For the week of
February 01, 2013
- carolinajournal.com
Reaction of the Week
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s aggressive approach to occupational
licensing raises prices and protects current members of a profession
more than it protects consumers. That’s a key finding in a new John
Locke Foundation Spotlight report, which compares occupational licensing to outdated “medieval guilds.”
The report recommends six ways to “de-guild” North Carolina’s economy.
Those recommendations include cutting the number of licensing boards and
licensed job categories.
“Consumers would benefit from lower costs, more competition, a wider
range of service levels, and more reliance on private review and
certification processes,” said report author Jon Sanders, JLF Director
of Regulatory Studies. “Aspiring members of a profession would be able
to enter it easily, potentially bringing new ideas that would transform
the industry or helping contribute to a larger menu of service choices
for consumers.”
“Society would benefit from more human and entrepreneurial liberty, as
well as from greater employment access for the poor, the less educated,
and older career changers,” added Sanders, whose study of occupational
licensing marks the latest installment in his series of Carolina Cronyism reports.
North Carolina features more than 50 occupational licensing boards,
Sanders said. “The state licenses more occupations than most other
states,” he said. “A recent report ranked North Carolina in a tie with
Massachusetts at No. 15 in the nation for most licensed job categories
at 154. Among neighboring states, only Tennessee licenses more. Virginia
licenses half as many jobs as North Carolina, and crossing the border
from North to South Carolina reduces licensed occupations by
two-thirds.”
News Features
CJ: New study skews data on N.C. tax burdens
RALEIGH — There’s no reason to believe a new
report’s claim that North Carolina’s tax system takes a “much larger
share” from middle- and low-income families than from families with
higher incomes. The John Locke Foundation documents how the misuse of
selected federal tax data leads left-leaning analysts to the wrong
conclusions.
CJ: Thousands receive N.C. Revenue notices that look like bills
RALEIGH — A stint as a prosecutor in a South
Carolina county ended up earning Eric Rowell a notice of failure to file
a North Carolina income tax return for 2008. Rowell neither lived nor
worked in North Carolina that year. But that didn’t keep the N.C.
Department of Revenue from sending him an automated notice of intent to
assess taxes for that year.
CJ: Long session of General Assembly gets rolling
RALEIGH — Gavels in both the House and the
Senate fell at noon Wednesday as the General Assembly begins its 2013
session in earnest. Gone is the ceremonial first day, when lawmakers trekked to the state
capital three weeks early to elect their leadership and take care of
perfunctory ceremonial duties.
CJ: Audit: N.C. Medicaid in disarray, wastes millions
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Medicaid program is
in a major state of disarray, costing taxpayers “hundreds of millions of
dollars” in mismanagement, a blistering state audit revealed. The Medicaid program deliberately violates General Assembly directives and potentially state statutes, the audit said. CJ: Freshman Lawmaker proposes letting school districts go all-charter
RALEIGH — While the Republican leadership is
talking education reform — including offering more choices for parents
and students — a freshman GOP representative is putting forth a new
twist on charter schools. Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, would like to give entire school districts the option of converting to charter school districts.
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 04, 2013 at 12:00 p.m.
Shaftesbury Society Luncheon
with our special guest Dr. Walter Wessels
"Right-To-Work: What Does The Law Do?" Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
JLF 23rd Anniversary Gala Event
with our special guest Stuart Varney
JLF 23rd Anniversary Event with
Fox Business News Anchor
Stuart Varney
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Capital Quotes
“If you want to take gender studies that’s fine, go to a private school and take it.”
— Gov. Pat McCrory, as quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, talking on Bill Bennett’s radio show.
“The University’s value to North Carolina should not be measured by jobs filled alone.”
— UNC President Tom Ross, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer, responding in a statement to McCrory’s comments.
“We all know we are going to be dictated to by the federal government, so if they want to do it, just let them do it.”
— Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, as quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, talking about a bill he co-sponsored that would make the federal government solely responsible for running the health exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act in the state. “I’m offended a bill of this import, that hurts the unemployed of North Carolina as severely as it does; I’m offended that it’s rushed through on the second day of the session.”
— Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, as quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, commenting about a bill to reform the state’s unemployment insurance program.
On The Air This Week…
This week on C J Radio…
JLF’s Terry Stoops discusses virtual charter school expansion; HHS Secretary Aldona Wos comments on top challenges for the agency; Sen. Phil Berger discusses a state-run health exchange & Medicaid expansion; Duke University professor Ruth Grant on unintended consequences of incentives; and JLF’s Roy Cordato offers the latest climate change news.
This week on NC Spin…
Join moderator Tom Campbell
for
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. Topics this week: The legislature returns; education silos; political party examination; and corruption and fraud. This week’s panelists: John Hood and Becki Gray from the John Locke Foundation; Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; and former House Speaker Joe Mavretic.
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