Becki Gray recaps the legislative session; Rick Henderson reacts to legislative debate on fracking; Jon Sanders on economic impact of cronyism; Amelia Frahm on why nuclear literacy among kids is key; JLF's Sarah Curry recaps the new General Fund budget
CHARLOTTE — August is a popular month to take a vacation. This year it was also a popular month for local governments to engage in some economic development activity involving vacationing and travel: Government-sponsored hotel deals made the news in Fayetteville and Wilmington. In both cases, citizens could use an extended holiday from this sort of questionable dealmaking.
RALEIGH — An economic incentives bill eligible for consideration in the General Assembly’s short session next year, known as the Life Sciences Development Act, would establish a private company to make taxpayer-funded loans of up to $30 million apiece to biotechnology and pharmacy startups in North Carolina.
RALEIGH — Pundits debate free trade, trade deficits, protective tariffs, a strong or a weak dollar. But what does it all mean? Do you have to have a Ph.D. in economics to understand these concepts? Gregory Rehmke says no. The program director for Economic Thinking, editor of EconomicThinking.org, and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Global Economics discussed economic issues with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio.
North Carolina’s latest targeted tax incentives plan answers questions about the confusing goals of economic development.
There's timeless wisdom in a 50-year-old story about a pencil, and it relates to the fact that certain writers find their abilities taxed by the simplest household projects.
Spirited debate continues about the legality and economics of North Carolina business incentives. One argument merits rebuttal: that selective tax credits aren’t really government subsidies.
Gains in productivity used to concentrate primarily in manufacturing. Now it is coming to the service sector -- and it will be good news for American workers.
RALEIGH -- In early May 2002 Ernie Pearson, the N.C. Northeast Partnership lawyer, informed Rick Watson about legal expenses from the CropTech deal, including costs "to assist in overcoming concerns raised by Commerce Secretary Jim Fain and to finalize the [agreement]." Watson also requested that Pearson bill the Northeast Partnership for future services related to the deal, though it never went through. Watson sought Tobacco Trust Fund funds to cover these tens of thousands of dollars in cost.
North Carolina is hot in pursuit of Massachusetts' status as a hotspot for biotechnology startups. So is this a contest of marketing pitches, or something more?
It's not exactly the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, but here's a collection of trends that suggest where North Carolina may be heading.
