North Carolina's three-legged stool
Time was political candidates didn’t spend all their money and energies telling us what a contemptuous scoundrel their opponent was. Instead, they shared their vision for how we could be better and... Read More
My Spin by Tom Campbell
Courts rule
More and more frequently courts have become not just arbiters but de facto legislators of laws. Perhaps we can blame this on a stagnant Congress, partisan legislatures or a more litigious society, but... Read More
Who won the debate?
I can’t say for certain who won but I know who lost. We lost an hour of our valuable time. Nothing new or revealing was said. We could have just put up a big screen and replayed their TV ads ad... Read More
Aligning Employer Needs and Worker Skills
Executive Producer, NC SPIN Governor Pat McCrory sometimes says things that don’t sound the way we think he intended them. In kicking off his 100 county NCWORKS tour promoting workforce development... Read More
Teacher shortages
Fewer young men and women want to become teachers, according to a report from the UNC system. It is easy to see why enrollments in schools of education have decreased as much as 23 percent or more... Read More
The mentally ill are better off in jail
If anyone you love is mentally ill God help you, because the odds of getting adequate help elsewhere are about as good as winning the lottery. I speak from experience. My brother is bi-polar. Even... Read More
We may never know how much our children are learning
The headlines sounded great. 56 percent of our students passed their end of grade tests, compared to just 44 percent last year. A more thorough reading reveals the 11-point gain was a result of... Read More
Gerrymandering: The next ice bucket challenge?
Whoever came up with the ALS Ice Bucket challenge deserves to be enshrined in the Marketing Hall of Fame. It accomplished the dual purpose of focusing attention on Lou Gehrig’s disease while also... Read More
Coal ash questions won't be answered for years
Before legislators could adjourn for the year they had to do two things: give teachers a pay raise and pass a coal ash cleanup bill. Most agree their coal ash solution was weak, leaving more questions... Read More
There has to be a better way to run a state
Exhausted legislators finally saw the closing gavel and heard the fat lady sing the “sine die,” followed quickly by the Hallelujah chorus striking up the perennial tune, “There has to be a... Read More
