Oct. 12--You might not believe it, but there's a good chance that taxpayers may soon realize an unforeseen upside to the economic upheaval that's roiling Wall and Main streets.

Governments -- state, local and federal -- will start paying more attention to how money is being spent and, in all likelihood, will try to become much better at squeezing public nickels.

The first signs of a new era of frugality started cropping up late last week as the Dow Jones industrial average continued its free-fall. Many states (and cities -- including Winston-Salem) started cutting budgets and ordered up immediate hiring freezes.

In North Carolina, Gov. Mike "Tax Hike" Easley instructed all state agencies to immediately slash at least 2 percent of their spending to build up cash reserves.

Easley even tried to put in his own 2 cents when he ordered the Department of Commerce to pull out of a $9 million deal to buy a brand-spanking-new, eight-passenger Cessna Citation jet, and asked officials to see if they could get the state's $250,000 deposit back.

"A plane is not necessary," said Sherry Johnson, a spokeswoman for the shy governor. "It's not going to be purchased in this economy."

History says ...

You can decide for yourself if the cancellation was a cheap publicity stunt by a lame-duck governor, a symbolic gesture of good will made by a devoted public servant, or an actual belt-tightening measure.

But before you make up your mind, consider this: Easley scotched the deal only after alert reporters in Raleigh (both of them) started asking questions about why Commerce needed a $9 million jet that cruises at 500 mph when they already have a perfectly good King Air plane that meanders along at a mere 350 mph.

However you look at it, the executive decision to cancel the Cessna purchase has the potential to save us some real money -- much more than a piddly $9 million.

How's that?

Simple. Commerce officials wanted to use the plane to whisk fat cat CEOs around the state to look at potential development sites. Presumably -- and this is a good guess considering our state's history -- some of the airborne small talk would get around to the big dollars that North Carolina has been known to lavish on big business.

Incentives worth $305 million to Dell, Inc., $165 million to Google and $30 million (each) to Goodyear and Bridgestone have been approved in recent years.

If we don't start paying attention, those deals will add up to real money.

"It seems kind of fiendish," said Bob Orr, the executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law and an outspoken critic of incentives.