North Carolina’s political world is still reeling from last month’s stunning arrest on corruption charges of Patrick Cannon, the Democrat who had been mayor of Charlotte for less than six months. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson explains the charges, discusses Cannon’s rise in politics, and reviews North Carolina’s history of political corruption. Then we turn to fiscal policy. State lawmakers are reviewing the effectiveness of their targeted tax incentive programs. You’ll hear highlights from a recent discussion of a program called the Job Development Investment Grant, or JDIG. Next is a look at a hotly debate education policy. Legislators have shown interest in recent years in pursuing performance pay for North Carolina’s public school teachers. During a recent public meeting, Timothy Barnsback of the group Professional Educators of North Carolina and Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, had an interesting exchange on the topic. That’s followed by a look at how and why consumers would benefit if North Carolina moved toward a system allowing more competition in delivery of electricity. That theme dominated the first of two forums co-sponsored by the John Locke Foundation and the environmental group NC WARN. During the first forum, Shawn LeMond, managing director of the Sustainable Energy Community Development Company, touted the potential innovation tied to increased competition.
And finally, supporters of North Carolina’s very generous 25 percent tax credit for the film and TV production industry say it is a job creator with a substantial positive impact on North Carolina’s economy. Not so, says John Locke Foundation Director of Regulatory Studies, Jon Sanders. Sanders explains what is left out of the typical economic impact data that is touted by the industry and discusses why the incentive should be ended.