Are you kidding me? What has moved NC backwards has been 100 years of Democrat budgets. Less government spurs economic development, this is a fact and not debatable. You may find it personally more pleasing to receive a welfare check, but that doesn't mean it spurs growth. Growth comes from savings and investment, not pillaging productive people. Liberals can try to argue otherwise until they turn blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is that the data does not support liberal economics.