Opinion
Pay for jobs, not long searches
NC ought to consider replicating Idaho’s approach. By changing when benefits are paid, it reduces work disincentives without inviting accusations of stinginess.
Opinion
AI isn’t the layoff story. It’s the cover story.
In the case of AI and layoffs, the reality is not that machines have suddenly replaced people, but that organizations are using new tools to accelerate changes that were already underway, which means the real question for policymakers is not how to stop that process, but how to ensure that the benefits of it are broadly shared, and the costs are not quietly shifted onto those least equipped to absorb them.
News
NC faces demographic shift as US birth rate hits record low
The US birth rate reached a new recent low in 2025, even while data for NC showed a similar though less severe decline, with implications for the economy and public education.
Opinion
Wade walks: Coaches always had freedom, NIL gives players theirs
While far from perfect, NIL aligns with a free-market ethos. This fleeting phase of life is precisely when all students, not just athletes, should learn that their effort creates opportunities, and that those opportunities can, in turn, yield real rewards.
Opinion
Help workers truly earn higher wages
As automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence keep evolving, the market for entry-level and low-skill workers will adjust accordingly.
Opinion
How H-1B visas affect North Carolina
It's true that our culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence. But the solution to that is not importing large numbers of foreign workers who might work hard but also may drive down wages for American citizens.
Opinion
Is NC the worst state for workers? Hardly.
The fact that both businesses and workers are flocking to "best for business" states and fleeing "best for workers" ones is a major hint on which metric matters more.
Opinion
Time to champion occupational choice
Workers don’t lose skills when they cross state lines to live in North Carolina. Let’s not punish them for wanting to call North Carolina home.
Opinion
Licensing laws shackle labor markets
North Carolina is one of the toughest places in the country to enter a new career — and that doesn’t auger well for our future economic performance. The issue is occupational licensing. For dozens of professions, North Carolina requires a prospective employee to possess a specified education credential, receive a specified amount of training, pass...
Opinion
When investing in yourself, diversify
Diversify your portfolio. That’s excellent investment advice — but it applies to many more situations than you might think. After all, setting aside part of each paycheck in retirement funds or other financial assets isn’t the only way you invest now in anticipation of future returns. Indeed, unless you are fabulously wealthy or remarkably lucky,...
Opinion
Most workers say they’re satisfied
Most North Carolinians aren’t happy with the way things are going in the country. They are dismayed by recent increases in the cost of living. They are discouraged by recent declines in student attendance, classroom discipline, and academic performance in our schools, among other negative social and cultural trends. And they are disappointed by the...
Opinion
A conservative case for paid family leave
As North Carolina teachers head back to school this year, they are walking through their classroom doors with a new benefit — paid parental leave. This benefit, for which almost all state employees are eligible, was provided by the NC General Assembly’s Republican majority as part of SB20, the Care for Women, Children and Families...
