For years the John Locke Foundation has championed policies grounded in limited government and free markets. This legislative session, many of these ideas — reform efficiency, and greater accountability — won the day with many legislators. That means every North Carolinian will be impacted. The John Locke Foundation’s Vice President for Outreach, Becki Gray, explains the principles that guided legislators and the key issues they addressed. Then we turn to energy policy. We’ve heard a lot in recent years about hydraulic fracturing — “fracking” — for natural gas in North Carolina’s underground shale. State lawmakers are also interested in boosting the search for offshore energy options. You’ll hear a recent legislative debate about offshore energy exploration, along with reaction from Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson. Next is a look at the growth of “cronyism.” Jon Sanders, director of regulatory studies for the John Locke Foundation, recently devoted a public presentation to defining cronyism and explaining its harmful economic impact. That’s followed by an interesting look at the education of the next generation. Nuclear energy production involves some advanced knowledge of physics, but the basics are easy enough to describe in a children’s book. Amelia Frahm, executive director of Nutcracker Publishing, has written an award-winning book on the topic. She explains why nuclear literacy among elementary-age students makes sense. And finally, after months of negotiations, state legislators and Gov. Pat McCrory have agreed on a 2013-15 General Fund budget. There are no tax increases and no new debt. Sarah Curry, the John Locke Foundation’s director of fiscal policy studies, explains key elements of the budget and why Medicaid is the program driving other levels of spending.
Legislative Reforms Spark Tar Heel Transformation
Related
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...
Government ‘economic development’ programs: benefitting the few at the expense of the many
Imagine Ted wants to start his own company to, say, build and sell televisions. Ted rents the land and factory, hires workers, and acquires the capital goods and other inputs as necessary. Months later, he starts putting his televisions up for sale. To make a profit, of course, Ted needs to sell the sets at...
Is identity politics a distraction?
If I were part of the ruling elite and wanted to keep people divided and misdirecting their anger at each other instead of me, I could think of nothing better than to convince people to focus obsessively on race. Looking at it through this lens, it may well be that the race-centered “woke” movement is...
NCGA General Fund budget $24 billion, $500 million less than governor’s
Republican legislative leaders have reached agreement on a 2019-20 General Fund budget cap of slightly more than $24 billion, shaving about $500 million from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed spending plan. (See Editor’s note at end of this story.) Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, made the announcement Tuesday, March...