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Update: For the masochists among you, here's the full audio from this morning's Democratic presser on the budget. It's about 30 minutes:

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I’m still reading up on the state budget. (You can find links and my early take by clicking here.) However there’s one thing I can say with absolute certainty: Republican and Democratic leaders are not living in the same world on this thing.

Democrats argue that this is “an austerity budget” that will make North Carolina citizens feel pain but preserves key priorities through regrettable but necessary tax increases.

Republicans argue those tax increases are completely unnecessary and that Democrats have played games with the accounting in the budget. If only, GOP leaders argue, Democrats had made real cuts to the budget, North Carolina citizens would not have to pay $1 billion more in taxes next year.

So here’s some multimedia point-counterpoint. I have audio recordings of the Republican presser and video of the Democrats because of different set ups in the two rooms where they did pressers this morning.

Here’s Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, arguing “The Democrats have not cut spending.”

But House Speaker Joe Hackney argues that Republicans are being unrealistic, not accounting for actual spending this year.

“It simply makes no sense to start from the place that they start from,” Hackney said.

But House minority leader Paul “Skip” Stam argues that federal stimulus funds have not been properly accounted for in the budget. And he said the sales tax package will hurt families.

“They idea that doesn’t affect working families boggles the imagination,” Stam said.

But Hackney argues that North Carolinians are willing to accept taxes in order to support public education.

“We made a choice here, we made a choice to cut but not cut to the absolute bone in public education, community colleges, universities and other places,” Hackney said. “We think that’s a decision that people of North Carolina will approve of once they see this entire budget.”

But Stam and Berger pushed on the idea that government should have been able to survive without a tax increase.

“Those ‘cuts’ are from projected spending we’ve never achieved in the history of the republican,” Stam argued. Here’s Stam and Berger fielding questions from reporters.

But Hackney said people will feel the budget cuts. And he said voters would accept the tax increases.

“What we’ve learned over the years … in North Carolina people value education, they value their community colleges, and they value their universities perhaps more than other states. I think that’s given North Carolina an advantage and an edge,” Hackney said. “We believe the public will believe the (part) of the shortfall made up with revenues is a reasonable way to proceed.”