Senate Leader Phil Berger highlights GOP policy goals, budget hopes, and calls for unity as North Carolina lawmakers prepare for the 2026 short session.
Zero-based budgeting means evaluating each expense as if it were new, introducing the kind of accountability, efficacy, and transparency in state budgeting that citizens deserve.
Under no circumstances should the ordinary operation of state and local government be contingent on federal funding (or borrowing).
NC can take a page from the ambitious cost-cutting playbook of the incoming Trump administration and its unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, or "DOGE."
For years, public discourse has been dominated by division, partisanship, and a winner-take-all mentality that has often alienated citizens, broken bonds among friends and family, and discouraged solutions-oriented policymaking. Yet, many Americans are embracing a new chapter rooted in a renewed focus on individual liberty and responsible governance.
While voters do care deeply about their families' well-being and their communities, they also value freedom from excessive state control. If 2020 through 2024 showed us anything, it showed us that voters are acutely aware of government creep into their businesses, schools, and lives. November’s election was a rejection of messages and policies that advocate for that creep.
Legislators should streamline the budget process, avoid prolonged impasses, and prioritize timely decision-making to ensure that the needs of NC's citizens are met without unnecessary disruption.
Is it the job of government to make you happy? While it may seem like a straightforward question, there are some important subtleties packed into those few words. On the face of it, “no” feels like the obvious answer. The Declaration of Independence states that governments are instituted to secure our rights to “life, liberty,...
The movement to have North Carolina join other states in exercising the call for an Article V Convention to propose amendments to the US Constitution has been brewing steadily in our state legislature since 2013. As consistent supporters and sponsors of the current Resolution HJR235, here are a few reasons we believe North Carolina needs...
Last week the non-partisan Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly forecast yet another $1 billion+ surplus in anticipated tax revenues for the 2024–2025 fiscal year. That’s on top of the $400+ million in surplus collections for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The news, the latest in a decade-long run of tax revenue surpluses,...
I’ve never been more delighted to be mistaken. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column observing that, over the first eight months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the state’s General Fund revenue was down slightly from what was collected during the first eight months of the previous fiscal year. North Carolina faced no...
