The WLOS Election Questionnaire

Posted on September 14, 2018 by admin in Appropriations, Beer, Brunch, Budget, Business, Children, Courts, Crime, Economy, Education, Elections, Environment, Ethics, Healthcare, Insurance, Jobs, McGrady, Medicaid, Obamacare, Politics, Poverty, Public Corruption, Public Safety, Recreation, Redistricting, Spirituous Liquor, Sports, Taxes, Unemployment

During election season, candidates are called upon to answer issue-oriented questionnaires from various groups and news organizations, sometimes more than a dozen over the course of just a few weeks. Recently, Representative McGrady and other candidates were given the opportunity to provide detailed answers to a series of thoughtful questions from local ABC affiliate WLOS […]

State Revenues Exceed Forecast by Over $400 million

Posted on August 15, 2018 by admin in Economy, Tax Reform

North Carolina collected $400.2 million more in revenue than forecast at the end of the 2017-18 Fiscal Year as “a steadily growing economy produced yet another fiscal surplus,” according to a new report from the state’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The state collected $176.1 million more in individual income tax than it forecast and $63.2 […]

Six statistics Carolinians should know

Posted on April 5, 2018 by admin in Budget, Economy, Education, Education Reform, Employment, Jobs, Tax Reform, Taxes, Transportation, Unemployment

Since 2010, when voters put Republicans in charge of most state governments across the United States, North Carolina became one of about a half-dozen states where conservative reformers have frequently — and sometimes spectacularly — faced off with progressives in ways that have attracted significant national attention. In 2011, the new GOP-majority General Assembly defeated […]

Employment Increases by more than 85,000

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin in Economy, Employment, Jobs, Tax Reform, Taxes, Unemployment

Employment figures released earlier this week by the state Department of Commerce show that the number of people employed in North Carolina increased by a total of 85,879 throughout 2017, while the number of people unemployed decreased by 20,263 over the same year-long period. The employment growth data follows a positive revenue outlook released by the […]

NC in Top Tier for Economic Preparedness

Posted on October 31, 2017 by admin in Budget, Economy, Good Government

North Carolina is one of sixteen states well-prepared for a financial recession according to an economic study released this month by researchers at Moody’s Analytics. North Carolina has a record $1.5 billion savings reserve and has significantly improved its tax structure under a Republican-led state legislature. Moody’s Analytics provides financial insights on capital markets and […]

North Carolina in Top 5 States for Wage Growth

Posted on October 12, 2017 by admin in Economy, Jobs

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released wage data estimating North Carolina had the fourth fastest household income growth in the nation during 2016. According to the Census Bureau study, North Carolina’s median household income was $50,584 in 2016 — up 4.5 percent from last year after adjusting for inflation. North Carolina’s wage growth ranked substantially […]

Republicans Credited For Strong State Economy

Posted on September 19, 2017 by admin in Economy, Regulatory Reform, Tax Reform

The Republicans have enjoyed majorities in both bodies of the General Assembly for nearly seven years now, and pretty soon Phil Berger and Tim Moore will be asking for two more. This is an appropriate time to assess their performance on the economy. Even under the Perdue and Cooper governorships, policy outputs were shaped greatly […]

Unemployment Continues to Drop

Posted on August 22, 2017 by admin in Economy, Unemployment, Unemployment Reform

North Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped once again to 4.1 percent in July, decreasing 0.1 percentage points from June and remaining below the national average of 4.3 percent. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, most economists consider full employment (otherwise known as the “Nonaccelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment,” or NAIRU) to be in […]

NC Unemployment at 11-year Low

Posted on July 28, 2017 by admin in Economy, Unemployment, Unemployment Reform

Helping Those Who Need It The Most

Posted on July 26, 2017 by admin in Cooper, Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

Hundreds of thousands of hardworking North Carolinians will no longer pay any state income tax by 2019, thanks to several rounds of tax relief provided by the legislature’s Republican majority. A recent memo from the head economist at the non-partisan Fiscal Research Division notes that “of the nearly 4 million tax returns anticipated for tax […]

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

Posted on July 14, 2017 by admin in Budget, Business, Economy

North Carolina has received four national economic distinctions so far this month, including being hailed as the #1 state for starting a business, the #5 best state for business, the #5 best state for budget solvency, and one of only 12 states in the country with a unanimous ‘AAA’ bond rating. Fit Small Business, a Madison Avenue research and […]

