You have to admire the audacity of Robert Bush and the Arts and Science Council (ASC) for their campaign to increase the sales tax in Mecklenburg County by a…
Scene: Downtown Raleigh, 2018. There’s a new feature on the roads and — though they’re not supposed to — sidewalks. Young men and women in professional attire zipping by at…
Not long ago I wrote a report on the importance of sunset provisions with periodic review of state regulations. In it I equated reviewing old state rules with cleaning…
When the state decides to regulate an industry, it doesn’t necessarily apply the same level of regulation it uses for other regulated industries. This fact about regulation is one reason…
In 1908, North Carolina voters passed statewide prohibition in 1908, making North Carolina the first Southern state to institute prohibition. The 18th Amendment didn’t usher in Prohibition nationwide until 1919.
This is the 33rd and final research newsletter of 2018. What a year it has been! Publishing a hardcore policy newsletter every week would not be possible without a team…
A bill introduced this week in the North Carolina Senate would choose “economic development” policies over economic growth policies. It’s not a good choice if the aim is actually to…
Nobody knows when a hurricane or a recession will hit North Carolina, but everybody knows they will. State legislators kept spending in check and built up a $2 billion Savings…
Try as I might, I can’t see the wisdom behind this proposed “transformative” projects expansion. I can’t. It’s terrible. For as long as I can remember, governors have tried…
On May 8, Salisbury voters overwhelmingly agreed on a resolution to lease the city’s Fibrant broadband system to a private company. The move to lease Fibrant to Hotwire Communications, approved…