Sarah Stevens is a Mount Airy attorney. Back in November, voters in Surry and Alleghany counties elected her to go to Raleigh and represent their interests in the General Assembly.

Now she’s asking for some help from those folks back here at home, and we hope everyone answers that call.

Stevens is taking on Gov. Bev Perdue and some members of the tax-and-spend legislature in Raleigh, the ones who seem to have no clue that there is a limit to how much they can yank from the wallets and bank accounts of North Carolinians.

The governor, and several key legislators, have made much ado about some sort of severe budget shortfall, and those of us in the media have at times allowed them to get away with this. Perdue has talked about this supposed $4 billion shortfall in state revenue, and hinted at massive teacher cuts and curtailment of other significant state services.

Stevens, however, correctly points out that this fictional shortfall is based up a spending budget of $22 billion, while North Carolina spent $20.3 billion during the most recent fiscal year. Local governments are learning to live on zero-growth, or even negative-growth, budgets, so why do the legislators in Raleigh believe they are entitled to increase spending by 6.4 percent at a time when the economy is struggling and unemployment is in double digits across much of the state?

Stevens goes on to contend the state could operate quite nicely, without harming the education system, on a $19 billion budget, and that the state has already collected $17.5 billion of that for the coming fiscal year.

She is simply asking that Perdue and others in state government do something North Carolina legislators may never have done — show basic common sense in building its budget. Start at the ground floor with the revenue that is expected, and fund items in order of importance, with essential core functions funded first, important but non-essential next, and when the money runs out so does the spending.

What a novel concept at the state government level. Next thing you know, North Carolina might even start replenishing the highway and other set-aside funds that have been raided to offset similar budgetary “shortfalls.” The state could even start using money from its “education lottery” for educational purposes.

But it is not going to happen easily. Stevens is most definitely going against the grain, and she needs help from her constituents and any other North Carolina resident who believes the Perdue budget proposal is irresponsible and represents just more out-of-control spending.

Think that’s just hyperbole? Consider this: Perdue offers a 1 percent increase to the state sales tax, another 50-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes, higher alcoholic beverage taxes, and additional taxes on the wealthy. Some state officials also are considering a “fun” tax, levying a state fee on such recreational activities as bowling, golfing, and other pay-for-play sporting events.

We hope residents throughout our area, and elsewhere, will answer Steven’s call to contact the governor and other legislators to support her plan. In doing so, those residents will, in truth, be helping themselves.

To contact Gov. Perdue, write Governor Bev Perdue, Office of the Governor. 20301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-0301, call 919-733-4240, or leave comments at http://www.governor.state.nc.us/eTownhall/qa.aspx.