regulation

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…

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…

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.

A broad coalition of lawmakers and policy groups favors fundamental changes in NC lobbying laws to require more disclosure, create "cooling off periods" before former officeholders can lobby, and restrict the value of personal gifts to public officials. Still, reformers are overlooking an important issue: the role that special-interest lobbying plays in distorting fiscal policy and stunting economic growth.

RALEIGH — North Carolina business executives see high taxes, burdensome regulations, and inadequate labor skills as the top factors hampering the state’s economic competitiveness, according to a new survey by…

RALEIGH — A new report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project is garnering attention from policymakers and the news media despite the fact that it “clearly misleads the public” said…

RALEIGH — The “concept” announced today by Gov. Mike Easley and legislative leaders for the proposed Clean Smokestacks Bill would effectively impose hundreds of millions of dollars a year in…

A 2002 survey of North Carolina’s most politically active business executives found that they did not necessarily agree with the current direction of public policy in the state. Business leaders from every region answered questions about fiscal policy, education, transportation, tax rates, regulation, and ways to improve economic competitiveness. They disagreed strongly with legislative decisions to raise taxes.

RALEIGH — Policies associated with the “Smart Growth” movement would be disastrous for North Carolina communities, according to a new report released today by the John Locke Foundation. Smart Growth…