Spending & Taxes

There is a great deal of public discussion right now about the minimum wage. Democrats and activists want to raise it, and they have settled on the arbitrary figure of…

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…

Since 2005, North Carolina has provided over $404 million in subsidies (tax credits and grant payments) to film production companies. The thinking is that incentivizing film productions grows an industry,…

Economic impact studies are common. They usually are invoked by government or special interest groups to demonstrate how a particular spending or tax incentive policy will affect variables such as…

Does the current budget impasse between the N.C. General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper feel different? It should.  There is less of a sense of crisis even though the decisions…

Anything done a first time becomes easier to do a second time, for better and for worse. This understanding is why parents force children to try new foods before refusing…

Gov. Roy Cooper opposes corporate tax cuts and giveaways. At least publicly. In his 2017 State of the State address, he made them sound like an occult ritual: “We…

Orange County Commissioners have voted to raise property taxes by 1/4-cent in order to “combat climate change.” Before delving into the details, let’s take a look at the…

You have to admire the audacity of Robert Bush and the Arts and Science Council (ASC) for their campaign to increase the sales tax in Mecklenburg County by a…

The North Carolina budget bill (House Bill 966) for fiscal years (FY) 2019-20 and 2020-21 is over a thousand pages of provisions and monetary line items describing…