RALEIGH — Local taxes and fees in Greenville totaled $1,464 per person in the 2012 budget year, ranking the city No. 30 out of 35 larger North Carolina cities, according to a new John Locke Foundation report. A technical revision has led to significant changes in Greenville’s ranking. The report for the 2009 budget year...
RALEIGH — Local taxes and fees in Fayetteville totaled $1,338 per resident in the 2012 budget year, according to a new John Locke Foundation report. Fayetteville ranked No. 32 among North Carolina’s 35 largest cities in local government costs per person. Sanford ($1,660) ranked no. 24. Fayetteville’s ranking dropped one spot from 2011, while Sanford’s...
RALEIGH — After a one-year dip, Charlotte regains the top spot on the John Locke Foundation’s annual list of larger N.C. cities with the highest local government costs per person. Mooresville, which had ended Charlotte’s 11-year run at No. 1 last year, drops to No. 2 in the latest list. Charlotte’s local taxes and fees...
RALEIGH — Eight of North Carolina’s largest cities now have annual local tax-and-fee burdens topping $2,000 per person. Charlotte regains its No. 1 statewide ranking among the largest cities, with a local government bill of $2,379 per person. That’s according to a new John Locke Foundation report. Meanwhile, the average North Carolinian paid 4.28 percent...
RALEIGH — The latest federal employment data for North Carolina show positive signs of economic recovery, despite an increase in the state’s official unemployment rate for May. That’s the assessment from John Locke Foundation President John Hood. North Carolina’s official unemployment rate for May was 6.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics....
Click here to view and here to listen to Sarah Curry discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — North Carolina state budget writers would have more flexibility to fund teacher pay raises, address Medicaid cost overruns, create jobs, and generate a surplus, if they adopt a budget technique identified in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight...
Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Roy Cordato discussing Agenda 2014. RALEIGH — Building on positive reforms from the past few years, North Carolina’s elected leaders can take more steps to help boost economic growth, improve education, and fight overregulation. The John Locke Foundation’s new Agenda 2014 Policy Report offers more...
RALEIGH — The proposed N.C. Senate budget plan would shift money away from lower priorities to meet the goal of raising public school teacher pay across the state. John Locke Foundation experts reviewing the $21.2 billion plan for 2014-15 like the Senate’s focus on spending existing revenue more efficiently. “In the not-too-distant past, a plan...
Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Terry Stoops discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — A survey of nearly 900 academic studies from the past quarter-century shows North Carolina has been moving in the right direction on education reform in recent years. That’s a key conclusion from a new John Locke Foundation...
RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed $20.99 billion General Fund budget for 2014-15 would cover the state’s top priorities with a modest spending increase, while ensuring that an expected revenue shortfall does not create a long-term budget hole. John Locke Foundation experts offer that assessment after perusing the budget plan McCrory unveiled today. “The 1.7...
Click here to view and here to listen to Sarah Curry discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — Haywood County would place its local hospitality businesses at a competitive disadvantage with those in surrounding counties, if local and state officials move forward with a proposal to raise the county’s occupancy tax rate by 50 percent. That’s...
RALEIGH — The latest federal employment data for North Carolina support the case that a fiscally conservative approach to state fiscal policy is helping improve the economy’s long-term outlook. That’s the assessment from John Locke Foundation President John Hood. North Carolina’s official unemployment rate for March was 6.3 percent, according to data released this morning...