RALEIGH — North Carolina’s flat-rate income tax promotes economic growth while ensuring that taxpayers with higher incomes pay progressively higher tax rates. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report explains how. “Some people believe that there’s a direct conflict between a flat-rate tax and the goal of tax progressivity, which means taxing a larger percentage...
RALEIGH — An event center that could cost up to $51 million threatens to generate far more costs than benefits for Rocky Mount. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report explains why. The report also recommends alternatives for boosting the city’s economy. “The event center could become an albatross around the necks of both current...
RALEIGH — A new Direct Primary Care option helped Union County government save more than $1.28 million on health care claims in its first year, without sacrificing quality of care for county government employees. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report highlights the cost savings. The report urges other local governments across North Carolina to...
RALEIGH — Overregulation of alcoholic beverages in North Carolina stifles entrepreneurs hoping to expand a growing industry across the state. That’s one of the key findings of a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. The state requires 43 different types of permits and licenses for different activities linked to alcohol sales, said report author Jon...
RALEIGH — North Carolina has outperformed regional and national averages in most standard measures of economic growth, including job creation, gross domestic product, and personal income, since conservatives took control of the levers of state government. A new John Locke Foundation briefing document highlights those gains, along with the national recognition North Carolina has seen...
RALEIGH — Wake County taxpayers could be saddled with a multibillion-dollar bill for an expanded transit system that fails to meet most people’s needs. That’s if Wake voters approve a half-cent sales tax increase on the Nov. 8 ballot. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report examines that ballot measure. “Lots of people think public...
RALEIGH — Raising the government-mandated minimum wage to $15 per hour could cost North Carolina 334,000 jobs. The least-skilled and most vulnerable workers would feel the largest impact, according to a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “Economic research consensus is clear on the negative effects of a higher minimum wage on low-skilled, poor, and...
RALEIGH — North Carolina can set the stage for economic prosperity by pursuing policies that promote and enhance individual liberty. That’s the driving theme behind more than 85 recommendations on taxes, spending, education, health care, regulation, property rights, and more in the 20th-anniversary edition of the John Locke Foundation’s Agenda. “Greater individual liberty will lead...
RALEIGH — Free trade has been hammered on the presidential campaign trail this year, but the John Locke Foundation will tout free trade’s benefits on Friday, July 29. That’s the day JLF will host a speech on trade in connection with the annual Friedman Legacy Day. The noon event at the JLF office in Raleigh...
RALEIGH — Census data show that new and converted bicycle lanes represent a “poor use” of limited state and local N.C. transportation dollars. That’s a key finding from a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “Leaders at the N.C. Department of Transportation and in North Carolina’s cities should rely on demonstrated widespread demand for bike...
RALEIGH — North Carolina policymakers should boost entrepreneurship and economic growth by focusing their next round of tax reform on capital gains. That’s the recommendation in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. Lawmakers could end taxation of capital gains in one step or in phases. “A good target for future tax reform should be...
RALEIGH — Natural gas beats solar and wind as a low-cost energy source, with better environmental impacts, more efficiency, and better reliability. Those conclusions stand out in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “Keeping consumers’ costs as low as possible is the No. 1 issue in electricity policy in North Carolina,” said report author...