As North Carolina grapples with the impact of COVID-19, debate has turned to when and how to reopen the state’s economy. While many are calling on government officials to ease restrictions tied to the pandemic, some worry that a reopened economy could lead to major health-related problems. Becki Gray, John…
The John Locke Foundation is leading a national effort to ensure state governments have more flexibility in their use of federal CARES Act money. Without that flexibility, states will have incentives to engage in unsustainable new spending. John Locke Foundation CEO Amy Cooke explains how JLF is working to help…
Much of the N.C. economy has shut down because of government orders linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not clear when the economy can move forward again. Nor can we tell what the “new normal” will look like once the pandemic has subsided. John Locke Foundation CEO Amy Cooke addresses…
As governments across North Carolina and the United States enact new restrictions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, some observers are asking questions and urging caution. John Locke Foundation CEO Amy Cooke discusses the tension between government’s efforts to address a health pandemic and the freedom of action…
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is reshaping lives in North Carolina, across the country, and around the world. The John Locke Foundation is helping N.C. leaders respond to challenges linked to the pandemic. CEO Amy Cooke discusses freedom-forward ideas JLF is promoting to help the state. She also assesses the impact…
COVID-19 prompted statewide public school closings. Those closings are bound to cause disruptions for teachers, students, parents, and others as the academic year resumes. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation vice president for research and director of education studies, assesses the challenge schools will face returning to a normal schedule. He…
The coronavirus scare reminds us about government-erected barriers that stand in the way of an effective response. Jordan Roberts, John Locke Foundation health care policy analyst, discusses policy changes at the state level that would help North Carolina deal better with problems linked to the virus’s spread. Medicaid expansion has…
Joe Biden’s win in the Democratic presidential primary topped the headlines, but voters made other significant choices in North Carolina’s March 3 election. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, analyzes key primary results. He looks ahead at the potential impact for the general election in November. Government rules can have a…
Carolina Journal recently broke the news that the N.C. Department of Transportation had purchased a former circus train and parked its cars in a wooded area near Spring Hope in Nash County. The CJ story stirred up interest in the transaction among lawmakers who oversee the DOT. It’s just the…
Gov. Roy Cooper emerged from a recent meeting with business executives and proclaimed that none of them had asked for a tax cut. Cooper used that fact to bolster his opposition to reducing business taxation. The problem for Cooper is that every company cited in his comments about the meeting…
