favorite solution is to issue billions of dollars in new school-construction bonds. Slower-growing systems want their cut, too, arguing that they deserve bond money to replace aging schools.

• Corporate socialists. If you think the thirst for taxpayer subsidies of private business has been quenched by recent deals for Merck and Dell, you don’t understand. It’s like drinking salt water. The thirst is growing, not shrinking. Expect proposals to issue state debt for all sorts of new, dubious subsidy schemes – I mean, “investments in our economic future.”

Easley’s proposed debt cap, also supported by State Treasurer Richard Moore, is a modest first step in the direction of long-term fiscal responsibility. You can tell it’s the right direction because of the enemies it has attracted. They’ve got their grasping fingers on the taxpayers’ credit card. They’re not letting go without a fight.

I mean, they’ve got a hold of the “investment” card and – oh, never mind.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.com.