North Carolina must compete for nurses
RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly has made our state a more attractive place to live, work, and do business by reforming our tax code, reshaping our regulatory system, renovating how we fund infrastructure, and taking some initial steps toward a more competitive hospital market.
Let’s reform how we pay teachers
RALEIGH — During the just-ended 2024 election campaign, candidates for offices such as governor, legislature, county commission, and state superintendent of public instruction talked a lot about raising the pay of public schoolteachers in our state — as well they should have.
North Carolinians make a familiar choice
RALEIGH — To describe North Carolina as one of America’s chief political battlegrounds is a well-worn cliché. I’ve certainly done my part to wear it out. In past columns I’ve called our state a “flirt” (which happens to be a reddish shade of purple) that still contains just enough split-ticket voters to surprise even the most experienced of political prognosticators.
Which is wealthier: Germany or North Carolina?
RALEIGH — Although our state’s economy has grown faster than the national average over the past decade, not everyone has fared well. Some regions and communities are struggling — a condition now worsened in parts of western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene. Moreover, too many of our fellow North Carolinians lack the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to prosper even in our fastest-growing metros. Much work remains to be done.
When Carolina ladies made history
RALEIGH — Over the next couple of years, you’ll hear a great deal about the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding.
NC veterans: How to see through the fog of ‘fake news’
In the past, if adversaries flew over a military base and dropped leaflets, the military would have shot them down. Now, they infiltrate bases online and we are left scrambling to respond.
Let’s be realistic about bipartisanship
RALEIGH — Whether the frame of reference is North Carolina or the nation as a whole, no one can dispute the fact that there is a partisan divide — and that it has been growing.
Remote work yields benefits and costs
RALEIGH — As economist (and North Carolina native) Thomas Sowell once observed, “there are no solutions — there are only tradeoffs.”
In Helene’s wake, leadership is crucial
RALEIGH — I got it wrong. Deeply wrong. Embarrassingly wrong.
Democrats got post-debate bounce
RALEIGH — Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson was likely to lose the 2024 gubernatorial election to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein before the September 19 CNN piece tying him to a series of grotesque posts made more than a dozen years ago on a pornography site.