Reviewing North Carolina’s FY2017-19 Budget

Posted on July 12, 2017 by admin in Agriculture, Appropriations, Budget, Economy, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health, Justice, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Pension Reform, Public Assistance, Public Employees, Public Safety, Tax Reform, Taxes, Technology, Transparency, Transportation, UNC, Veterans

Planning your summer vacation and looking for some light beach reading? Joseph Coletti over at the John Locke Foundation has you covered with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s state budget: A New State Budget Based On Time-Tested Principles In his 1985 address to the North Carolina Foundation for Research and Economic Education (NC FREE), […]

NC is Best State for Starting a Business

Posted on July 6, 2017 by admin in Business, Economy, Regulatory Reform, Tax Reform, Unemployment Reform

Study: North Carolina is best state for starting a business by Danielle Chemtob, TBJ News Intern, Triangle Business Journal Entrepreneurs and business owners need look no further than the Tar Heel state to set up shop — North Carolina came out on top in a new study of the best states to start a business. […]

House Overrides Budget Veto

Posted on June 29, 2017 by admin in Appropriations, Budget, Cooper, Economy, Education, Speaker Moore, Tax Reform

With a bipartisan majority of 76 to 43, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted yesterday to override the governor’s recent budget veto. The budget, now state law, enacts another round of middle-class tax cuts, a fourth consecutive teacher pay raise, and a record-high savings reserve. “The governor chose partisanship over the people of North […]

Legislature Approves State Budget

Posted on June 23, 2017 by admin in Agriculture, Appropriations, Budget, Economy, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Public Assistance, Public Safety, Technology, Transportation, UNC, Veterans

The North Carolina General Assembly gave its overwhelming approval yesterday to a $23 billion state budget that, among other things, increases education investments by more than $700 million, raises teacher pay for the fourth consecutive year, provides needed disaster relief to communities affected by Hurricane Matthew, helps lower-income people by further expanding the state’s zero-tax bracket, and adds $363.9 million to the state’s savings reserve account. […]

Exempting Money from State Sales Tax

Posted on June 21, 2017 by admin in Business, Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

Legislation passed the House overwhelmingly last month that will help stimulate commerce and job creation for coin dealers and those in the Precious Metals trade. House Bill 434 updates current sales tax laws to allow for the exemption from sales taxes for the commercial sales of gold and silver bullion and coins. Included in the exemption is the […]

Legislative Leaders Craft Budget Deal

Posted on June 19, 2017 by admin in Agriculture, Appropriations, Budget, Economy, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Public Assistance, Public Safety, Technology, Transportation, UNC, Veterans

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference Monday to announce details of the roughly $23 billion budget and tax relief agreement reached between the state House and Senate. As a result of responsible budgeting decisions, millions of middle-class families and job-creating small businesses will keep more […]

House Releases 2017-18 Budget Plan

Posted on May 25, 2017 by admin in Agriculture, Appropriations, Budget, Economy, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Public Assistance, Public Safety, Technology, Transportation, UNC, Veterans

The North Carolina House of Representatives released highlights of its balanced budget proposal for the 2017-2018 biennium on Thursday, submitting a plan that continues to advance successful government investment strategies contributing to revenue surpluses, rainy day reserves, rapid economic and population growth this decade. The budget highlights released on Thursday were provided to area appropriations subcommittees […]

NC Leads Nation in Economic Ranking

Posted on May 10, 2017 by admin in Business, Celebration, Economic Development, Economy, Employment, HB2, Jobs

From the Triangle Business Journal: There will be no sharing of Site Selection magazine’s Prosperity Cup title this year. In its May issue, released Thursday, North Carolina took first place for the 2017 award. Formerly known as the Top Competitive State award, North Carolina had tied with Texas for the top spot in 2016 after having […]

Tourist Spending at Record Levels in NC

Posted on May 9, 2017 by admin in Business, Economic Development, Economy, Employment, Environment, Hunting & Fishing, McCrory, Taxes

50 million tourists spent $23 billion in North Carolina last year, an all-time high, according to a new report by the U.S. Travel Association. These tourism dollars supported 45,000 small businesses, 218,340 jobs, and generated $3.6 billion in taxes. And much of that spending was undoubtedly linked to outdoor recreation; figures also released today by the Outdoor Industry Association show that in 2016, outdoor […]

