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 […]

Throwback Thursday: Oh SNAP

Posted on May 12, 2016 by admin in Employment, Federal Government, Food, Poverty, Public Assistance, Throwback Thursdays

Although it’s still too early to tell what effects last year’s welfare reform initiative will have on North Carolina, similar policies put in place by the state of Maine in 2014 have already proved to be extremely successful in breaking the chains of poverty in the Pine Tree State. In July 2014, Republican Governor Paul LePage first announced that he would reinstate […]

Reinstating Workfare Requirements

Posted on November 19, 2015 by admin in Employment, Federal Government, Food, Poverty, Public Assistance

A provision of House Bill 318, signed into law last month by Governor Pat McCrory, returns North Carolina to President Bill Clinton’s 1996 policy requiring that able-bodied adults meet some minimal work requirements in order to continue receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly known as food stamps. President Clinton’s goal twenty years ago was to “end welfare […]

The Rest of the Story

Posted on October 21, 2015 by admin in Budget, N&O, Pension Reform, Poverty, Tax Reform

The following article was written by Michael Jacobs and first appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer on October 17, 2015: Regarding the NC legislative session, what we didn’t read Thank goodness, the 2015 legislative session has finally ended and the members of North Carolina’s General Assembly have vacated the capital and returned home. If […]

Budget Lifts Up Poorer Communities

Posted on September 16, 2015 by admin in Economic Development, Education, Poverty, Tax Reform, Taxes

As we mentioned the other day in our post delineating the many highlights of the proposed state budget, there’s a provision to expand the state’s sales tax base (not the rate) in order to help North Carolina’s poorer counties to build schools, community colleges, and attract employers; to see how the new money will be distributed, have […]

Encouraging Volunteer Care

Posted on July 9, 2015 by admin in Healthcare, Older People, Poverty

A little-noticed law passed by the General Assembly last session (Senate Bill 83) encourages healthcare professionals to volunteer their time in free clinics across the state by providing them with limited medical liability, provided the clinic informs their patients. The North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, a non-profit organization of member clinics dedicated to improving […]

Hunters Feeding the Hungry

Posted on June 12, 2015 by admin in Agriculture, Food, Gun Rights, Health, Hunting & Fishing, Lactating Animals, Poverty

[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/C_O1V2nRjKQ” width=”590″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] Legislation has been introduced in the General Assembly directing the North Carolina Commission of Public Health to establish rules governing plants which accept charitable donations from hunters of venison to feed the hungry in North Carolina. Every year, hunters harvest deer from an over-populated habitats, meat processors produce high-protein deer […]

The Corner Store Initiative

Posted on March 19, 2015 by admin in Business, Children, Food, Health, Healthcare, Poverty

Bipartisan legislation (House Bill 250) would create a special $1 million fund to help urban and rural small food retailers in North Carolina’s “food desert zones” purchase refrigerators and shelving to sell fresh fruits and vegetables to their customers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food deserts are defined as: “…urban neighborhoods and rural towns without […]

How to Keep Poor People Poor

Posted on January 2, 2014 by admin in Jobs, Medicaid, Poverty, Public Assistance, Unemployment Reform

“How to Keep Poor People Poor” was written by Brian Balfour, Policy Director of the Civitas Institute. It was originally posted on January 2, 2014 and appears here with permission. If I wanted to keep poor people poor, there are several government policies I would favor. For starters, I would advocate for a robust and ever-expanding […]