Carolina Journal Print Columnists
Karen McMahan


Articles by Karen McMahan

(8.26.10) U.S. Labor Department Fixes Enforcement Sights on the Hospitality Industry
RALEIGH — The unemployment rate in North Carolina and around the country may be flirting with double digits, but that isn’t preventing the U.S. Department of Labor from tight enforcement of employment laws.

(8.19.10) Study Highlights Administrative Bloat at Leading N.C. Universities
RALEIGH — Nationally, the number of full-time administrators per 100 students increased by 39.3 percent, while the number of full-time teaching, research, and service employees grew by just 17.6 percent. At roughly 14.5 percent, student enrollment grew even less over that period.

(7.26.10) Small Businesses Steel For Expanded 1099 Reporting Mandates
RALEIGH — As business owners have begun sorting through the massive health care law, they are discovering not only a host of new taxes but also expanded reporting requirements that will result in an avalanche of paperwork and raise the cost of doing business.

(7.07.10) N.C. House Democrats Reject Education Tax Credits
RALEIGH — On June 3, Democrats in the North Carolina House rejected an amendment that would have allowed the General Assembly to consider the creation of an education tax credit enabling low- and middle-income students to escape their assigned public schools.

(6.28.10) North Carolina’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Program Creating Fallout
RALEIGH — Small contractors performing renovations and repairs feel new fees required by the state, estimated by some industry experts to add from $300 to $1,000 per job, are excessive.

(6.08.10) Administration Advances Plan to Federalize Private Pension System
RALEIGH — Supporters say changes are needed to ensure that Americans save more for their retirement and have lifetime income options that prevent them from outliving their retirement savings, protecting them from market risk.

(6.01.10) North Carolina Seeks to Expand High-Risk Insurance Pool
RALEIGH — The federal health care law passed this year appropriated $5 billion to set up temporary high-risk pools by July 1. These pools will cover individuals with pre-existing medical conditions who otherwise would have to wait until 2014 to be covered by the health insurance exchanges created by the law.

(5.17.10) Critics Say N.C. “Race to the Top” Team Misled Feds on Charter Schools
RALEIGH — When a team of senior state officials went to Washington in March seeking more than $400 million from the Obama administration’s Race to the Top education reform program, members provided what critics call deceptive answers to reviewers asking about charter schools. And after the team returned, officials continued to show little interest in expanding charter schools — which were singled out by the Department of Education as a linchpin of effective education reform.

(5.05.10) Reforms Take Back Seat as Schools Counter Budget Gap
RALEIGH — State economists do not expect the revenue outlook to improve any earlier than late 2011, blaming persistent economic weakness for suppressing growth in employment and consumer spending. While lawmakers raised taxes by nearly $1 billion last year, personal income tax and sales tax collections continue to fall far short of expectations. Instead of a projected growth rate of 2.4 percent in personal income for fiscal year 2010-11, economists have cut the forecast rate by nearly half to 1.3 percent.

(4.13.10) Homeowners Battle Both Pesky Varmints and Maze of Regulations
RALEIGH — Pet owners can sue and have sued farmers for killing their dogs even when the dogs killed livestock. Ordinances vary and can be interpreted differently by whoever is enforcing the laws.

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