Billy Graham was known the world over—not bad for a Southern Baptist preacher from North Carolina. Many of us feel some connection with the famed evangelist either directly or indirectly.
All in Opinion
Op Ed: A Request from a North Carolina Public School Graduate
In 1993 Robeson County residents had a median income of approximately $21,000. Respectively, in 2022, residents of Robeson County, NC had a median income of approximately $35,000. This is the county I grew up in and this county remains one one of North Carolina's poorest counties.
John Hood: Can Government Make You Happy?
RALEIGH — Is it the job of government to make you happy? While it may seem like a straightforward question, there are some important subtleties packed into those few words.
NC Lawmakers Cannot Advance Expensive Policy Prescriptions
As inflation squeezes our wallets, concerns over the cost of healthcare loom large for North Carolina families. A recent survey showed that 54% of state residents worry about affording medications, with nearly a third resorting to skipping doses or refusing to fill prescriptions to save money.
John Hood: Universities Should Cultivate Civic Leaders
Most students and their families invest time, effort, and resources into higher education for vocational reasons. They expect the knowledge, skills, and relationships acquired at a college or university will lead to good jobs — which will, in turn, generate income for graduates to support themselves and their families as well as the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from productive employment or entrepreneurship.
OP ED: How N.C. workers are changing the narrative on climate
In a small church on the outskirts of Smithfield on a Sunday afternoon, people are comparing light bills. One woman reports that her electrical costs could reach $700 in the summer when she ran the air conditioning; another tells the story of losing power after a hurricane and being unable to afford reconnection fees on her preschool teacher salary.
John Hood: Fiction can be a teaching tool
That’s what a recent reviewer said about my novel Mountain Folk, which she called an “entertaining and instructive” blend of American history, folklore, and fantasy. “As a long-time teacher of middle school and high school students,” she wrote, “I think Mountain Folk would be a great addition to school reading lists.”
John Hood: On Charlotte Murders, Biden Blew It
RALEIGH — When officers from the U.S. Marshal Service, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and other agencies approached a home in eastern Charlotte on April 29, their purpose was to serve warrants on a fugitive named Terry Clark Hughes Jr.
John Hood: UNC Protestors were treated properly
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the interim chancellor at the University of the North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lee Roberts, ordered the removal on April 30 of an “encampment” on a grassy area of campus called Polk Place. Later that day, protestors returned to Polk Place, took down its American flag, and raised a Palestinian flag in its place.
John Hood: Cut state tax on capital gains
RALEIGH — Over the past decade, the General Assembly has pursued a tax-reform strategy designed to foster growth and expand freedom in the Tar Heel State. North Carolina now has a flat-rate income tax. State taxes on both personal income and retail sales apply lower rates to broader bases. And lawmakers are in the process of phasing out state taxes on corporate income.
John Hood: Cities Must Clear Out Homeless Camps
RALEIGH — Which major urban area in America experienced the largest decline in homelessness last year? According to a recent analysis by the Brookings Institution, it was Wake County — North Carolina’s most-populous. It had a rate of 78 homeless residents per 100,000 population, down 40% from 2022.
John Hood: Politics Should Be Less Important
RALEIGH — It might sound odd to hear this from someone who’s been writing a syndicated column on politics for nearly four decades, but politics has become vastly more important in our lives than it should be.
Op-Ed: Recent Tragedies Reveal the Danger of Reckless Open Border Policies
The debate surrounding immigration and border security dominates in Washington, yet Congress has little to show for it. Protecting our border and reintroducing law and order to our broken immigration system should be goals shared by every one of our elected officials.
Op-Ed: Protect North Carolina Businesses, Protect the ERC
In the mosaic of domestic economic vitality, American businesses are the mortar holding our country together. Small businesses, in particular, are responsible for two-thirds of all newly created U.S. jobs, yet they are the most vulnerable to economic shifts and have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years – from lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to persistent supply chain disruptions.
John Hood: State Gets a Pleasant April Surprise
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column observing that, over the first eight months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the state’s General Fund revenue was down slightly from what was collected during the first eight months of the previous fiscal year.
John Hood: Job needs propel college reforms
I’ve long been bullish on North Carolina’s community colleges. In the past, I’ve praised the system’s cost-effectiveness, its capacity to serve nontraditional students, and the impressive labor-market returns for associate degrees and other certificates in such fields as industrial technology, home repair, computer sciences, and health care.
John Hood: Cities differ on public safety tech
RALEIGH — The police department in Winston-Salem uses a commercial product called ShotSpotter, a network of audio sensors and software, to identify possible incidents of gunfire and ensure a faster response to them.
John Hood: Science of Reading Bears Fruit
Over the past two years, North Carolina had made critical investments in the future of our state.
John Hood: State Revenues Are Down This Year
RALEIGH — State Controller Nels Roseland has just released five months of reports about North Carolina’s General Fund budget. I’m told the delay wasn’t nefarious. It was caused by a change in accounting systems. Well, better late than never — but I hope the delay hasn’t lulled our leaders into complacency.
John Hood: Both Sides Offer Bad Trade Policies
RALEIGH — For all the obvious and consequential differences between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, on one issue the two have much in common. Both the current and former administrations have employed tariffs and other restrictions to help special interests at the expense of average North Carolinians and their counterparts in other states.