RALEIGH – Weeks before a school-bond vote in Mecklenburg County that could result in another local tax increase, the John Locke Foundation today released a Citizen’s Guide to Local Spending that confirmed Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s rank as having the most expensive local government of any major city in North Carolina. City and county spending per person in...
RALEIGH — The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. City of New London drastically weakened the property rights of all citizens, according to a new analysis published today by the John Locke Foundation. Daren Bakst, legal and regulatory policy analyst for the free-market think tank, wrote a Spotlight briefing paper on the implications of...
RALEIGH – As Gov. Mike Easley and the North Carolina General Assembly attempted to resolve a serious dispute about teacher certification, the John Locke Foundation published a report Friday concluding that the state’s current certification process does little to ensure the state has high-quality teachers. Easley vetoed a bill designed to make it easier for...
RALEIGH – The proposed $427 million school bond in Charlotte-Mecklenburg would fund facilities that are far more expensive than in comparable districts and ignores alternative ways to build schools at a lower cost to taxpayers, according to the findings of a report published Wednesday by the John Locke Foundation. Terry Stoops, author of the Raleigh-based...
RALEIGH – Local government expenditures grew faster in Wilmington than in any other major North Carolina city over the past 10 years, according to a new report from the John Locke Foundation. From the 1994 fiscal year to the 2004 fiscal year, city and county expenditures per person in Wilmington grew by 42 percent in...
North Carolina consumers may be hurt by an obsolete state law that protects new-car dealers, according to a new analysis published by the John Locke Foundation. Daren Bakst, legal and regulatory policy analyst at the Raleigh-based think tank, wrote a new Spotlight briefing paper on what is known as a “relevant market area” (RMA) law,...
CHARLOTTE – Taxes, schools, crime, traffic congestion – these are just some the issues at the forefront of public debate in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and many surrounding communities. They will also be among the subjects debated in The Meck Deck, a new blog from the John Locke Foundation that debuted Thursday morning with a special...
RALEIGH – Despite record high temperatures, North Carolina’s major metropolitan areas are experiencing a third straight year of low ozone pollution, according to a new analysis published by the John Locke Foundation. Dr. Roy Cordato, JLF vice president for research and author of several reports on North Carolina air-quality and ozone trends, wrote a new...
RALEIGH – As Iraqis seek to meet their historic deadline for fashioning the first constitution of a truly free government in the Arab world, the author of A Patriot’s History of the United States will be in Raleigh Tuesday to discuss the founding of America’s own democratic experiment and its influence across the globe. Dr....
RALEIGH – The Easley administration’s claims that a proposed state budget won’t violate the governor’s spending cap are convoluted and contradictory, according to a preliminary analysis by the John Locke Foundation. Fiscal policy analyst Joe Coletti responded to attempts by the governor’s staff to argue that the General Fund spending plan now under consideration in...
RALEIGH – The state budget plan now facing floor votes in the North Carolina House and Senate levies another big tax increase to pay for excessive spending – and clearly busts Gov. Mike Easley’s spending cap, which he should enforce with a veto, said the author of a John Locke Foundation analysis. Joe Coletti, fiscal...
RALEIGH — Two Northeastern North Carolina economic development projects seeking more than $8 million from the state’s General Fund will do little to reverse the region’s economic misfortunes, according to a new report released this week by the John Locke Foundation. Joe Coletti, a fiscal policy analyst for the Raleigh-based think tank, wrote a Spotlight...