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RALEIGH – Despite record high temperatures, North Carolina’s major metropolitan areas are experiencing a third straight year of low ozone pollution, according to a new analysis published by the John…

Despite record high temperatures during the month of July, North Carolina’s metropolitan areas are experiencing a third straight year of relatively few high ozone days. Unfortunately good news doesn’t sell and there are some “environmental advocates” in the state who seem intent on sounding the alarm bells regardless of the facts.

RALEIGH – As the North Carolina General Assembly considers a bill to create the South’s first state commission on climate change, a leading expert on the issue will be in…

RALEIGH – The mission of the General Assembly’s proposed commission on global climate change can best be accomplished by soliciting a wide variety of expert opinions on the science and…

The NC House is considering a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour. While intended to help lower-income workers earn a “living wage,” the more likely result is to boost the earnings of some non-poor workers, including many teens and seasonal workers, while increasing the unemployment rate for many poor and minority workers. Employers will not hire people whose work efforts are worth less in the market than a government-imposed wage. A better policy to boost the earnings of entry-level workers would be to address their educational deficiencies.

RALEIGH — A bill in the North Carolina House would raise the state-imposed minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, but a new analysis from the John Locke Foundation suggests…

RALEIGH — With the American Lung Association’s latest national rankings on air quality due out today, John Locke Foundation analysts urge caution in interpreting the association’s “biased” data. “There is…

The NC General Assembly is considering creating a new commission to develop state policies to combat global warming. But the scientific issues involved are complex and unsettled. If North Carolina were to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it would have no meaningful impact on global climate or the health and well-being of North Carolinians. On the other hand it would destroy tens of thousands of jobs. In other words a greenhouse gas reuction policy would have only costs and no benefits.

Some state politicians are touting the results of an Ernst & Young study that purports to rank North Carolina’s business taxes as among the lowest in the nation. But this flawed study ignores basic principles of public-finance economics and most of the taxes that influence business decisions. More accurate studies that examine all relevant taxes and all types of businesses suggest that North Carolina’s tax rates are high in regional rankings, thus discouraging economic growth.

The North Carolina Senate held a special session in mid-September to pass a bill reforming the state’s treatment of medical-malpractice issues. A key element of the legislation — instigating expert review of malpractices claims before trial and imposing a related “loser pays” rule to discourage frivolous lawsuits — would be a welcome improvement. But some of the bill’s other provisions, including price controls and subsidized insurance, are much less attractive.