Opinion
Why NC’s tax revolution points to the FairTax
The Fair Tax Act is currently in Congress, with 14 House sponsors (including Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina) and the endorsement of over 80 economists.
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GOP House members say tax reform will show Congress can fulfill promises
HOPE MILLS — On Thursday John Buie accompanied the management team from JEB Designs to a trade show in Charlotte to inspect a $60,000 machine for his small screen-printing/embroidery company. The next day Buie, the firm’s chief financial officer, hosted Republican U.S. Reps. Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District and Cathy McMorris Rodgers...
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JLF: Proposed minimum-wage hike could cost N.C. 334k jobs
Raising the government-mandated minimum wage to $15 per hour could cost North Carolina 334,000 jobs. The least-skilled and most vulnerable workers would feel the largest impact, according to a recent John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “Economic research consensus is clear on the negative effects of a higher minimum wage on low-skilled, poor, and teenage workers,”...
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Interview: Focus on income inequality misplaced
Much political debate in recent years has focused on income inequality in the United States and what, if anything, the federal government ought to do about it. Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and director of the Mercatus Center, has studied inequality. While in North Carolina to deliver Duke University’s Hayek lecture,...
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N.C. One of Many States Reviewing Occupational Licensing Rules
A legislative proposal that would consolidate or eliminate licensing boards for more than a dozen occupations may be stalled until next year, but as legislators weigh public input on licensing rules, other states may serve as models for reforming occupational licensing provisions. The issue got the attention of the General Assembly after a landmark U.S....
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Texas Ruling Targets State-Level Licensing
RALEIGH — A ruling by the Texas Supreme Court earlier this summer striking down an occupational licensing requirement has raised hopes that other states, including North Carolina, will move to ease job licensing restrictions. The court said a state requirement forcing eyebrow threaders to complete 750 hours of training violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Unemployment Rate Rises As Hiring Increases
RALEIGH — In not seasonally adjusted or unadjusted terms, the U.S. unemployment rate rose by 0.2 points, from 8.4 percent to 8.6 percent. The number of employed civilians fell by 76,000 and the number of unemployed rose by 216,000.
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Misleading Counting Method Inflates Rail Jobs
RALEIGH — The Obama administration has refused to defend the concept of ”job-years” publicly. And Gov. Bev Perdue has been a steadfast user of the inflated figure, which measures “job-years” instead of actual jobs.
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Niskanen: Promises Too Much for Tax Rates
RALEIGH — The United States government will never raise tax rates high enough to cover all the promises it has made through programs such as Social Security and Medicare, Cato Institute Chairman William Niskanen predicted during last night’s fourth annual John W. Pope Lecture.
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NC Job Growth Revised Downward
RALEIGH — Last month, Gov. Mike Easley announced that North Carolina had gained 13,400 new jobs in May. The announcement was a noted departure from standard practice, and Easley took the opportunity to link his policies to the employment gain. But the governor may not be so eager to continue making the announcements. Revised numbers now show the job gain for May was actually 3,300, or 10,100 less than the governor reported. And while the preliminary data for June appear to show a large 35,000 gain, the overwhelming majority were in the government category — and these trends appear to stem from statistical quirks related to year-round schooling.
