In the media and among pundits, the term “trickle-down economics” is used a lot. The expression was reportedly first used in the 1930s by Will Rogers and was later adopted…
Over the years I’ve written several articles about the differences between economic growth and economic development. I have pointed out that, in terms of practical policy, emphasis on one or…
North Carolina House Bill 56 got a lot of press earlier this autumn when the General Assembly overrode the governor’s veto of the legislation. But most of the discussion…
This week, the bids were all finally submitted for Amazon’s new HQ2. Raleigh shipped a 32-pound box (!) containing its proposal. Charlotte set up a website. Winston-Salem, Greensboro,…
Back in the spring, I wrote about a “bicycle superhighway” idea that was just starting to be kicked around. The concept was a five-mile path along I-40 between Raleigh…
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…
Cronyism got a boost last week in the General Assembly. Dan Way reports for Carolina Journal: State Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover, bucked conservative critics who strenuously objected to…
Last week (9/22), Carolina Journal’s “Daily Journal” featured an important article by my colleague Jon Sanders. It focused on Amazon’s attempt to fleece North Carolina’s taxpayers by soliciting an unprecedented incentive…
Maybe one of the most common misconceptions about the free market is that it encourages people to pursue their own “narrow self-interest,” usually interpreted as caring only about one’s self…
Earlier this month Amazon announced it was looking for a second headquarters in North America. The company said it would involve 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. It is…