economic growth

Even as major questions and specific details still have to be worked out, the Republican tax plan may sound familiar. It moves toward simplification, just as North Carolina’s successful…

Few people noticed, but in 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a major reform: a sunset provision with periodic review for state rules.1 It’s a reform with proven…

Is the the idea of a “progressive flat tax” an oxymoron? The typical argument for a broad-based flat-rate income tax, also called a single rate or proportional…

As North Carolinians celebrate Christmas and look back at 2015, John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood has reminded us this week that Gov. Pat McCrory’s promised…

This paper therefore proposes a state-based REINS Act as a key sunrise provision to prevent adding unnecessary and harmful regulations to the state’s regulatory burden. It describes aspects of a REINS Act for North Carolina.

The John Locke Foundation is continuing its tradition, started in 1995, of offering an alternative to the governor’s budget recommendation. Consistent with prior years, this JLF budget focuses on core government. This budget spends less in both years of the biennium than the governor’s, and only increases spending by 2 percent from the last fiscal year.

A transition away from licensure and into voluntary private certification would inject freedom and choice into the market for service professionals and into the labor market. It would pay dividends in terms of job creation particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

Capital gains taxes penalize saving, investment, and therefore entrepreneurship, by imposing a second layer of taxation on equity investment. The most straightforward way to end this bias is to eliminate the tax on capital gains completely.

Since the 1940s, over a million wells have used hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) safely. The chemicals used are about 99 percent water and sand. The rest is a blend of chemical additives, most of which are found in typical household and personal care products.

Along with hopes for new jobs and a stronger economy, the prospect “fracking” in North Carolina has raised concerns. Some are legitimate questions informed by responsible skepticism, but others are fears fanned by activists and pressure groups. This paper seeks to address those questions and concerns.