Opinion

NC congressional delegation should demand balanced-budget amendment

As the United States grapples with a staggering national debt surpassing $34 trillion, which grows by further trillions every year, it’s imperative to address the root cause of this fiscal irresponsibility. Over the past century, we’ve witnessed a concerning trajectory, with the federal debt ballooning from $403 billion in 1923 to a staggering $33.17 trillion...

Algenon Cash
News

Cooper calls for moratorium on Opportunity Scholarships as demand surges among NC families

Gov. Roy Cooper called for a moratorium on spending on the Opportunity Scholarship Program during a meeting of the State Board of Education on March 7, even as demand for the voucher program more than doubled this year. “Most private schools are not better than our public schools,” said Cooper, a Democrat. “[This] is a...

David N. Bass
News

NCInnovation hires two new executives

The public-private-partnership NCInnovation (NCI), a private non-profit which aims to help commercialize public university research in North Carolina, announced the expansion of its senior leadership team Tuesday. Josh Howard will serve as General Counsel and Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer, while Erica Shrader joins the NCI as Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Howard, a...

CJ Staff
Video

Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes the Leandro case and NC school funding

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses North Carolina’s Leandro education funding lawsuit and reforming the state’s system of paying for students’ education needs. King offered these comments during the Feb. 23, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donna King
News

ROI: NC Innovation spent big on lobbying, staff bonuses, before receiving $250 million in taxpayer funds

According to documents obtained by Carolina Journal in response to a public records request, the nonprofit, NC Innovation (NCI), spent at least $288,000 on lobbying state lawmakers during critical budget negotiations in the summer of 2023. Subsequently, NCI was written in to the state's two-year spending plan as one of its largest line items.

Jeff Moore

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Opinion

School finance in NC: It’s time to take the next step

In 2022, North Carolina spent $16.7 billion in state, federal, and local funds on its public schools. Those funds were distributed to local schools using 50 different funding formulas. People frequently focus on how much money was distributed, which is important. Equally important, however, is to evaluate how that money is distributed. In recent years,...

Bob Luebke
Opinion

Silent crisis: America’s $34 Trillion national debt

The United States’ national debt is above $34 trillion, but leaders in Washington do not notice. Instead, they’re focused on more important things, like the national security threat of foreign garlic or maintaining funding for a United Nations aid organization, some of whose workers may have been involved with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Sadly,...

Donald Bryson
Opinion

Voters should blame themselves for unsustainability of Social Security

If you live in North Carolina, you have about 8 weeks. That is the amount of time that voters have to get candidates running for office to take a stand on the future of Social Security. Because once parties have picked their candidates in the primaries, the time will have passed. Campaigns at that point...

Brenton Smith
Opinion

Congress should follow NC’s lead on long-term fiscal stewardship

Congressional leaders have once again narrowly averted a government shutdown by passing a short term spending bill to fund government through March. Undoubtedly most political insiders and pundits are familiar with this reoccurring dance. The perpetual reliance on short-term funding bills not only reveals deep partisan divisions but also highlights the inability of Congress to...

Algenon Cash