What are the benefits and costs of immigration?
Total employment rose directly with the increase in unauthorized immigrants and, at the same time, wages were not reduced. Read More
Balanced Debate For The Old North State.
My Spin by Tom Campbell
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About teen takeoversSocial media has more influence on most young people than does their parents, teachers or even law enforcement officials. Read More |
North Carolina was the dress rehearsal for MAGA
What’s happening in North Carolina right now is the culmination of a twelve-year experiment in stress testing democracy’s guardrails. Read More
Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system
Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in conflict. We can, and should, do both. Read More
MAGA is weakening in NC. Brendan Jones is its bigoted face.
Brendan Jones is the face of the punitive, corrupt politics that North Carolina Republicans have practiced unimpeded for a decade-and-a-half. Read More
The General Assembly has unfinished business with election reform
The election reform bill has yet to pass either chamber of the legislature. Read More
See something. Say something
North Carolina is ripe for an enterprise like human trafficking. We have Interstate highways, military installations, colleges and resorts that are fertile ground for traffickers. Read More
Seek common sense on early voting
Voting before Election Day has become a popular option. Most North Carolinians now do it, either in person or by absentee ballot. Read More
Commander-in-thief
The American people screwed themselves thinking that reelecting a convicted criminal and felon in 2024 was going to end well for anybody but him and his family. Read More
SB 445 would help housing affordability in NC
If North Carolina wants to remain an affordable place to live as its population continues to grow, policymakers should continue removing outdated zoning restrictions and make it easier for builders to add new housing. Read More
Cooper leads, but Whatley has a path
Voters who remain on the fence supported Donald Trump by a 72 point margin in 2024. Read More
A double standard on press access
A healthy democracy depends on an informed public and that requires more reporting, more scrutiny, and more access to information. Read More
Thoughts on Dallas Woodhouse, the budget, and a new PPP poll
North Carolina Republicans are rather immune to embarrassment on the topic of suppressing Black, young, and Democratic votes. Read More
What's the price we pay if we close our eyes?
Trump said, “The Islamic Republic of Japan” fired missiles at us. Iran fired the missiles. But Trump didn’t realize he’d made a mistake. Didn’t correct it. Read More
When will our business leaders wake up?
Our public and private universities and colleges now enroll about 8,000 teacher candidates compared to 14,000 15 years ago, graduating 2,000 teachers per year. Read More
Freer Carolinas means more Carolinians
Most people believe government exists to deliver core public services at a reasonable cost and should otherwise leave them alone. Read More
Amendments to NC constitution will cost most of us more
For the 2025-2026 budget year, North Carolina’s per pupil spending was $13,680, $5,190 below the national average of $18,870. Read More
What I’ve learned from four years of full-time caregiving
When it comes to caregiving, you have to be able to pick and choose your battles with the person for whom you are caring. Read More
They aren't even pretending anymore
Boliek clearly didn’t care much about the appearance of fairness in the administration of elections. Read More
‘Teen takeovers?’ Call them what they are: Riots
The next time, a senseless and chaotic scene like this could end up as a murder investigation. Read More
Pass the guns, please
Nothing says I love you like an AR-15. You can see billboards advertising them on the sides of roads. Read More
Civics education extends beyond schools
There are more events coming to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Read More
From Germany, with love
Barber vows to focus like a laser beam on the South to unleash the immense voting power of poor Black, White, and Hispanic communities at the polls here in North Carolina. Read More
How a party civil war could affect NC Democrats
As this full-on civil war within the Democratic Party escalates, it may have effects on the ground. Read More
State tax cuts are leaving counties to cover new SNAP costs
With fewer options to fund essential services, the pressure by the state to shift costs onto counties may only grow. Read More
Most North Carolinians expect political violence before 2026 election, but reject candidates who violate democratic & electoral principles
More voters say they would punish rather than reward candidates who undermine democratic values Read More
