Click here to view and here to listen to Daren Bakst discussing this press release. RALEIGH — Public school systems in Durham, Orange, and Montgomery counties, along with the city of Durham and Orange County government, all have violated state law by misusing tax dollars to promote sales-tax referendums on the Nov. 8 ballot. The...
RALEIGH — Durham County voters have good reasons to question a pair of sales tax increases on the November ballot that would take another $26.5 million per year out of their pockets. John Locke Foundation experts make that case in a new Regional Brief. The Nov. 8 ballot includes a proposal to raise $17.3 million...
Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Roy Cordato discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — Government programs targeting energy efficiency do little more than put so-called experts in charge of decisions that should be left in the hands of millions of consumers and producers. A John Locke Foundation economist reaches that conclusion...
RALEIGH — Orange County commissioners are courting special interests and “cynically manipulating” the voting process to win support for a $2.5 million sales tax hike. The John Locke Foundation makes that case in a new Regional Brief. Orange County voters will decide Nov. 8 whether to allow county commissioners to add 0.25 cents to the...
Click here to view and here to listen to Daren Bakst discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — The N.C. Supreme Court ruled on fewer than 60 cases in 2010 and issued no more than 80 opinions in any of the past five years. That’s one of the key findings in a first-of-its-kind
Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Terry Stoops discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — Enrollment in North Carolina community college remedial courses grew at a faster rate than the state’s public school graduation rate in a recent two-year period. The John Locke Foundation’s top education expert argues in a new Spotlight...
RALEIGH — Buncombe County commissioners and the local community college president are trying to “hoodwink” voters into endorsing a sales-tax hike with an offer that’s too good to be true. The John Locke Foundation’s top local government expert reaches that conclusion in a new Regional Brief. “Voters are told that an extra $7 million per...
RALEIGH — As North Carolina’s unemployment rate climbs above 10 percent for the first time in 10 months, officials and pundits should be careful about misusing the numbers to score political points. That’s the assessment from John Locke Foundation President John Hood. “Even before the N.C. Employment Security Commission released numbers showing 10.1 percent unemployment...
Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Terry Stoops discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — North Carolina should dump certification and licensing rules that place artificial limits on the number and kinds of teachers who can work in state-managed virtual schools. The John Locke Foundation’s top education expert recommends that change in...
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s General Assembly should repeal its unconstitutional taxpayer-financed campaign system in the wake of a new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. The John Locke Foundation’s top legal expert reaches that conclusion after reviewing the high court’s decision. In an Arizona case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a provision of that...
Click here to view and here to listen to Daren Bakst discussing this Policy Report. RALEIGH — When North Carolina lawmakers return to budget work next year, they should consider compensation for more than 2,900 living victims of the state’s forced sterilization program. The John Locke Foundation’s top legal expert makes the case for compensation...
RALEIGH — The General Assembly’s no-tax-hike budget sets North Carolina state government on a more sustainable course than the one Gov. Beverly Perdue and her allies supported. The John Locke Foundation’s top budget expert reaches that conclusion in a new Spotlight report. “Given the governor’s veto, this is likely the best possible budget that could...