Opinion
Liberty and generosity form virtuous circle
In places where governments are smaller, taxes are lower, regulations are lighter, and property rights are more secure, people tend to be more generous, trustful, and tolerant.
Opinion
Cherish our free state of North Carolina
North Carolina isn’t quite First in Freedom. But over the past decade and a half, we’ve taken tremendous strides in the right direction. Those are among the findings of the latest Economic Freedom of North America index, published earlier this month by the Canada-based Fraser Institute. The new report uses 2023 data on government expenditure,...
Opinion
Employment gains reflect policy success
North Carolina’s strong economic performance persists — as do the lessons it reveals about politics and public policy. The latest report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that North Carolina added 76,700 net new jobs over the last 12 months, an increase of 1.5%. Only five states posted larger employment gains. Expanding beyond...
Opinion
Pacesetting states offer growth lessons
High-tax, high-regulation states such as New York and California can’t outcompete Texas and Florida because the latter deliver better public services.
Opinion
More freedom means more progress
Education makes it more likely for individuals to migrate — and when they migrate, they are more likely to migrate to economically free states.
Opinion
Economic freedom is a shock absorber
In a normal market, creditors demand higher interest from borrowers to whom they lend money for longer periods of time. That’s because these creditors are assuming more risk that they won’t be paid, and because a dollar of interest received tomorrow is usually more valuable than a dollar of interest received years from now. What...
Opinion
Conservatives see freedom as progress
For some, our strongest impulse is for government, an inherently coercive institution, to butt out of our private affairs and decisions. For others, the strongest impulse is to butt in.
News
U.S. slips in economic freedom rankings; Canada in freefall
With an ever-expanding federal government, the U.S. has fallen out of the top five countries for economic freedom, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute. America now ranks as No. 6, behind Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Georgia. The U.S. ranked particularly poorly in its size of government and freedom to...
Opinion
How government efforts to lower prices can increase costs
Programs like Medicare and Medicaid sold as making health care more “affordable” may dramatically lower the price of health care to enrollees, but very well may increase the costs to society of delivering care.
Opinion
North Carolina needs more businesses
While there is no unanimous verdict in the economic literature, most studies show that economic freedom boosts economic growth in general and entrepreneurship in particular.
Opinion
Freedom can fuel faster growth
Our state does not have the top-performing economy in the country — does that mean North Carolina’s rightward turn on economic policy was a mistake?
Podcast
All Eyes On Races For Governor and US Senate Seat
Rick Henderson races for Senate & Governor; Joseph Connors on freedom's relationship to a thriving society; legislators debate rolling back regulations & improving supplemental insurance for gov't workers; Sarah Curry on use of incentives by big NC cities
