The Entire Policy Report, Agenda 2002, is available for download as a 560K Adobe Acrobat file.
The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view or print this document.

Budget and Taxation

The State Budget
North Carolina’s state budget reflects its governmental priorities. Unfortunately, over the past two de-cades governors and lawmakers have usually chosen to add new programs to the state budget with-out considering the merits of existing programs and finding ways to fund higher-priority items by eliminating lower priorities.
More »

The State Tax Burden
Taxes represent the price we pay for government, so a reasonable tax burden is of benefit to the citizens who consume the services they fund. Unfortunately, the price of government in North Carolina has grown dramatically over the past two decades, and is no longer reasonable.
More »

State Tax Reform
North Carolina has a high state tax burden by regional standards, and its top marginal tax rates on individual (8.25 percent) and corporate (6.9 percent) income are among the highest in the U.S. Since 1990, the state legislature has imposed a net tax increase of more than $1 billion, with additional tax hikes likely in coming years.
More »

State Agency Consolidation
The constitutional offices of North Carolina state government have changed little since the beginning of the century. As a reaction first to the tyranny of royal governors and then to the Civil War, the state has divided executive power among a number of separately elected offices.
More »

The State Lottery
The idea of creating a state-run lottery in North Carolina has been a perennial issue in state politics for decades
More »

Education

School Standards & Testing
With the implementation of the ABCs of Public Education, the Excellent Schools Act, charter school leg-islation, and other reforms, North Carolina lawmakers have put education at the top of the priority list.
More »

School Choice & Competition
Public education is a core function of state and local government. The state constitution, in the words of the N.C. Supreme Court, recognizes the right to a “sound, basic education” for every child in the state.
More »

Higher Education Policy
During the past several legislative sessions, the topic of state funding for the University of North Caro-lina system has frequently arisen.
More »

Job Training Policy
For state and local policymakers, the issue of job training requires a significant amount of rethinking. North Carolinians spend a vast amount of money on training, but the benefits are difficult to quantify.
More »

Local Government

Local Budgets & Taxes
Local governments across North Carolina are complaining about increasing demands for public services, proliferating unfunded mandates from the state and federal governments, and insufficient revenue sources to meet their financial obligations.
More »

Housing & Urban Development
Homeownership is widely viewed as a necessary first step for community development. Once renters become owners, they begin to take a proprietary interest in their own property and that of the neigh-borhood. They set down roots.
More »

Smart Growth & Transit
As communities across North Carolina cope with the challenges of rapid growth in population and economic activity — which are, it should be remembered, far less serious than the problems associ-ated with a lack of such growth — some policymakers are embracing the idea of “Smart Growth.”
More »

Business and Regulation

Economic Development
While economic development has dominated the agendas of many governors, legislators, and local elected officials in North Carolina, it is one of the most misunderstood activities that governments undertake.
More »

Regulatory Reform
Regulation is the “hidden tax” that governments impose on families and private firms.
More »

Transportation Policy
Highways and transportation facilities are some of the most visible programs that state and local gov-ernments operate. But they are not without controversy.
More »

Legal Reform
North Carolina has a good legal system, partly because punitive damages cannot reach the ridiculous “I-spilled-hot-coffee-in-my-lap” levels achieved in other states.
More »

Health and Human Services

Health Care Reform
Ever since the national health care debate began in earnest in 1993, policymakers in North Carolina have wondered how best to proceed with state measures to improve access, increase quality, and reduce the expense of medical care.
More »

Medicaid & Long-Term Care
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services has long been one of the state’s fastest growing institutions.
More »

Disability Services
State programs for the physically and mentally disabled, most of them funded to a significant degree by federal dollars (for the most part originating in North Carolina, it should be noted), have become one of the largest government enterprises in North Carolina, making up nearly one-fifth of the Health and Human Services budget and employing thousands of people.
More »

Welfare Reform
Reforming our welfare system is a popular idea with the general public. But the case for significant change would be dramatic even if it were unpopular.
More »

Child Care & Preschool
One of the most controversial issues in the past few years has been the proper role of the state in providing child-care and preschool opportunities to North Carolina children.
More »

Other Issues

Privatization & Competition
Like other states and localities, governments in North Carolina are struggling to satisfy two apparently conflicting public demands: lower taxes and better services.
More »

Crime & Punishment
Preventing crime is the most basic of government functions. But despite some important progress in recent years, North Carolina governments still have much to do to meet this fundamental responsibil-ity.
More »

Civil Rights & Equal Opportunity
Civil rights and discrimination are among the most controversial subjects that state and local leaders must discuss.
More »

Campaign Finance Reform
While the issue of campaign finance reform barely registers in public opinion polls, many politicians and the media tell us reform is critical to the future of democracy in America.
More »

Term Limits & Legislative Process
It is no exaggeration to say that term limitation continues to be one of the most popular ideas in Ameri-can politics today, even though the issue has been on the national agenda for more than a decade.
More »

Suggested Resources
The brevity of this briefing book obviously precludes lengthy discussion of many of the important and complicated issues that face state and local policymakers.
More »

Vital Statistics at a Glance
20 Years of Vital Statistics on North Carolina Public Policy
More »

Material published here may be reprinted provided the Locke Foundation receives prior notice and appropriate credit is given. Submissions are welcome.

The John Locke Foundation welcomes comments and ideas for improvement.
Please contact our webmaster with questions or suggestions.

The John Locke Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute dedicated to improving public policy debate in North Carolina. Viewpoints expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect those of the staff or board of the Locke Foundation.