As lawmakers grapple with which policies lead to better student achievement, Terry Stoops, director of education studies for the John Locke Foundation, discusses the new state law that mandates five additional days for public school kids. Stoops shares research that shows the across-the-board policy does little to help kids achieve more. Next we turn to a key issue for North Carolinians. The state’s gas tax is set to increase in 2012, despite a recent vote in the N.C. House. You’ll hear highlights from a House debate over whether North Carolina should cap the portion of the gas tax that increases as gas prices increase. While the House overwhelmingly endorsed a cap, the state Senate took no action on the measure. After that is a discussion of election law. North Carolina elects its judges now in nonpartisan races. Would it make more sense  to select judges in a different way? Professor Jim Drennan of UNC’s School of Government recently offered lawmakers a review of different judicial selection options. Any change in the selection system would require a statewide vote. That’s followed by a look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters and their imitators. Across the country these folks have expressed concerns about the evils of capitalism. But Tom Palmer, executive vice president for international programs at the Atlas Network and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, disagrees. Palmer has edited the recent book The Morality of Capitalism. He outlines key themes from that book. And finally, Jane Shaw, president of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, discusses the rising rate of college tuition. Shaw analyzes the trend in North Carolina and ways universities can cuts costs and be more efficient.