Clearly, Gov. Perdue was spinning yesterday when she told MSNBC that North Carolina has “bounced back.” The governor is rightly being criticized for this statement since North Carolina’s unemployment rate is a staggering 9.6 percent. Legislators have begun to take steps to rein in spending and growth and reduce regulations that hinder business and job creation, but more reform is needed next session. Still, I’m actually glad the governor proclaimed her view of the economy, for it introduces a policy discussion we need to have about job creation and economic prosperity, what leads to it and what does not. These are serious times. The policies we choose as a state will have decades-long consequences. I suggest we  continue Gov. Perdue’s discussion of the economy with John Hood’s plan to put North Carolina’s best foot forward.