Buried in the business section of the N&O is an article on the ranking of North Carolina as a place for businesses. Although N.C. fares well in some rankings, The American Legislative Exchange Council places North Carolina at number 19 on an economic index because its personal tax is one of the “highest in the nation.” The Council also says that the state “suffers from a bloated government bureaucracy.” WOW! This group must have been reading information from the John Locke Foundation, which has been pointing this out for years in its publications, including By the Numbers. Are you listening, Jones Street and local governments?