Have you ever seen a news story reported in a national or regional media outlet about your hometown, or a place you know well, that portrays the area in such a light that you just can’t recognize it? The piece might use anecdotes or other information about the area to make a larger point, perhaps...
The mainstream media and pundits on both sides of the aisle focus an extraordinary amount of time and energy examining public school funding. It is not surprising that they do. Surveys suggest that most Americans believe that public schools should receive more taxpayer money. According to the left-leaning PDK/Gallup Poll, “Lack of financial support for...
The city of Charlotte really wants to build a streetcar line. Queen City taxpayers probably will have to dig a bit deeper to pay for it, though, as construction bids have come in over 30 percent above projections. Such overages should come as no surprise, given the history of transit projects in general and the...
Four classically liberal professors and an economist named Adam Smith walk into a room. No, this isn’t the beginning of a bad joke; it was the first event of the Classical Liberals in the Carolinas conference held Aug. 11 at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte. The annual conference, now in its third year, was...
During her primary fight with Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton argued that his “free college” promise went too far. She merely advocated that students should be able to graduate “free of debt.” Now, however, Clinton has come out with a plan to make public colleges and universities free for families who earn less...
The 2016 N.C. legislative session was short, but full of significant action: limiting the growth of government, cutting taxes, paying down debt, building savings, raising teacher pay by almost 5 percent, protecting property rights, and continuing the momentum toward economic growth that began in 2011. What’s ahead? More of the same, I hope. As we...
There are many reasons for North Carolinians to be proud of the statewide education reforms implemented over the last five years. The state has made massive investments in K-12 education with a focus on grade-level proficiency in reading. Accountability is stronger. We pay teachers better. School districts have unprecedented budgetary flexibility. The list goes on...
The following editorial was published in the August 2016 print edition of Carolina Journal: Several members of the Investment Advisory Committee, a state commission that advises the treasurer about financial strategies for the state’s substantial investment portfolio, were surprised to learn at a recent meeting that, unlike many elected and appointed officials in the federal...
The arrival of summer means vacation time for many, and airports stay busy. While we think of domestic airline service as being deregulated, the reality is that government decisions still play a role in where airlines fly. The most obvious case of government involvement comes in awarding international routes. While the U.S. Department of Transportation...
In history books, Anti-Federalists often are depicted as losers during the constitutional ratification debates. But in many ways, they were victorious. For instance, they assured that a Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution, and their concerns prompted a vigorous political debate and constitutional commentary that Americans still reference. One of the leading...
North Carolina should abandon economic development policy and completely refocus on economic growth. These are distinctly different goals that more often than not conflict with each other. Most policies meant to promote economic development create economic inefficiencies and therefore hinder economic growth. For decades North Carolina has been pursuing “economic development policy.” Indeed, the N.C....
