-
Who Pays Taxes in North Carolina?
Lawmakers and political pundits around Raleigh are fond of discussing the issue of who is paying their “fair share” of taxes in North Carolina. Such rhetoric raises the inevitable question: who is paying taxes in North Carolina?
-
When Consumers Are Driving Healthcare
The next time you hear someone say the market is failing health care, ask him how much his last blood test cost. His failure to tell you won't be a memory lapse, but a symptom of our system. That is, the market never failed health care, the system did. The system? You know, that byzantine World War II-era arrangement among doctors, functionaries and insurers that leaves the patient (i.e., the consumer) out of the loop.
-
Triad to be Soaked for Triangle Rail
Look out! You're about to be hit by a train. You'll probably rarely, if ever, ride Charlotte's LYNX system or the Triangle's proposed light rail, but you'll pay for them. Town planners, politicians, citizen activists and other special interests are gearing up to soak you for their urban transit. Much like the exorbitant pyramids built by Egyptians who used slave labor, shiny new transit projects will be constructed on the backs of smaller-town North Carolina taxpayers.
-
Blueprint for Education
North Carolina’s public school system is in need of fundamental reform. While education spending continues to grow, key measures of student progress demonstrate that the system is not adequately serving our state’s children and families. State funding for education has increased by $3.5 billion since 1998 and 32 percent over the last six years. [...]
-
Where’s the Beef (uh, Warming)?
Where's the Beef (uh, Warming)?
-
Kids and the Lottery: Say it Ain’t So
Since passage of legislation to legalize the education lottery in North Carolina in 2005, gambling has been treated like other public vices. Simply put: the public tolerates smoking, drinking and gambling, but it wants the activities regulated and kept away from children. Some recent developments make me think officials at the North Carolina Education Lottery are ignoring public sentiment and are intent on creating their own rules.
-
A Glossary of Key Policy Terms
NC Public Policy Series Key Terms Dictionary
-
The Trouble with Single Payer
An expose on healthcare in Canada. "Two Women"
-
An Economic Stimulus Package for North Carolina
The President’s approval of a $161 billion economic stimulus package raises some interesting questions regarding how state lawmakers might respond to the current economic slowdown. The key component of the federal stimulus plan is a one-time tax rebate capped at $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, plus $300 per child. The basic idea is that putting more money into the hands of taxpayers – as opposed to the government – is good for the economy.
-
Teacher and State Employee Retirement Benefits At Risk
Shortsighted lawmakers, more concerned with funding pork projects and winning the next election, have put healthcare benefits for future state retirees in jeopardy. Consider that since the inception of the current system in 1978, the state has increased spending by more than 720 percent. Yet during the same period, the General Assembly refused to set aside any funds for future state retiree health benefits. The result has been an ever-mounting unfunded liability that now stands at $23.8 billion.
-
Can N.C. help the poor without making them dependent?
Supporters of poverty fighter John Edwards are still coping with his exit from the presidential race. We can speculate endlessly about his loss – about Obama’s star quality, or Clinton’s experience-by-proxy. But one fact stands out: voters were not swayed by Edwards’ anti-poverty populism. Why? Maybe people know intuitively that there is only so much government can do about the poor.
-
N.C. Partisan Index (NCPI)
Introducing: the North Carolina Partisan Index (NCPI) compares the political leanings of voters in each state house and senate district with the partisan voting tendencies of the state as a whole. The end result is a letter (D or R) followed by a number, indicating the extent to which each district leans one way or the other.
-
The Next Nobel Laureate in Economics?
He hasn't won yet, but should. He should have won before Mohammed Yunus, but certain before Al Gore (who should not have won at all).
-
2008: Year of the HSA Tsunami?
When it comes to healthcare reform, health savings accounts (HSAs) are not a silver bullet. But they certainly help where politicians hinder. The trouble is most people don’t yet know what they are. When they learn, we may see an HSA tsunami.
-
North Carolina Needs Fetal Homicide Law
Adding another bizarre twist to the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, Onslow County sheriff’s investigators are trying to determine whether Lauterbach’s deceased baby was born and then killed by murder suspect Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean. Lauterbach was due to give birth to a baby girl some time between January 8 and February 14. The crucial question is whether the baby took a breath outside of Lauterbach’s womb. If she did, Laurean may be charged with two murders – instead of just one.
Weekly Newsletter
@NCCivitas
- NC to Seek Federal Waiver to Pursue Medicaid Reform http://t.co/Uj6pBnDUwF #ncpol
- Why do liberals hate eagles? http://t.co/xCfCb058GK #nccivitas #eaglekillers http://t.co/SSFob4zRCc
- House unveils tax plan – less significant than the Senate plan. http://t.co/7HACM0Q1gx #ncga #ncpol
Loading ...