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Author: Clark Riemer

  • Measure a Lock for ‘Bad Bill of the Week’

    Posted in Bad Bill of the Week by Clark Riemer on February 11, 2013

    Occupational licensing has been a frequent target for our Bad Bill of the Week series, so it’s not surprising that we didn’t have to wait long into the 2013 General Assembly Session for a burdensome licensing bill to be filed in the General Assembly. The bill: S.B. 18 to “Amend Locksmith License Act/Raise Fee Ceiling.” [...]

  • Steps Forward on Energy and the Environment

    Posted in Environment by Clark Riemer on July 23, 2012

    The 2012 Legislative Session was especially notable for authorizing legislation to set the stage for energy exploration in North Carolina. The legislature also passed several important bills to limit job-killing environmental regulations, while maintaining environmental protection. Energy On the eve of the 2012 session adjournment, the General Assembly managed to override  the Governor’s veto of [...]

  • UNC Center Focuses on Partisanship, not Poverty

    Posted in Economy, Education by Clark Riemer on July 9, 2012

    An organization founded by ex-Sen. John Edwards was meant to fight poverty, but many clues suggest it instead focuses more on fighting partisan battles– and avoiding scrutiny by North Carolina taxpayers. The Center on Work, Poverty, and Opportunity at the UNC School of Law was founded in 2005 as a sort of halfway house for [...]

  • SB 447: Making it Harder to Start Your Own Landscaping Business

    Posted in Bad Bill of the Week by Clark Riemer on June 27, 2012

    The specter of occupational licensing is once again growing in North Carolina, threatening to make it harder for people to find work. In this case the culprit is SB 447, a bill that would dramatically increase the licensing and regulation of landscape contractors in North Carolina. The bill was passed by the House Commerce Committee [...]

  • Held back by Red Tape 3: Policy Options for North Carolina

    Posted in Economy by Clark Riemer on March 23, 2012

    How can we modify licensing in North Carolina? While it is doubtful that North Carolina will do away with occupational licensing in its entirety, common-sense reforms can alleviate many of the burdens that licensing places on our economy: 1) Eliminate occupational privilege licensing. Occupational privilege licensing serves no regulatory purpose. It is simply another $40 [...]

  • Held Back by Red Tape 2: Fines and Missed Dreams

    Posted in Economy by Clark Riemer on March 15, 2012

    Steve Cooksey of Gaston County, thought he was just helping diabetics. David N. Cox of Raleigh thought he was helping his neighbors. But both North Carolinians found that they had run afoul of one of the most widespread yet least-discussed barriers to creating jobs and pursing one’s dreams: occupational licensing. Doing unlicensed business, or even [...]

  • Held Back by Red Tape: Occupational Licensing in North Carolina

    Posted in Economy by Clark Riemer on March 8, 2012

    This article is the first installment of a three-part series examining the practice of occupational licensing in North Carolina. Imagine a practice that restricts freedom, stifles competition, crushes dreams of success, and takes money out of consumers’ pockets — often for little or no good reason. Would you call it bureaucratic red tape? Restraint of [...]

  • Rep. Faison’s Expensive and Impractical JOBS Plan

    Posted in Budget & Taxes by Clark Riemer on January 31, 2012

    In the wake of Governor Perdue’s surprise announcement that she will not run for re-election, Representative Bill Faison (D-Orange) announced his intention to run for governor January 28th in Greensboro, NC. Rep. Faison has recently been touring the state and calling into question Gov. Perdue’s leadership, causing many to speculate he had interest in the [...]

  • Op-Ed by Clark Riemer in Lincoln TribuneExternal Link

    Posted in Online Articles on November 22, 2011

  • The Democrats’ Charlotte Convention: Opportunity Costs?

    Posted in Elections & Voting by Clark Riemer on November 14, 2011

    With eleven months to go before the start of the 2012 Democratic National Convention (Convention) in Charlotte, many questions remain to be answered. The Convention has been sold to the public as a win-win for North Carolina where national attention and money will be showered on the state with little to no cost to the [...]

  • What Do Statements of Economic Interest Reveal About Your Legislator?

    Posted in Legislative Activity by Clark Riemer on November 9, 2011

    The 2011 Statements of Economic Interest (SEIs) for North Carolina legislators are now available on the Civitas Institute’s website, Carolina Transparency. According to the North Carolina Commission on Ethics, “The State Government Ethics Act requires the disclosure of financial and personal interests” by state legislators and other covered persons. All SEIs are public records and [...]

  • Occupy Wall Street, the New Democratic Base?

    Posted in Economy by Clark Riemer on October 25, 2011

    As the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests continue, it is being increasingly portrayed as a serious movement by several media outlets and politicians alike. Democratic politicians, at first skeptical of the movement, have lined up to attend and speak at rallies. They have been met, however, with mixed reception, as civil rights leader and U.S. [...]