How will the workforce change
I think a lot about the job market this time of year. This is because of all the graduations of high school and college seniors, and the fact many of them will be looking for their first full-time... Read More
NC Spin Articles
Bridging the state's health-care divide
Here’s a simple illustration of the urban/rural population divide in North Carolina: The state’s two most-populous counties — Wake and Mecklenburg — are home to about as many people as the... Read More
Steady budgets win fiscal race
The recent legislative adjustments to North Carolina’s 2018-19 state General Fund budget produced two main political controversies that we’ll hear more about as we move through the campaign season... Read More
Don't take on new debt without first asking voters
Just when things were going so well. … Since 2011, the Republican-led General Assembly has restrained the growth of government, brought spending in line with revenue, paid down debt, put more money... Read More
Securing our elections with a surety bond makes sense
The State Board of Elections is currently going through a process reviewing potential vendors to serve the state’s 100 county boards of election with new voting tabulation systems. All five will be... Read More
Vote wisely when considering constitutional amendments
What can lawmakers consider during the 2018 short session? Not everything, because of limits imposed by the long session Adjournment Resolution. Important issues such as school funding... Read More
Maybe if McCrory had touted this accomplishment, he'd be governor today
Former Gov. Pat McCrory was back in the news recently, this time over a pronouncement on his Charlotte radio gig about the racial changes in the Mecklenburg electoral environment and the clout of the... Read More
Liberty vs. security at the legislative building
I just made my first visit to our Legislative Building since the new security procedures went into place. There were seven people working as efficiently as they could to move people through the... Read More
Liberal arts: the payoff
Can the experience of world-renowned musician and North Carolina native Joseph Robinson contribute to North Carolina’s on-going dialogue about the purpose and value of higher education? You be the... Read More
Is it time for a gas mileage tax?
by Mike Walden, NCSU Professor of Economics, May 25, 2018. Two decades ago I wrote an op-ed piece discussing the idea of a mileage tax as a replacement for the gas tax. This was in the days before... Read More
