News
New audit details $61 million in spending on unbuilt Mid-Currituck Bridge
After nearly 30 years of planning and spending, a state audit found NCDOT has spent $61 million on the Mid-Currituck Bridge without breaking ground.
News
Audit: NC community colleges spent Helene funds on stress balls, birdwatching
An audit of $1.25 million appropriated to the NC Community College System for mental health support after Hurricane Helene has turned up some interesting purchases, including rhinoceros-shaped stress balls, foot detox sessions, and guided birdwatching.
Opinion
Infrastructure bill did us no favors
Most of the benefits of roads, bridges, transit, broadband, and water systems accrue to those who make use of those systems on a regular basis.
Opinion
Federal reform boosts state economy
A new study projects that thanks to federal tax reform, North Carolinians will see an average increase in take-home pay over the coming decade of $18,287 across all households and $31,608 for married couples with two kids.
Opinion
Start at the starting line
Political observers hurt their arguments when they fail to acknowledge key background information.
Opinion
Caution needed on state budget
State and local expenditures make up a combined 9.17 percent of GDP in North Carolina — our lowest rate of government spending in many decades.
Opinion
Learning to question claims about ‘economic impact’
Economic development is a game, and it’s played by its own special set of rules. At its core, it involves taking public money and spending it on private companies, which is also presented as a gain for the public as a whole. That’s especially true for stadiums and other facilities built for sports teams, where...
Opinion
Setting Limits for State Spending Growth
It’s important to place government spending numbers in the proper context.
Opinion
States Should Think Long-Term
States lack the tools to manipulate the economy in the short run. They can’t run operating deficits and have no power to inflate the money supply (thank goodness).
Opinion
If Tax Rates Don’t Matter…
To deny that taxes affect economic decisions is akin to denying that prices affect economic decisions. It is, in short, crackpot economics.
Opinion
Public Needs Vs. Public Wants
Rather than gravitate toward more fiscally sound decisions, some local governments have started becoming more desperate -- considering projects on their wish list rather than their need list.
Opinion
Two Tries At The One Percent
There were actually two attempts over the past year to make a certain statistic, one percent, into a political cause here in North Carolina.
