Commentary/Opinion
Opinion: Fiscal Storm Is About To Hit Us
By John Hood RALEIGH — You may not be interested in federal deficits, but federal deficits are very interested in you. Okay, so I’ve reworked an already-hackneyed joke into an…
Imagine No Social Security
By Russell Gloor National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens In 1971, the iconic song writer John Lennon penned…
Bigger Congress Would Be Better Congress
By John Hood RALEIGH — With the 2026 primaries rapidly approaching, you may well live in a jurisdiction where Democrats or Republicans are actively contesting nominations for Congress, state legislature,…
Opinion: NC Housing Needs Partners. Stop Running Them Out
By: R. Lee Currie, Jr. of Clayton, Former Executive Director of the North Carolina Republican Party North Carolina is facing a severe housing shortage. We have an inventory gap of…
Opinion: Without Us, The Sun Also Rises
By John Hood RALEIGH — I’m an early riser. I have been since early adulthood — long, long before any hungry children, or a certain German Shepherd, came along to…
You Decide: What’s The Best Tax?
By Mike Walden If you meet someone new and the conversation lags, one way to keep things going is to bring up the topic of taxes. Virtually everyone has an…
Social Security Matters – Why Is My Social Security Retirement Benefit So Small?
By Russell Gloor, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens Dear Rusty: Can you help me understand? I have paid into Social…
Three Wishes For The Telehealth Genie
By John Hood RALEIGH — According to folklore, extraordinary beings resent being confined within ordinary spaces. In “The Fisherman and the Jinni,” one of the stories Sheherazade tells her misguided…
Keep Recent Economic News in Perspective
By John Hood RALEIGH — Here are three stories about North Carolina’s economy that made headlines last week — each undeniably newsworthy and yet each requiring more information to put…
Swing Voters Aren’t Necessarily Ticket-Splitters
By John Hood RALEIGH — Like it or not, the 2026 election cycle is in full swing. For North Carolina’s March 3 primary, voters are already mailing in absentee ballots…
Reforming SNAP Is A Fiscal Necessity
By John Hood RALEIGH — As several provisions of the reconciliation bill Congress passed last year come into effect, the North Carolina General Assembly may have to appropriate as much…
You Decide: Can The Beat Go On?
By Mike Walden I know I am dating myself, but when I was in high school in the 1960s, one of my favorite songs was “The Beat Goes On” by…
