Savings Reserve

Gov. Cooper’s risky bet to keep spending like it’s 2019, despite a $1.6 billion loss of revenue between March and the end of June, is reckless and irresponsible with…

Other states have begun to worry about the coronavirus shutdown’s impact on their economies and state government finances. Energy producing states like Colorado and Texas must deal with plummeting…

Our budget stalemate may have an unexpected and unintended benefit. Because the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper could not agree on a new budget, state government has been operating…

As the 2020 election season gathers momentum, North Carolina’s tax reforms and demands for higher spending on any number of government programs will be front and center. One example is a…

The state budget battle has entered extra innings. Gov. Cooper signed and vetoed another batch of mini budgets, the ninth round of budget-related legislation since his first budget veto on…

In this research update, I take a closer look at revenues and expenditures in North Carolina over the past 20 years. I use actual collections and expenditures from the…

The John Locke Foundation is approaching its 30th anniversary, and the Republican majority in the General Assembly is halfway through its fifth session. It seems a good time to…

Despite his protestations, Gov. Roy Cooper has signed three mini-budget bills passed unanimously by the General Assembly. Republican legislative leaders signaled their move to piecemeal budgeting in mid-August when they…

Only four House Democrats refused to sign a letter pledging to uphold Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget veto. That is three fewer than the seven Democratic votes needed to override and…

Tax reform left a number of people receiving smaller refunds (or writing larger checks) this April because many taxpayers inadvertently had too little withheld from their paychecks. On the other…