RALEIGH — Bids to bring major-league soccer to Charlotte or Raleigh offer a major contrast in the way taxpayers would be forced to help foot the bill. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report compares the proposals involving North Carolina’s two largest cities. “Large subsidies aren’t necessary to attract major-league sports, and stadiums don’t have...
RALEIGH — The latest N.C. General Fund budget builds on a recent history of sound, fiscally responsible state spending plans. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report highlights the budget’s key provisions, while also noting potential challenges in the years ahead. “Since Republicans gained control of the budget-writing process in 2011, they have focused on...
RALEIGH — Government is bigger and more expensive than it needs to be, thanks to an economic concept called the “special interest effect.” A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report explains how the concept drives energy policy, health insurance mandates, and sugar subsidies. The report also suggests ways to fight negative consequences tied to the...
RALEIGH — The $23 billion General Fund compromise between N.C. House and Senate budget negotiators would spend roughly $100 million more in 2017-18 than either chamber originally had planned. But the overall spending increase of 3.1 percent still falls within fiscally prudent standards. The John Locke Foundation’s budget team offers that assessment as legislative leaders...
RALEIGH — North Carolina legislators can help make health insurance more affordable by re-examining dozens of state health benefit mandates. They also should avoid creating new mandates. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report offers those recommendations. “In an era of rising health care costs and uncertainty about the future of federal health care reform,...
RALEIGH — North Carolina legislators could save taxpayers another $455 million in the next budget year. They would meet that target by using a tool called consensus-based budgeting. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report offers details. JLF is releasing its report as N.C. House and Senate budget negotiators work out final details of their...
RALEIGH — North Carolina electric ratepayers are spending much more money than they need to spend on their electric bills, thanks to the state’s application of a nearly 40-year-old federal law. The extra costs hit low-income residents especially hard. Those are two key findings of a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. It documents the...
RALEIGH — N.C. House budget writers’ decision to mirror the Senate’s overall goal of $22.9 billion in General Fund spending next year should pave the way for relatively quick agreement between the House and Senate on budget details. Both the House and Senate would spend substantially less than Gov. Roy Cooper proposed for 2017-18. The John...
RALEIGH — A proposed federal border-adjustment tax would cost North Carolina consumers an additional $800 million in higher property-casualty insurance premiums over the next decade. That’s the bottom-line conclusion from a new report issued by the John Locke Foundation and the Washington, D.C.-based R Street Institute. The tax would hit this state particularly hard based...
RALEIGH — North Carolina would reap the greatest rewards from Raise the Age legislation if lawmakers include nonviolent felonies along with misdemeanors in their plans. That’s a key conclusion in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “Raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction is the right thing to do, and raising the age to include...
The N.C. Senate’s $22.9 billion General Fund budget plan would allow taxpayers to keep more of their own money, while also showing greater restraint than the governor in dealing with state spending growth. The John Locke Foundation budget team offers that reaction to Senate budget highlights unveiled in a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “We are...
RALEIGH — North Carolina public schools welcomed more new teachers from other states in 2015-16 than they lost to other states. The Tar Heel State has seen the same pattern for at least seven straight academic years. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report highlights those numbers. The report also offers recommendations to help North...