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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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), […]
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. […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
We’re all familiar with that old saw “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin wrote those words in a letter to French physicist Jean-Baptiste Leroy in late 1789, two years after the adoption of the United States Constitution and just six months before his death in the spring of 1790. And while it’s taken centuries […]
A few weeks ago, when the General Assembly called itself back into a special session following the passage of The Disaster Recovery Act of 2016, the legislature took up some important bipartisan reforms to North Carolina’s ethics, elections, and court systems. At the same time, another piece of bipartisan legislation, House Bill 17, was also passed […]