Research Reports: 2008

Wind power is generated through large groups of massive industrial wind turbines, sometimes as tall as 50-story skyscrapers. Like the wind itself, wind power is intermittent and extremely unreliable. The wind must be strong enough, but not too strong, to generate power. So wind cannot be used for baseload generation nor to meet peak demand. For example, to avoid a blackout, a Texas grid manager recently had to cut off electricity to some customers, in large part due to a sudden drop in wind power.

Researchers have consistently found that government-provided job training and placement programs are wasteful, inefficient, and sometimes even counterproductive. Researchers have also consistently found that private providers of job training yield strong, positive results.

In 2006, North Carolina's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) formed an advisory group called the Climate Action Plan Advisory Group (CAPAG). This group's task was to develop recommendations for specific actions to help reduce or prevent climate change.

Sixteen percent of all jail and prison inmates have serious mental illness. One in every 10 police encounters involves a mentally ill individual.

Last year’s 5.24 percent dropout rate was a four-percent increase from the 2005-06 school year and was the highest rate in seven years. Only 70.3 percent of students in North Carolina graduate in five years. Over the last ten years, the North Carolina General Assembly has repeatedly tried to address the troubling dropout problem with no apparent success. The latest initiative, dropout prevention grants, will likely have little short-term or long-term effect on the dropout rate.

North Carolina cities and towns can spur redevelopment of their downtowns without using economic incentives or eminent domain to seize private property to give to private developers. The city of Anaheim, California, adopted policies that revitalized its downtown without using eminent domain powers or economic incentives. Under the leadership of Mayor Curt Pringle, Anaheim developed a plan that relied on reducing government regulations and stimulating private-sector investment.

County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions of dollars in revenue. Their roles grow ever greater as state government shifts more taxing power to localities to make up for money kept by the state. Still, finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in North Carolina.

When adjusted for pension contributions, teacher experience, and cost of living, North Carolina’s adjusted teacher compensation is $55,731, which is $5,401 higher than the U.S. adjusted average compensation and $4,811 higher than the U.S. adjusted median.

Long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or an individual’s own home, is the largest portion of North Carolina’s Medicaid budget. It is also the fastest growing portion of that budget. As the state’s population ages, it will drive even more demand for these services. Medicaid was not meant to be inheritance insurance for baby boomers, but current policy in North Carolina allows it to be exactly this. Encouraging more people to rely on private payment options, such as reverse mortgages or long-term care insurance, will mean lower state costs for care and better results for individuals. This paper examines the state of long-term care in North Carolina, current abuses of the system, and private payment options.