Defining terms shapes debate
Are you an epicurean? The answer to this question reveals something about you, something about the English language, and something about the power of propaganda. Next year, North Carolina and the... Read More
NC SPIN Posts by John Hood
Count campaign costs per voter
Was the 2014 Senate race between Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan and Republican victor Thom Tillis really the most expensive race in North Carolina history, or in the country’s entire election cycle... Read More
N.C. city earns dubious distinction
If you ever thought that complaining about the tax system was a modern phenomenon, I can disabuse you of the notion in two sentences. The first, shorter one has an ancient pedigree. “The people are... Read More
Why I'll never run
Every now and then, I make a mental list of how many different ways I am manifestly unsuited to run for public office. Not exactly the typical pastime of a normal person, I grant you. But given how I... Read More
N.C. Economy compares well
Remember a couple of years ago, when North Carolina’s unemployment rate was falling rapidly? Critics of the Republican-led legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory denied that the state’s labor market was... Read More
Court makes the right choice
There was absolutely nothing surprising about the North Carolina Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision to uphold the constitutionality of the state’s new Opportunity Scholarship program. The outcome was... Read More
Primary could be pivotal
After months of sometimes-acrimonious debate, North Carolina seems finally to have set a date for its 2016 presidential primaries. It won’t be in February, right after the South Carolina primary, as... Read More
NC sets higher bar
Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, and North Carolina are in an exclusive club. Can you guess its membership policy? I’m not talking about these states’ contributions to the recent fields... Read More
Don't engage in statistical silliness
Should regulators require child-safety locks on stepladders? Such a rule would have been a real problem at the Hood abode years ago when my boys were little. At the time, there were a couple of... Read More
A foundation for growth
Would North Carolinians ever vote to elect Donald Trump or somebody like him? We did once. When we did, we proved that North Carolinians, like voters across America, can be attracted to tough-talking... Read More
