The pay dilemma
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, June 1, 2014 Senate leader Phil Berger put $468 million on the table last week and dared North Carolina teachers to take it. They could raise their status from... Read More
NC Spin Articles
Senate budget offers a callous spending plan
Editorial by News and Observer, May 31, 2014. Budgets aren’t really about money. They are about priorities. And the $21.2 billion budget proposed by Republicans who lead the state Senate shows what... Read More
NC plan would join states ending teacher tenure
North Carolina legislators want to scrap a law that prevents ineffective teachers from being removed from the classroom. But teachers have been fighting the move, saying they need protection from... Read More
Tillis should be glad it's not 1978
There were several similarities and one crucial difference between the recent N.C. Republican U.S. Senate primary and a Democratic primary for the same office 36 years earlier. The difference shaped a... Read More
What's the deal with e-cigarettes?
The House voted in favor of, the Senate approved and the governor signed the Omnibus Tax Law Changes bill into law yesterday which includes a tax on a new product – e-cigarettes. What’s... Read More
NC Education Lottery budget deserves a close look
Governor McCrory wants to use lottery money to equip schools with more technology. The Governor thinks some of the money could come from limiting "annoying" advertising and cutting the Lottery's... Read More
5 years after recession's bottom, problematic progress in North Carolina
by Mike Walden, Reynolds Professor of Economics, NC State University, published in News and Observer, May 30, 2014. We’re getting ready to celebrate an anniversary, although I doubt any balloons... Read More
Tackling obesity epidemic
Obesity epidemic? Everyone knows the “facts,” right? Do the following seem so obvious as to be boring? • Obesity is a personal problem that individuals should solve on their own. • A calorie... Read More
Senate approves $21.1B spending plan
After a long and contentious night, the state Senate approved its $21.1 billion spending plan for 2014-15 early Saturday. Votes were held Friday night and shortly after midnight Saturday. The first... Read More
Civitas Poll: Tillis leading Hagan
RALEIGH – The latest Civitas Institute Poll shows state House Speaker Thom Tillis, the Republican candidate, leading Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan in the race for the U.S. Senate. Tillis leads... Read More
