I can't afford to stay in teaching
I’m a teacher. And I’ll be a teacher for another two whole months! That’s another eight weeks with the 20 first-grade children in my room. I’m a good teacher. No, really, hear me out. I’m... Read More
NC Spin Articles
Budget targets
This is how spending priorities get set in Raleigh. The Republican legislature is facing a revenue hole. And there are three big pots of money: public schools, the UNC system and Medicaid. At... Read More
A government not worth influencing
Editorial by Jacksonville Daily News, April 11, 2014. In eliminating yet another federal limit on campaign contributions, the U.S. Supreme Court on April 2 reaffirmed the principle that money is... Read More
Legislature short on experience
Every two years, the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research releases survey results ranking the effectiveness of individual state legislators. The results are fairly predictable. The House speaker and... Read More
Preschool years are critical to children's success
It is “The Week of the Young Child” here. But it could be — yes, really — “The Century of the Young Child” in Greensboro and Guilford County. I know Greensboro better than many... Read More
Where the GOP gets it right - families, jobs, school reform
Republicans may seem like ultimate Scrooges. Many want to slash food stamps, unemployment benefits and just about any program that helps the needy. So they know nothing about poverty, right? Wrong... Read More
Lawmakers want tuition grant program resumed
Republican legislative leaders plan to ask the North Carolina Supreme Court to allow a new program using taxpayer money for tuition at K-12 private or religious schools to begin this fall while... Read More
Take a detour on proposed mileage tax
Editorial by Burlington Times-News, April 10, 2014. The state is looking for new ways to generate revenue to help fuel what it characterizes as the ever escalating costs of maintaining North Carolina... Read More
Straw Polls
When it comes to straw polls, from cradle to grave, there’s a whiff of deception in the air. Hardly anything is what it seems. For instance, political groups don’t take straw polls to measure... Read More
Capping local business tax could hurt businesses
Editorial by News and Observer, April 10, 2014. Here they go again. Republican legislators pride themselves on championing the interests of business, but sometimes they don’t know when to quit... Read More
