Josh Stein

American politician (born 1966)

High power bills? Blame bad state policies, not data centers

A new report from the John Locke Foundation, “Energy Poverty in North Carolina: Securing Affordable, Reliable Power,” features a county-by-county energy poverty index for North Carolina. The previous research brief…

Research Brief

Budget, Taxation & Economy

Pay raises, tax cuts, earmarks, and much more in state budget proposal

At long last, a budget proposal has been presented by the North Carolina General Assembly. Ours was the only state to go the entire fiscal year of 2025–26 without a…

Freedom Focus

The affordability crisis in one page

The “affordability crisis” is arguably shaping up to be the top issue for this election season. One can barely go five minutes on social media or television without hearing a…

Research Brief

Regulation

Law, not executive order, is the fix for housing shortage

Gov. Josh Stein’s new Executive Order No. 36 is a welcome acknowledgment of a problem that has been growing for years: North Carolina does not have enough housing. The numbers…

Research Brief

Budget, Taxation & Economy

Five priorities for this year’s budget plan

Just over two weeks ago, House and Senate leaders announced they had a “framework” for a budget deal for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Lawmakers have not passed a…

Education

NC House override of Gov. Stein’s veto jumpstarts hope for thousands of families

Finally. It took a while — nine months to be exact — but yesterday the North Carolina House of Representatives overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s August 2025 veto of legislation (HB…

Budget, Taxation & Economy

Open Letter: North Carolina Should Reclaim the NCInnovation Endowment

This letter was sent to members of the North Carolina Senate on April 30, 2026. Dear Senator, On behalf of the John Locke Foundation, I urge the Senate to support…

Education

Yes, more money for teacher pay, but what happened to all that Covid money?

Teacher pay has been much in the news lately. Thousands of North Carolina teachers are supposed to descend on Raleigh next Friday to protest no state budget and lobby for…

NC 250

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves this week

This Sunday, April 12, North Carolinians celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves being adopted by the Fourth Provincial Congress in Halifax, North Carolina. The Halifax Resolves represent the…

Budget, Taxation & Economy

Stein announces top spending priorities before the fiscal year ends

Stein has declared the Medicaid shortfall urgent and proposed a “Critical Needs Budget” for FY 2025–26 to address “funding needs that cannot wait until next year.” The proposal primarily focuses…

Energy

Fuel price is no reason to pick renewables over natural gas

For years, the John Locke Foundation’s Center for Food, Power, and Life has been warning of electricity price hikes in the wake of the 2021 passage of the Carbon Plan…

Research Brief

Energy

Powering data centers needs less bureaucracy, more freedom

After years of steady electricity demand, the steep rise in artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and certain other power-hungry industrial customers poses distinct problems for power grids as currently regulated.…