This week the Senate leadership presented the chamber’s state budget proposal. After a day or two of social media reaction and topline numbers, it’s time for a real look at what this contains before it runs the legislative gauntlet. A theme runs through this budget: Fix what’s broken, maintain what we know is working, and...
No one wants to get into debt. Families don’t plan on a financial crisis upending their lives. Yet, life is not always fair, people don’t always make good decisions, investments go sour, and unexpected expenses crop up. When someone finds themselves in crisis, they need help; options to get out of trouble. That’s what debt...
The 2020 election is over. Thankfully and finally. Maybe. Not everyone is happy, and the process may not be perfect, but it works better than any alternative. Before I close my notebook on what may very well be the most important election of our lifetime — at least for now — here are some parting...
DURHAM — Governors’ initial budget proposals rarely resemble the spending plans that finally pass the General Assembly. Early reaction to Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed $23.5 billion General Fund budget suggests that this tradition will continue. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, wasted no time in criticizing the plan Cooper rolled out Wednesday at Durham Technical Community College. “If...
