Coletti

RALEIGH – North Carolina counties could boost public safety, cut costs, and improve health outcomes by steering the mentally ill away from jail and toward community-based care. That’s the major…

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

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.

RALEIGH – North Carolina will face “insurmountable” budget problems linked to retiring baby boomers, if the state continues on its current course of long-term care public policy. That’s a key…

RALEIGH – Flexible water prices would help North Carolina communities do a better job dealing with the state’s drought, according to a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. Click…

Water is a scarce resource and a commodity. Some water systems do not change water rates based on demand.

RALEIGH – The Kannapolis City Council’s plan to borrow $168 million through tax increment financing exposes key problems with that type of funding scheme. That’s according to a new John…

Tax increment financing (TIF) hides the diversion of funds from government services that is inherent in borrowing. It still puts taxpayers at risk for repayment and is more expensive than general obligation bonds or certificates of participation (COPs).

RALEIGH – People who urge local governments to dig deeper into taxpayers’ pocketbooks seem unwilling to part with their own cash voluntarily. That’s the key conclusion in a new John…

Every county and school district in North Carolina will accept voluntary contributions. Few people donate to Wake County schools or county programs.