RALEIGH — North Carolina would waste taxpayers’ money if it signs on to federal plans for high-speed rail service. That’s the conclusion of a new John Locke Foundation Policy Report. “The average North Carolinian will take a round trip on a high-speed train only once every 27 years,” said report author Randal O’Toole, senior fellow...
RALEIGH — North Carolina lawmakers would do nothing to help the state’s unemployment problem, if they move forward with proposed tax hikes in the final state budget. That’s the assessment of a John Locke Foundation expert analyzing May unemployment data. Click here to view and here to listen to Joseph Coletti discussing North Carolina’s latest...
RALEIGH — State budget negotiators can scrap proposed tax and fee increases while still avoiding the most drastic budget cuts they’ve threatened to make during the past few weeks. The John Locke Foundation’s chief budget analyst explains how in his new “Can-Do Budget.” Click here to view and here to listen to Joseph Coletti discussing...
RALEIGH — Legislators can prove that they care as much about people as they do about open space, if they make a simple change to an eminent domain bill moving through the General Assembly. That’s the assessment a John Locke Foundation expert offers in his latest Spotlight report. Click here to listen to Daren Bakst...
RALEIGH — North Carolina could add more than 42,000 jobs at no cost to taxpayers if the federal government got rid of its estate tax. That figure is based on research associated with a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based American Family Business Foundation. Click here to view and here to listen to Joseph Coletti...
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s public schools have added administrators, consultants, and other nonclassroom staffers faster than they’ve added students this decade. That’s a key finding in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. Click here to view and here to listen to Terry Stoops discussing this Spotlight report. “It’s important to keep this rapid growth...
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s continuing unemployment problems should send a clear signal to lawmakers preparing the N.C. House budget: scuttle any plans for higher taxes. The John Locke Foundation’s top budget analyst offers that recommendation today. Click here to view and here to listen to Joseph Coletti discussing North Carolina’s latest unemployment data. The N.C....
RALEIGH — More than 100 people packed the Historic Chowan County Courthouse recently to learn what North Carolina’s constitution says about the power of taxation. Thousands more across the state can watch the same presentation again, thanks to Carolina Journal Television, a new service of Carolina Journal Online. “People turn to CJ Online for valuable...
RALEIGH — Salisbury officials are “irresponsibly risking” taxpayer money on a $30 million fiber-optic cable system, according to a new John Locke Foundation Regional Brief. That system could force average taxpayers to “foot the bill for big business.” Click here to view and here to listen to Michael Sanera discussing this Regional Brief. “The average...
RALEIGH — A smoking ban proposal under consideration in the N.C. House and Senate would create a “major threat” to personal freedom and property rights. That’s the assessment a John Locke Foundation expert offers in a new Spotlight report. Click here to listen to Daren Bakst discussing this Spotlight report. “The proposed ban is being...
RALEIGH — Continued bad unemployment news should prompt North Carolina lawmakers to rethink plans for raising taxes. That’s the assessment of a John Locke Foundation analyst with a Ph.D. in economics. Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Roy Cordato discussing North Carolina’s latest unemployment data. The N.C. Employment Security Commission’s latest...
RALEIGH — North Carolina lawmakers should reject many ideas now included in the state Senate’s budget plan, if they want a responsible blueprint for state government spending. That’s the assessment of the John Locke Foundation’s top budget expert. Click here to view and here to listen to Joseph Coletti discussing the N.C. Senate budget plan....