The Bottom Line from NC Newsline

  If you get a chance, check out a recent essay authored by retired Legislative Fiscal Analyst Richard Bostic. It was posted by Raleigh’s News & Observer. In it, Bostic, who spent 31 years advising state legislative leaders, issues a loud and clear warning about the fiscal cliff toward which our state is speeding. His […]

  Among the most important public policy developments in North Carolina over the last several decades was the rise of one of the nation’s strongest networks of consumer advocacy nonprofits. Together with elected leaders from both major parties, these advocates helped make North Carolina a state to avoid for predatory lenders who target consumers with […]

  North Carolina’s economy has undergone many important transitions over the last several decades. But in recent years there’s been no more promising arrival on the scene than the electric vehicle industry. As experts at the national Electrification Coalition pointed out last week, federal EV tax credits have helped spur the creation of more than […]

  It’s a universal rule of local government that nobody likes their property tax bill or the way their property is assessed. By any measure, the assessors have a tough and thankless job. That said, it’s also true that there are unjust assessments and sometimes they’re the byproduct of historical bias and discrimination that affect […]

    No one ever said our state prisons would or should be cushy places to live and work. But neither should they be decrepit dumps in which an underpaid and understaffed workforce struggles to cope with an inmate population that is at once aging and unhealthy, and increasingly hopeless and prone to violence. Unfortunately, […]

  Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of the wild policy swings that are the signatures of the second Trump administration. From tariffs and trade to Russia and Ukraine, it often takes just hours for supposedly strong policy stances to be contradicted or abandoned by the president or his aides. And now, this chaotic pattern […]

    It’s a trend that’s been advancing at a breakneck clip for years now, but according to a new report from the global nonprofit OxFam, the vast and immoral inequality that dominates the U.S. economy has reached truly stunning levels. As the report notes, over the past year, the richest ten Americans increased their […]

  There are many things that state leaders should do these days to improve the UNC System. Providing adequate funds to hire and retain topflight faculty and reining in out-of-control professional sports programs would be a good start. Unfortunately, at present, the emphasis in Raleigh is on advancing a right-wing political agenda, and so it […]

    Today is Memorial Day – the day on which we honor the memory of the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. All caring and thinking people should take at least a moment today to lift up these heroes. And today would also be a good one to help […]

  North Carolina hardly needs any more wake-up calls about the devastating impacts of climate change, but a new, must-see PBS/NPR documentary provides another powerful reminder on the subject of dealing with the extreme weather that climate change is spawning. The documentary is entitled “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning,” and in it, NPR’s Laura Sullivan exposes […]

  North Carolina House Republicans unveiled their version of a new state budget this week, and while it included some improvements over the Senate version – a somewhat slower approach to cutting taxes, slightly better salaries for new teachers – the plan swings and misses by proposing to slash 3,000 state government jobs. The authors […]

  The efforts of North Carolina Republican lawmakers to transform the state Board of Elections into a partisan puppet show continue apace. First, was the absurd move that placed MAGA state auditor Dave Boliek over the board instead of the Governor. Then came Boliek’s appointment of a pair of ultra-partisan GOP politicians as board members. […]

    North Carolina’s gun violence crisis continues to grow more dire by the day. According to the most recent data, someone dies in our state from a gunshot wound every five hours. Think about that for a minute: that’s more than four lives lost every day. Amazingly, however, state legislative leaders are determined to […]

  Everyone knows the state legislature must operate under a set of parliamentary rules and procedures. After all, maintaining order in a large group of opinionated and talkative politicians is no easy feat. That said, when the rules become so numerous, complex and restrictive that they make majority rule effectively impossible, they’ve gone too far […]

  Among the most worrisome bills under consideration in Raleigh this year is a Senate proposal that would weaken the state’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By removing a 2030 target for a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions, the bill takes another big step backward in confronting the global climate crisis. But as […]

  Few initiatives of modern American conservatives have been more successful than the crusade to take control of the courts. From the U.S. Supreme Court on down, big dollars and a commitment to hardball politics have helped give Republicans large majorities on several courts where the partisan divide should be about even. Notably, however, Republican […]

  The list of Trump administration cuts to vital public services has become so long and destructive that it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but as North Carolina anti-poverty advocates continue to remind us, it’s important to hold the cuts up to the light, to document their cruel illogic. Take, for instance, the disastrous scheme to […]

  Why are so many conservative politicians obsessed with denying the existence of transgender people? Several years ago, it was the infamous bathroom bill that sought to micromanage the public restrooms trans people used. Now, the same forces are at it again with bills targeting transgender youth. Under legislation approved by the state House last […]

  Fears about the trouble that lies ahead for North Carolina now that judges have okayed the scheme to give auditor Dave Boliek control over the state Board of Elections, were confirmed last week by the cruel and classless behavior of Boliek’s new right-wing appointees. After firing longtime elections board executive director Karen Brinson Bell […]

  No modern political leader has done more to undermine science and research – both by slashing funding and directly spreading myths and disinformation — than President Donald Trump. Whether defunding everything from cancer studies to the National Weather Service or placing a troubled conspiracy theorist like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in charge of the […]

  The nation’s last unsettled election contest has finally been decided. On Wednesday, Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin conceded to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs. It was a long overdue act that many observers, including Justice Riggs (who prevailed in two separate recounts), are rightfully celebrating as a victory for democracy. That said, […]

  If you’re like the vast majority of North Carolina voters, the decision you made last November in the auditor’s race was pretty low on your list of priority contests. Ah, but for Republican lawmakers looking for ways to seize more powers from Gov. Josh Stein, newly elected Republican auditor Dave Boliek has turned out […]

  While it’s no surprise that President Donald Trump is undoing years of hard won national progress in combating discrimination, the decision by many corporations to cowardly follow suit is shameful. Take North Carolina-based Duke Energy. As researchers at the Energy and Policy Institute recently reported, Duke once held itself out as a leader in […]

  Like many seemingly inexplicable practices that just sort of happened over time, designers of our state government could probably never have imagined something like “crossover week” at the North Carolina legislature. “Crossover” is an artificial semi-annual deadline by which bills must be approved by at least one body – the Senate or the House […]

  As anyone who steps outside of a gated community these days is aware, the number of impoverished and homeless people living on the street is, thanks to our unjust and top heavy economy, way up. What’s more, providing useful assistance to these people – many of whom struggle with disabilities, mental and physical health […]