Budget, Taxation & Economy
At the state legislature, Locke advocates for limiting the expenditure of tax dollars and strictly limiting its tax burdens on families and businesses.
Democrats make dangerous inflation assumptions
James Pethokoukis writes for The Week about a disturbing attitude among leading Democrats to the prospect of increased inflation. At a CNN town hall on Tuesday, President Joe Biden dismissed…
New Carolina Journal Online features
Andrew Dunn reports for Carolina Journal Online on multiple N.C. cities approving new nondiscrimination ordinances. John Hood’s CJ Opinion explains the problem with policymakers focusing on targeted tax incentives.
What legislators can do about Cooper’s regulatory takings
Cooper is still penalizing business owners with his restrictions. My research brief today explains that this amounts to a "taking" akin to an eminent domain taking.
Provide just compensation for business owners hammered by Cooper’s orders
Gov. Roy Cooper's business shutdowns and restrictions amount to a regulatory taking depriving business owners of the use of their property. Lawmakers should reform eminent domain to include compensation for…
New Carolina Journal Online features
Carolina Journal Online reports on a Greenville bar owner’s court fight against Gov. Roy Cooper’s shutdown order. John Trump’s CJ Opinion urges Cooper to stop talking about priorities and to…
Minimum wage increases will hurt the poor, minorities — Do supporters care?
Editors at Issues and Insights wonder why advocates of an increase in the government-mandated minimum wage ignore clear, convincing evidence of its ill effects. Democrats like to talk about helping…
The NC Threat-Free Index for the week ending February 15
All considered, about 99.5% of people in NC posed no threat of passing along COVID-19 to anyone — a virus most had never had and the rest had recovered from.
You’re keeping more of what you earn. Let’s keep it that way.
COVID-19 has proved a public health crisis for virtually every state, and also a fiscal crisis for those states that spent, spent, spent and failed to engage in sound stewardship…
January General Fund Update
State revenues continued to outperform last year’s collections in January while appropriations fell, adding over $1 billion to the unreserved fund balance, according to the latest monthly report from the…
North Carolina is the gold standard for pro-growth tax reform
North Carolina’s record of spending restraint and tax reform over the past decade continues to inspire other states and demonstrate what is possible. John Hendrickson and Jonathan Williams, writing in…
GOP targets Democrats over lost pipeline jobs
Kerry Picket of the Washington Examiner highlights one political impact of the Biden administration’s effort to block the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order revokes the permit that…
“Are you ready for the climate lockdowns?”
That’s the title of a recent peice in the Spectator by Stephen Miller. If you don’t think the left will try it, you haven’t been paying attention!