• Research Report

    North Carolina Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System

    posted February 7, 2020 by Jen Sidorova, Raheem Williams, Truong Bui, Leonard Gilroy, Joseph Coletti
    Executive Summary North Carolina’s Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) is widely recognized as being among the nation’s healthiest pension plan systems, currently almost 90 percent funded at a…
  • John Locke Update

    Civil society properly understood

    posted February 4, 2020 by Joseph Coletti
    There are two fundamentally different conceptions of civil society. One sees people acting with their families and neighbors to help one another. Civil society is voluntary cooperation with regard to…
  • John Locke Update

    Risk, opportunity, and reducing barriers to a better life

    posted January 28, 2020 by Joseph Coletti
    What is the common element that connects Medicare, occupational licensing, free college, and affordable housing? According to Ed Glaeser in a recent interview, they illustrate how past efforts to…
  • Policy Position

    Higher Education Funding

    posted January 16, 2020 by Joseph Coletti
    Article IX, Section 9 of the North Carolina Constitution states, “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher…
  • John Locke Update

    Revaluation and Property Taxes in Wake County and Beyond

    posted January 16, 2020 by Joseph Coletti
    Wake County is one of 11 counties this year that is reappraising commercial and residential property values. It appears to be the first of those counties to have revaluations posted…
  • John Locke Update

    WestEd, the Courts, and the State Constitution

    posted December 12, 2019 by Joseph Coletti, Dr. Terry Stoops
    Supporters of higher taxes cheered the WestEd report on North Carolina schools that became public on December 10th, five months after Judge David Lee received it. Until Judge Lee…
  • John Locke Update

    Spending, Tax Reform, and the North Carolina Economy

    posted November 25, 2019 by Joseph Coletti
    As the 2020 election season gathers momentum, North Carolina’s tax reforms and demands for higher spending on any number of government programs will be front and center. One example is a…
  • John Locke Update

    Meatless Meat: A Miracle of the Market

    posted November 20, 2019 by Joseph Coletti
    Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are the most notable entrants in the race to make a meat substitute that acts like meat but is made entirely from plants.
  • John Locke Update

    Budget 2019: Extra Innings

    posted November 13, 2019 by Joseph Coletti
    The state budget battle has entered extra innings. Gov. Cooper signed and vetoed another batch of mini budgets, the ninth round of budget-related legislation since his first budget veto on…