Commentary/Opinion
You Decide: What’s Wrong With Worker Productivity?
By Mike Walden One of the underappreciated measures of the economy is worker productivity, which simply measures how much a worker accomplishes — called output — in a given period…
Opinion: Where Georgia Beats North Carolina
By John Hood RALEIGH — A new study of occupational-licensing laws is out — and the results aren’t pretty for North Carolina. According to a report by the Archbridge Institute,…
Opinion: Yes, North Carolina Governors Matter
By John Hood RALEIGH — With my longtime friend Andy Wells, a former state senator, joining the Republican primary field for governor and Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan publicly considering…
Opinion: NCInnovation Is A Bridge Too Far
By John Hood RALEIGH — North Carolina has enjoyed more than a decade of conservative governance. It’s brought our state impressive growth and widespread acclaim. The General Assembly has reformed…
Opinion: Conservatives Must Stand For Freedom
By John Hood RALEIGH — In North Carolina, the political label “conservative” is more popular than the terms “liberal” or “progressive.” In the most recent John Locke Foundation poll, for…
You Decide: What’s The Real Poverty Rate?
By Mike Walden I can remember when President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the war on poverty in 1964. Since then, a variety of governmental programs have been developed to address poverty…
Opinion: Our COVID Outcomes Were Average
By John Hood RALEIGH — Because Gov. Roy Cooper’s former secretary of health and human services, Mandy Cohen, just got the nod from President Joe Biden to be the next…
Opinion: Most Communities Have A Crime Problem
By John Hood RALEIGH — In a recent column, I argued that cities would draw more investment and job creation to their downtowns if people felt safer in them. Because…
Opinion: Racial Preferences Are Gone — Now What?
By John Hood RALEIGH — As widely predicted, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has lost its admissions case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Six of nine justices…
You Decide: Are There Easy Answers To Hard Questions?
By Mike Walden Each year, I do scores of presentations to a variety of groups. In the post-COVID world, these talks are now a combination of in-person and virtual. In…
Opinion: To Boost Downtowns, Make Them Safer
By John Hood RALEIGH — North Carolina continues to exhibit impressive economic performance. Last year, for example, only five states — Idaho, Tennessee, Florida, Nevada, and Texas — enjoyed faster…
Opinion: On Tax Reform, Set Firm Priorities
By John Hood RALEIGH — Negotiators from the North Carolina House and Senate are current hashing out a compromise budget for the fiscal year that begins in July. One of…