Improving Rural Access to Broadband

Posted on April 21, 2017 by admin in Dan Forest, Economic Development, Economy, Education, Healthcare, Public/private partnerships, Technology

With an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 109 to 8, the North Carolina House yesterday afternoon passed the “BRIGHT Futures Act” (House Bill 68) to accelerate the build-out of digital infrastructure in rural and other underserved areas of our state. Representative McGrady co-sponsored the bill. The goal is to bring greater economic prosperity to more folks by way of a […]

Dueling Tax Cuts Between the House and Senate

Posted on April 20, 2017 by admin in Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

The following article was written by Matt Caulder and is reproduced from yesterday’s NC Capitol Connection: Both the House and the Senate have put forward tax cut plans for the coming biennial budget. The competing plans will be discussed in earnest as legislators work to craft a budget plan to send to the governor for […]

Transcendental Media-tation

Posted on April 13, 2017 by admin in Beer, Cooper, Economy, Education, Education Reform, HB2, Jobs, Sports, Tax Reform, Technology

With The Bathroom Bill Gone, Here Are 5 Things Happening In North Carolina For The Media To Cover by Patrick Gleason Between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels beating Gonzaga to win the men’s college basketball national championship on Monday, and the North Carolina General Assembly last Thursday repealing House Bill 2, commonly referred […]

The Tax Reduction Act of 2017

Posted on March 17, 2017 by admin in Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

Yesterday, leaders of the House Finance Committee filed House Bill 356, “The Tax Reduction Act of 2017,” calling for another round of tax cuts for North Carolina’s families and businesses. This comprehensive legislation builds on the historic tax reforms that have stimulated the state’s rapid economic growth since 2013. House Bill 356 would once again increase North Carolina’s “standard deduction,” this time […]

Improving Access to Physical Therapy

Posted on February 28, 2017 by admin in Economy, Good Government, Health, Jobs, Military, Veterans

The House unanimously passed a bipartisan bill on Monday, February 27 that will improve access to physical therapy services for North Carolina practitioners and patients. House Bill 57 will allow the state to recognize licensed physical therapists from other states who also enact their own compact. This bill, if passed by the Senate, will enhance […]

NC Ranks #1 in Tech Employment Growth

Posted on February 27, 2017 by admin in Economy, Jobs, Regulatory Reform, Tax Reform, Technology

The N.C. Technology Association’s 2017 ‘State of Technology’ report ranked North Carolina No. 1 in the United States for IT employment growth and the percentage of women in the sector’s workforce. The report compares tech job trends across the United States between 2010 and 2015, ranking North Carolina according to key metrics such as IT […]

Fiscal Uncertainty Hurts State Economy

Posted on February 21, 2017 by admin in Budget, Economy

Guest post by John Hood Do governors and state legislators really have much to do with the performance of state economies? If governors and state legislators are to be believed, their policies are responsible for all good economic news — and rarely responsible for the bad news. It’s easy to ridicule the self-importance of politicians. […]

Majority Leader Outlines Record of Success

Posted on February 17, 2017 by admin in Business, Economy, Education, Education Reform, Government Reform, Jobs, Regulatory Reform, Tax Reform, Taxes, Unemployment, Unemployment Reform

The following piece was written by North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell and first appeared in the North State Journal on February 8, 2016. What We’ve Done for North Carolina North Carolina was once a state that was defined by slow economic growth, high unemployment, burdensome taxes, and massive federal debt. Our great state […]

House Strengthens Savings Requirements

Posted on February 15, 2017 by admin in Budget, Economy, Emergency Management, Good Government

The North Carolina House of Representatives voted 110 to 3 on Wednesday to pass House Bill 7 Strengthen Savings Reserve. The legislation is part of an ongoing effort by Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly to save responsibly and prepare the state for potential emergency funding or disaster recovery needs. Representative McGrady was a […]

To Surplus With Love

Posted on February 14, 2017 by admin in Budget, Economy

Once again, state government is forecasting a budget surplus flowing into its general fund for fiscal year 2016-2017 — that’s the period from July 2016 to June 2017 that the state uses for taxing and accounting purposes. This is just the latest in a string of positive budget news for state lawmakers and marks the third […]