With an ever-expanding federal government, the U.S. has fallen out of the top five countries for economic freedom, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.
All in Opinion
OPINION: Bombshell in state Supreme Court should raise concerns about spending control
It was a bombshell that has yet to explode.
An attorney arguing recently before North Carolina’s highest court made a startling accusation. He accused the state’s attorney general of working with the governor’s budget officials to bypass government rules for spending taxpayer money.
Small business bills waiting in Senate Rules Committee
Having trouble getting a hair appointment or other services? There are three bills sitting in the Senate Rules Committee that sponsors say would loosen bureaucratic red tape for some small service businesses. Bill sponsors are eager to see them move before lawmakers adjourn for the year.
New N.C. budget expands school choice
Many North Carolinians breathed a sigh of relief last week when the GOP-led legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper came to terms on a budget for the new biennium. School choice advocates were among them and have plenty to celebrate in the new spending plan.
How inflation may gobble up Thanksgiving budgets
As we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, many of us will give thanks for the chance to spend time with family and friends, and for the indulgent meal. But inflation will take the first bite, making Thanksgiving 2021 the most expensive in history.
Business-friendly group's new ratings give GOP advantage with new legislative maps
New legislative election maps would give Republicans an advantage in the 2022 elections. But the GOP would have to win some competitive races to secure majorities in the state House and Senate, according to a newly-released assessment.
OPINION: Is it time to break up marine fisheries?
It was a warm late spring afternoon in 1968 when Faye Nelson, my seventh-grade teacher, decided to take an impromptu, after lunch, field trip to the Carteret County Courthouse. It was a short walk from Beaufort Central Middle School, down Queen Street and then a right on Cedar, with 25 pre-delinquents in tow. I am not sure it was announced, or if she had a shred of parental permission, but there we were, filling the back three rows of a session of open court.
Cawthorn’s handlers got it wrong
When Carolina Journal first reported first-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s intention to abandon his current district next year to run in an adjacent one, CJ quoted Cawthorn as saying his decision was part of “a strategy to increase conservativism in North Carolina.”
G.K. Butterfield to retire from Congress
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, N.C.-1, a Democrat, has officially announced he'll retire at the end of this term in Congress. Originally from Wilson, Butterfield, 74, has served in Congress since 2004. He has been in Congress for 18 years, representing a district that runs along North Carolina's northern border with Virginia. Butterfield won his first election to Congress by more than 71% and has handily won the seat in each election since, winning by margins well into the 70's.
New Civitas poll: Biden’s disapproval rating at 57% in N.C.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating in North Carolina has taken a beating since the first quarter of the year, with just 39% of North Carolinians approving of him today, compared to 57% who disapprove. In March, Biden’s approval rating stood at 48% to 49% disapprove.
OPINION: Focusing on the government link to traditional district schools
“There’s a couple of reasons as to why I think we should call them government schools,” said DeAngelis during the closing session of Classical Liberals in the Carolinas’ recent annual conference. “One is that it provides clarity between charter schools and traditional public schools. Charter schools are defined as public schools, but they’re not government-run.”
Cooper signs first budget as governor
Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday, Nov. 18, signed the $25.9 billion budget plan into law. It's the first budget from the General Assembly that Cooper has signed since taking office in 2017.
Our technology made us resilient
The COVID-19 crisis had enormous and destructive consequences for our health, our economy, our education systems, and the quality of our social and family lives. Now, just imagine how much worse the consequences would have been in the absence of modern information and computer technology (ICT).
Senate passes budget with 14 Democrats onboard; Cooper says he’ll sign it
Gov. Roy Cooper says he will sign the first budget from the General Assembly since he took office in 2017. The announcement came in a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 16, and before the first vote from the Senate on Tuesday afternoon. As of Wednesday morning, the Senate has passed the budget 40-8, with 14 Democrats voting in favor of it. A final Senate vote is coming Wednesday with the House slated to vote Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.
On making a column count
In this case, however, my inspiration came not from the realization that something I wrote might deserve to be trashed. I’d already had that realization decades ago after penning one of my first columns, when its subject complained to me that I’d misquoted him, misunderstood his point, and even misspelled his name. Other than that, it seems, the article was decidedly mediocre.
OPINION: Is it logically inconsistent to oppose COVID-19 vaccination mandates?
Argument: If you are for the school system requiring students to be immunized against diseases, and COVID-19 is just another disease for which a reliable, safe vaccine is readily available, then you should not be against mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in schools.
N.C. ABC creates advisory board; addresses supply problems, empty shelves
The staff of the N.C. ABC met Tuesday, Nov. 9, with representatives from 34 local ABC boards across the state to talk about ways to improve the distribution of high-demand, low-supply, allocated spirituous liquor products.
Long odds for sports betting legalization in N.C. this year
While a bill that would legalize sports betting across North Carolina passed a House committee last week, odds are heavily against it passing the full General Assembly before the session ends.
Veteran GOP state senators headed for high profile primary
State Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, has moved his permanent residence from Richmond County to his second home in the Pinehurst area of Moore County to run for the newly-drawn state Senate District 21, which will include all of GOP-rich Moore County, and much of Cumberland County that mostly surrounds the city of Fayetteville but includes only 12% of the city itself.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn changes congressional districts
One day after Carolina Journal first broke the news, North Carolina’s westernmost member of the U.S. House, Congressman Madison Cawthorn, confirmed via video in a tweet he will run in a different congressional district than the one he currently represents.