NC Policy Watch's the Progessive Pulse

The News & Observer has been running a timely, important series this week on North Carolina spending billions of dollars on tax breaks with little attention to whether they deliver the jobs and economic growth supporters claimed would result — … Read More...

Will the new State Board of Elections be a genuine watchdog or a rubber stamp for political powers that be? Today’s initial meeting of the new group appointed by Governor McCrory should provide some interesting signals.

As Mark Binker reported … Read More...

Colorado joined a growing number of states (16 in total) yesterday in recognizing the importance of an affordable post-secondary education to all their residents, regardless of immigration status. The Governor signed legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants who graduate from … Read More...

House Bill 935, NC Pre-Kindergarten Law Changes, faced little opposition in the House’s Health and Human Services committee this morning. The bill passed 14-4.

HB 935 would lessen the number of low-income children eligible for the state’s award-winning Pre-K … Read More...

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill today that would jack up interest rates on small loans made in North Carolina to unprecedented levels. The bottom line on the bill: Already high-cost loans will become bigger, more … Read More...

Truth: I stole that from Tina Fey, my college classmate and friend. Further truth: I did not know her at all, which has only occasionally stopped me from telling people we were friends. She’s so funny! Can’t I wish we … Read More...

A new report from the Budget and Tax Center explodes two persistent myths about North Carolina’s economy that are often used to justify cutting taxes. First, the report dispenses with the false claim that North Carolina’s overall economy is uncompetitive … Read More...

One of  North Carolina’s most experienced and insightful economic development experts, retired CFED wonk and former Senior Fellow Bill Schweke, forwarded the following brief essay in response to the series in Raleigh’s News & Observer on North Carolina’s rather amazing generosity in dispensing tax … Read More...

Last week, Congress stepped in to give the Federal Aviation Administration the flexibility it needed to put thousands of furloughed air traffic controllers back on the job. But while lawmakers found the political will help alleviate lengthy delays at … Read More...

There’s obviously a lot of competition in this category these days, but as of late yesterday, it has to be the fact that the President of the University of North Carolina and law enforcement officers are reduced to begging the honorables on … Read More...

I’ve learned that when the General Assembly is in session, there’s a lot to keep track of – especially this time around. Here’s a roundup of what to expect this week in Raleigh if you’re following education news.

State Board … Read More...

HB 786, or the RECLAIM NC Act, should be called the “Repo” Act.

Most of the attention in the RECLAIM –er, Repo Act — has been focused on a provision that would provide a limited number of undocumented immigrants driver … Read More...

Professor Sean Reardon of Stanford University has a fascinating article in the New York Times today (“No Rich Child left Behind”) about what really lies at the root of the growing achievement gap in the American education system.

Here are … Read More...

North Carolina legislators are considering an anti-immigrant bill (HB 786) that would impose new law enforcement costs on state and local governments and could result in additional consequences in the state’s communities. The Arizona-style “show me your papers” provision and … Read More...

In orders and opinions issued this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Virginia resident-only public records law, dismissed an appeal challenging Louisiana’s five-year failure to fund counsel for an indigent defendant, and refused to hear an appeal concerning Alabama’s … Read More...

Whether it’s the current environment in Raleigh or something else in the air, it looks like there will be a BIG crowd at next Thursday’s 15th Annual Defenders of Justice event.  

The Defenders of Justice Awards, of course, are presented each year by the N.C. Justice … Read More...

On the state Senate calendar for a second reading tonight is Senate Bill 359, which prohibits health insurers from using “most favored nation” clauses in contracts with health care providers.

Though not stated directly in the bill, the prohibition … Read More...

In case you missed it, the Fayetteville Observer had this to say over the weekend about the issue of recent campaign contributions from corrupt gambling interests to Gov. McCrory, Senate President Pro Tem Berger, Speaker Tillis and others:

“It’s clear that

If you have even a passing interest in North Carolina politics or policy (or, indeed, simply in making the world a better place), you would do well to take an hour or so to watch the funeral that was held today in Raleigh for Jamie … Read More...

The US House of Representatives Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce will be coming to Concord, NC to hold a hearing entitled “Health Care Challenges Facing North Carolina’s Workers and Job Creators” on Tuesday, April 30th at 9am.

Representative … Read More...