growth

Business incentives are like lottery tickets, providing big rewards for governments if you don’t count the costs. Iredell County modeled the financial costs and benefits of an incentive offered in 2009 and showed a positive net present value for the incentives, but neglected to factor in the opportunity cost of forgoing the next best use for the funds and the likelihood the investment would have happened without an incentive.

This glossary defines and explains terms used in the consultant's report, "Diagnostic & Approach Report" (DAR), which contains recommendations for implementing Raleigh's newly approved 2030 Comprehensive Plan.

RALEIGH — Government planners distort terms such as “affordable housing” and “stakeholders” to attack basic individual freedoms. That’s a key message a John Locke Foundation expert sends with the new…

RALEIGH — North Carolina would waste taxpayers’ money if it signs on to federal plans for high-speed rail service. That’s the conclusion of a new John Locke Foundation Policy…

RALEIGH – Government leaders interested in “sustainability” should promote policies linked to individual liberty and a free-market economy, not policies that limit growth. That’s the key message in the John…

This report on sustainable growth is the third in a series of annual research papers from the John Locke Foundation devoted to explaining the principles of free markets and applying them to current controversies in North Carolina.

Gov. Mike Easley proposed a $20 billion operating budget and $20.1 billion total spending plan for fiscal year (FY) 2007-08. The operating budget is $1.3 billion more than in FY 2006-07, a 7.2 percent increase.

Budget proposals from Gov. Mike Easley and the Senate put state spending back on the path of rapid growth last seen in the late 1990s. After inflation, the state will spend 10 percent more per resident on operations in the FY2006-07 than it did just three years ago. Real spending per resident is up 23 percent in the last decade. If the General Assembly had restricted spending growth to inflation and population growth over the decade, the General Fund operations budget would be $3.4 billion less than proposed.

Under the Senate’s proposed budget, real spending in the state will grow as quickly over the three years through fiscal year 2007, 13.2 percent, as it did in the three years through FY 2001. The late 1990s benefited from rapid economic growth that allowed the state to cut taxes while spending more. Gov. Mike Easley raised taxes to cover expenses while slowing growth to 0.2 percent in real terms through FY2003-04. Since then, the higher taxes have paid for renewed spending growth. Medicaid spending has expanded more rapidly than education or correction and is accelerating. Growth is faster still outside this core.

RALEIGH — Contrary to the belief of many city planners and public officials in North Carolina, highway projects do not play a large role in determining the amount and nature…