Voting safeguards will be needed
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, December 28, 2013. When legislators approved voting law changes this year, they branded them as a voter identification bill. Others, including the Journal editorial... Read More
NC Spin Articles
NC Tax changes unlikely to spark boom
You’re lucky if you got a bigger wallet for Christmas. You’re going to need it in 2014 to carry your extra take home pay. At least that’s the line state Republicans are pushing about changes in... Read More
The Governor's harsh Medicaid message
Editorial by Charlotte Observer, December 29, 2013. If you thought – as some have speculated – that Gov. Pat McCrory was wavering on his decision to reject a federal Medicaid expansion in North... Read More
Time to employ common sense
According to official government estimates, paying people not to work for extended periods of time is good for the economy, because it encourages consumer spending. This is an excellent reason why... Read More
Mental health issue needs more than talk
Editorial by Rocky Mount Telegram, December 28, 2013. A pilot program in Raleigh is aiming to shift mental health patients away from hospital emergency rooms and into private psychiatric hospitals... Read More
A divisive, tumultuous year for N.C. politics
The political world in North Carolina was filled with a lot of smiles as 2013 began. They didn’t last very long. Gov. Pat McCrory began his term in an inaugural ceremony that saw him wearing a big... Read More
UNC efficiency: Don’t take cost-cutting too far
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, December 28, 2013. The past several years have been difficult financially for the University of North Carolina system. The legislature cut more than $400 million... Read More
Economic inequality gets worse in recovery
Editorial by News and Observer, December 28, 2013. Economic indicators suggest 2014 will be the year when a recovery finally arrives, but the long downturn revealed problems that will require a... Read More
McCrory finds state government buildings "ugly as the dickens."
Pat McCrory, architecture critic. I didn’t see that one coming. But it’s hard to argue with the governor who – when he looks out the front door of his 19th century gingerbread mansion – stares... Read More
Debating the minimum wage
published December 27, 2013 in The Charlotte Observer. On Dec. 18, the Observer opinion pages published a guest op-ed from Charlotte resident and author Chuck Kelly. He argued for a higher minimum... Read More
