Common sense in government
For years Johnston County’s school superintendent accepted fringe benefits as a compliment to his salary then, just before he retired, he turned $94,000 in ‘fringe benefits’ into salary to... Read More
NC Spin Articles
Is North Carolina the future of American politics?
On the last Thursday in March, the air horns returned to the governor’s mansion in Raleigh, N.C. There were about 75 of them, and they belonged to the Air Horn Orchestra, an ad hoc ensemble of... Read More
Final budget fails to strengthen the foundation of public schools
The final budget that lawmakers have proposed fails to strengthen the foundation of North Carolina’s public schools. While the public schools area of the budget seems to have a lot going on – one... Read More
Overview of state budget
Representatives from the North Carolina House and Senate released their “compromise” budget bill Monday evening. Total spending in the plan comes to $23.03 billion, slightly more than the... Read More
Treasurer Folwell's quick response
I have just spent a couple of hours trying to negotiate the State Health Plan eligibility exercise and am still steaming about the difficulty I had following its directions. Others may have a better... Read More
We pay but have no say in charter schools
by Paul O'Connor, The Insider, published in The Salisbury Post, June 22, 2017. Decades from now, the most enduring and defining mark of this Republican legislature may well be charter schools. In... Read More
Supreme Court appears ready to rule on 'Political Question' in redistricting
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Wisconsin redistricting case and consider whether partisan gerrymandering is constitutional. In the past, the courts have deferred on answering whether... Read More
Visiting our General Assembly
Several generations of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill students studied our state’s history under Dr. Hugh Talmage Lefler using his book, " The History of a Southern State North Carolina... Read More
North Carolina kids deserve better
Editorial from Asheville Citizen-Times, June 19, 2017. North Carolina lags behind most states in child welfare. We can and must do better. The annual Kids Count Data book uses 16 indicators to rank... Read More
Budget officers' report: NC bottom line in pretty good shape
North Carolina’s fiscal policy is relatively strong when compared to much of the country. A 2017 survey by the National Association of State Budget Officers found state governments have... Read More
