Commentary/Opinion
Opinion: Roads Are a Solution, Not the Problem
By John Hood RALEIGH — While Charlotte is known as the Queen City, the behavior of its leaders sometimes invites comparison to a different monarch: Hans Christian Anderson’s newly “clothed”…
Opinion: How North Carolina Can Expand Opportunity
By John Hood RALEIGH — Having enacted major reforms of North Carolina’s tax code, regulatory system, budgeting process, transportation funding, and education system over the past dozen years, what should…
Letter To The Editor: More Than A Day Off: Reflecting On Dr. King In 2023
This Martin Luther King Day, volunteers will plant gardens and lines from the “I Have A Dream Speech” will flood the internet. Politicians will rush to put Dr. King on…
You Decide: How Can We Fix The Labor Market?
By Mike Walden There are several worries about today’s labor market. The first is the ongoing “labor shortage.” The percentage of adults who are working or looking for work —…
Opinion: Campuses Will Try To Keep Discriminating
By John Hood RALEIGH — Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally compel the University of North Carolina and the rest of American higher education to halt the…
Opinion: Liberate Markets To Help Workers Succeed
By John Hood RALEIGH — I have two favorite quotes from Ronald Reagan about the world of work. The first one illustrates his mastery of an indispensable political tool: self-deprecating…
You Decide: Can Economics Help You Survive 2023?
By Mike Walden 2023 will be a challenging year for the economy. We’re starting the year with the ongoing problem of high inflation. Although progress has been made — with…
Opinion: Competition Makes Public Schools Better
By John Hood RALEIGH — According to multiple media reports, there will likely be major efforts during the 2023 session of the North Carolina General Assembly to raise and reform…
Opinion: ‘Centering Equity’ Poisons NC Opioid Plan
By David Larson Carolina Journal Attorney General Josh Stein announced that North Carolina would be receiving another $1 billion from opioid settlements, this time from Walgreens and CVS. This is in addition…
Opinion: Patients Deserve More Choice Of Hospitals
By John Hood RALEIGH — Asheville’s Mission Hospital will soon have a new competitor in Western North Carolina. That’s good news: when a single hospital system dominates a market, that…
Opinion: Index Confirms State’s Reddish Tint
By John Hood RALEIGH — How is the North Carolina Republican Party doing? The answer is 58. No, I haven’t come up with the #ncpol equivalent of The Hitchhiker’s Guide…
You Decide: Will 2023 Be Naughty Or Nice?
By Mike Walden The traditional holiday question to children, “Have you been naughty or nice,” is a perfect lead-in to the economic outlook in 2023. As 2022 ends and 2023…
