Category: Taxes and Budget

• Our state has gotten freer

  Maximizing freedom is a core conservative goal. Over the past 10 years of largely conservative governance in North Carolina, we have made significant progress toward that goal.

  by John Hood
• JLF’s Joseph Coletti explains why states don’t need a federal bailout

  Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior fellow, urges Congress to avoid calls for another bailout of state governments.

  by Joseph Coletti
• Cooper gets second term, but faces a lot of questions

  Races filling the N.C. ballot were won or lost by the thinnest of margins. With a few exceptions, races — statewide and national — stayed excruciatingly close days after election night. Just as polls predicted. All teetering within the margins of error, albeit with at least…

  by John Trump
• Are counties taking the lead in solar plant pushback?

  North Carolina’s installed solar power is second only to California’s. Some may cringe at the thought of following California’s energy policy, given the rolling blackouts imposed there. Solar power seemed like an attractive option in 2007, when the Democrat-controlled legislature handed Democratic Gov. Mike Easley a bill that provided sweeping…

  by Donald van der Vaart
• Carolina Journal Radio No. 910: Questions surround key COVID-19 data points

  Debate about the COVID-19 pandemic has featured plenty of data involving case numbers, deaths, and hospitalizations. Dig into the details, and you learn that the numbers might not be as useful as they first appear. They might even portray a misleading picture. Jon Sanders, John Locke Foundation director of regulatory…

  by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Jon Sanders
• Carolina Journal Radio No. 909: Taxpayers cannot afford another state, local bailout

  Federal taxpayers cannot afford another bailout of state and local governments. Joseph Coletti, the John Locke Foundation’s senior fellow, explains why in a column he co-wrote for TheHill.com. Coletti contends most state governments have fared better than expected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throwing more money at them now would lead…

  by Jon Guze, Joseph Coletti
• JLF’s Joseph Coletti discusses impact of conservative N.C. budget practices

  Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior fellow, explains how conservative budget practices have helped North Carolina. Coletti offered these comments during an interview with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.

  by Joseph Coletti
• JLF’s Joseph Coletti opposes proposed federal bailout of state governments

  Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior fellow, explains why he opposes a possible federal bailout of state governments. Coletti offered these comments during an interview with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.

  by Joseph Coletti
• Federal government can’t afford more bailouts for state, local governments

  Editor’s Note: This column first appeared in The Hill on Sept. 5, and on the website of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy on Sept. 29. The Trump administration and congressional leaders are at loggerheads over another COVID-19 relief package that may…

  by Michael D. LaFaive, Joseph Coletti
• Carolina Journal Radio No. 906: North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race has national significance

  The outcome of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race could help determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years. Incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis faces a tough challenge from Democrat Cal Cunningham. Carolina Journal Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson analyzes recent developments in the hotly contested race. It’s safe to…

  by Rick Henderson, Becki Gray