Opinion | 2011 Archive

Edenton’s Hugh Williamson made major contributions to the U.S. Constitution.

As the Republicans’ state budget plan makes its way through the North Carolina House, some things about the plan are clear and some are unclear.

Perdue is on course to veto the first plan the GOP legislature presents her. Then the two sides will negotiate. The most likely outcome? A meeting in the middle.

Relying on across-the-board pay raises means raising the pay of good teachers, mediocre teachers, and poor teachers alike.

Rep. Paul Ryan's provision giving states block grants for Medicaid would improve the health care program and reduce burdens on North Carolina taxpayers.

When it comes to selling North Carolina as a place to do or start a business, North Carolina’s political class seems to have a hard time distinguishing between fact and fantasy.

A system that benefits businesses while hurting consumers must change.

In some ways, the renewable energy mandate in Senate Bill 3 is worse than ObamaCare.

Perdue seems to believe that if she insists loudly enough on the distinction between my left pocket and my right pocket, I’ll forget that both pockets are on the same pair of pants.

In some ways, the renewable energy mandate in Senate Bill 3 is worse than ObamaCare.

Perdue seems to believe that if she insists loudly enough on the distinction between my left pocket and my right pocket, I’ll forget that both pockets are on the same pair of pants.

Conservatives seek to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government because we think it will make our society more free, more fair, and more prosperous.

Because most sales taxation puts the liability on sellers, not buyers, it will always be an indirect and inferior way to collect revenue.

The main message from this weekend’s rallies is that, in North Carolina at least, the Tea Party movement is not going away.

I’m not sure what lies “beyond devastating” on the map of budgetary hyperbole, but I seriously doubt that a journey of seven percentage points would get us there.

I’m not sure what lies “beyond devastating” on the map of budgetary hyperbole, but I seriously doubt that a journey of seven percentage points would get us there.

North Carolina’s redistricting process has already been reformed in recent years. These reforms came not by legislation but by litigation.

Faced with the problem of theft, you can either hire thieves to refill your treasury or hire guards to keep it from being raided in the first place.

You can’t balance the budget or restore freedom without reforming health care. And I mean really reforming it, through patient power and competition.

Many North Carolinians forget the valuable role that our state played in the American Revolution and in constitutional thought. This memory loss has contributed greatly to chipping away at the federalist foundation of the American form of government.

Stories published in the Charlotte Business Journal and the News & Observer suggesting Republicans had abandoned a move to limit the state's participation in federal high-speed rail projects were misleading because they were incomplete.

When you hear about a local project to be funded with federal dollars, ask yourself if you would be willing to give up some good or service you benefit from today in order to fund it.

As long as legislative appropriations cover the vast majority of the cost of educating students, the constitutional provision is satisfied.

In a more general sense, Americans differ from Europeans on the balance between respecting liberty and guaranteeing incomes.

With the federal government trillions of dollars in debt, the Obama administration’s rail fantasies represent an intolerable waste of scarce resources.

In some ways, the renewable energy mandate in Senate Bill 3 is worse than ObamaCare. At least with the mandate in ObamaCare, you will receive health insurance. Under S.B. 3's mandate, North Carolinians will pay to receive little or nothing in return.

Now that Republicans run the General Assembly, they are going to move bills to restore party labels and end taxpayer funding of judicial elections.

Protecting free-speech rights often means protecting viewpoints we never would endorse.

To say that public policy is complex is not to say that we can’t apply some relatively simple rules to improve policy outcomes.

Local governments should simply stay out of the way of private business. Their job is to serve citizens, not to compete in the private market.