state budgeting

It was a tumultuous year for lawmakers in the General Assembly. Lasting well into October, this ‘long session’ was unusually long compared to years past. As will be the…

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…

Kansas has been criticized since 2012 for cutting taxes irresponsibly, despite a court-ordered increase in education spending. Tax cuts in the Sunflower State may have been larger than circumstances warranted,…

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…

In addition to questions of money and Medicaid, the budget stalemate raises a philosophical question: When is a balanced budget not a balanced budget? North Carolina’s state constitution and…

Hubert Humphrey once said, “The ultimate moral test of any government is the way it treats three groups of its citizens. First, those in the dawn of life — our…