N.C. policymakers recently learned that state government ended its last budget year in June with a revenue surplus of nearly $900 million. Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper wants the state to borrow more money as it increases spending in the new budget year and beyond. Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior fellow, places those facts in...
Brenee Goforth, John Locke Foundation marketing and communications associate, discusses North Carolina’s tax on illegal drugs. Goforth offered these comments during an interview with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.
Uninsured small businesses in North Carolina could find another avenue toward getting health care via a bill on Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. Senate Bill 86 would allow small businesses to band together under trade associations and bargain with health insurers as larger employers. As the bill risks becoming trapped in the debate over Medicaid expansion,...
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses a legal brief from Democratic U.S. senators threatening the U.S. Supreme Court. Kokai offered these comments during the Aug. 16, 2019, edition of UNC-TV’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”
John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood answers host Tom Campbell’s question about the State Health Plan pricing dispute pitting N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell against hospitals. This exchange took place during the Aug. 16, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
When Eugene “Gene” Boyce passed away on Oct. 28, NC lost not only one of its finest legal minds but also a man who carried a piece of American history with him.
Because I’m a fiscal conservative, you might think I reflexively oppose government borrowing. You’d be mistaken. I believe that public finance and toxicology share a common rule: the dose makes the poison. That phrase is traditionally attributed to Paracelsus, a physician and philosopher of the German Renaissance, but the underlying notion, that something can be...
Allowing more small homes, speeding up approvals, and prioritizing thoughtful, pro-community housing would make paychecks go further and help people stay in the communities they love.
It’s hard to justify a national emergency based on a 50-year fact of American economic life.
On Wednesday, Dave Boliek was sworn in as the new state auditor of North Carolina and announced his hires for senior staff and says he will start work with an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The year 2024 was marked by significant developments across politics, the economy, education, and energy in North Carolina. As one of the nation’s most dynamic and closely watched states, it played a pivotal role in shaping regional and national conversations.
"Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees," Trump said in a press release issued Tuesday night. "Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."
The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday to ensure challenges of 60,000 ballots in the state's latest election are addressed in federal court. Republicans filed the challenges with the State Board of Elections. The challenges could affect the outcome of the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin, along with a handful of state legislative contests.
Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is turning to North Carolina’s second-highest court for an order that would force state election officials to make a final decision about Griffin’s election protests Tuesday. The State Board of Elections had planned to hear oral arguments about the protests the following day, according to a document Griffin filed Friday with the state Court of Appeals.
Donald Bryson, John Locke Foundation CEO and Carolina Journal publisher, discusses the US Supreme Court case addressing President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Locke filed a joint amicus brief challenging the constitutionality of emergency tariffs. Bryson offered these comments during the Oct. 28, 2025, episode of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”
Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the North Carolina General Assembly’s plans to redraw the state’s congressional election map. King offered these comments during the Oct. 17, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026, this podcast explores North Carolina’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding — from the War of Regulation to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and beyond. This 10-episode series, hosted by John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson, features guests with...
This week on The Debrief, a Guilford County legislator’s arrest on sex-related charges prompts quick reaction from colleagues. Gov. Josh Stein chose an unusual way to signal his signing of Iryna’s Law. We discuss the governor’s video message and get expert analysis of the law’s potential impact. We also highlight a possible federal response. Lawmakers at the...
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the congressional hearing conducted in Charlotte in connection with the high-profile Iryna Zarutska murder. Kokai offered these comments during the Oct. 3, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
If the right fails to police their side and lets it be conquered by white nationalism and conspiracy madness, we will be dragged down the same way the left has been by "woke." And we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.
An NC State paleontologist discovered definitive proof that the Nanotyrannus is indeed its own species of dinosaur.
Despite progress, there is still so much work ahead. NC consistently ranks among the top 10 states in the nation for reported human-trafficking cases.
John Locke's insights aren’t dusty history, but living ideas guiding how our government must act and what citizens must expect.
Times change. When we introduce IOPL to potential fellows, partners, and donors, some hear the word “political” and think “toxic,” or at least “partisan.”
Like a faith gathering, it incorporated music, fellowship, shared meals, and thoughtful discourse — but with democracy as its central theme.
Political and cultural causes are important. They motivate us to make the world around us better and hone our sense of justice. Also, the excitement of fighting the good fight can be, for lack of a better word, fun. But everything has its time and place. And even if we think a particular political issue...
On Good Friday state offices will be closed in North Carolina for Holy Week, along with 10 other states. However, that has not always been the case in North Carolina. The Monday after Easter — rather than Good Friday — was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years, and for many years before...
Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses Disney’s controversial programming changes. King offered these comments during the April 8, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”