All in Opinion
While some economic metrics continue to offer good news to North Carolinians, others point in a different direction. U.S. agricultural exports, for example, fell by $17 billion last year and appear to be on track for another decline of about $8 billion or so this year.
On May 23 the University of North Carolina System Board of Trustees voted to repeal its Diversity & Inclusion Policy in favor of “institutional neutrality.” This new policy, which was introduced in April, will remove funding for DEI offices and eliminate various diversity-related positions across the 17 UNC System schools. Chancellors will be required to report cuts to existing jobs and DEI spending by September 1.
Billy Graham was known the world over—not bad for a Southern Baptist preacher from North Carolina. Many of us feel some connection with the famed evangelist either directly or indirectly.
In 1993 Robeson County residents had a median income of approximately $21,000. Respectively, in 2022, residents of Robeson County, NC had a median income of approximately $35,000. This is the county I grew up in and this county remains one one of North Carolina's poorest counties.
As inflation squeezes our wallets, concerns over the cost of healthcare loom large for North Carolina families. A recent survey showed that 54% of state residents worry about affording medications, with nearly a third resorting to skipping doses or refusing to fill prescriptions to save money.
Most students and their families invest time, effort, and resources into higher education for vocational reasons. They expect the knowledge, skills, and relationships acquired at a college or university will lead to good jobs — which will, in turn, generate income for graduates to support themselves and their families as well as the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from productive employment or entrepreneurship.
In a small church on the outskirts of Smithfield on a Sunday afternoon, people are comparing light bills. One woman reports that her electrical costs could reach $700 in the summer when she ran the air conditioning; another tells the story of losing power after a hurricane and being unable to afford reconnection fees on her preschool teacher salary.
That’s what a recent reviewer said about my novel Mountain Folk, which she called an “entertaining and instructive” blend of American history, folklore, and fantasy. “As a long-time teacher of middle school and high school students,” she wrote, “I think Mountain Folk would be a great addition to school reading lists.”
RALEIGH — When officers from the U.S. Marshal Service, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and other agencies approached a home in eastern Charlotte on April 29, their purpose was to serve warrants on a fugitive named Terry Clark Hughes Jr.
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the interim chancellor at the University of the North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lee Roberts, ordered the removal on April 30 of an “encampment” on a grassy area of campus called Polk Place. Later that day, protestors returned to Polk Place, took down its American flag, and raised a Palestinian flag in its place.
RALEIGH — Over the past decade, the General Assembly has pursued a tax-reform strategy designed to foster growth and expand freedom in the Tar Heel State. North Carolina now has a flat-rate income tax. State taxes on both personal income and retail sales apply lower rates to broader bases. And lawmakers are in the process of phasing out state taxes on corporate income.
RALEIGH — Which major urban area in America experienced the largest decline in homelessness last year? According to a recent analysis by the Brookings Institution, it was Wake County — North Carolina’s most-populous. It had a rate of 78 homeless residents per 100,000 population, down 40% from 2022.
The debate surrounding immigration and border security dominates in Washington, yet Congress has little to show for it. Protecting our border and reintroducing law and order to our broken immigration system should be goals shared by every one of our elected officials.
In the mosaic of domestic economic vitality, American businesses are the mortar holding our country together. Small businesses, in particular, are responsible for two-thirds of all newly created U.S. jobs, yet they are the most vulnerable to economic shifts and have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years – from lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to persistent supply chain disruptions.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column observing that, over the first eight months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the state’s General Fund revenue was down slightly from what was collected during the first eight months of the previous fiscal year.
I’ve long been bullish on North Carolina’s community colleges. In the past, I’ve praised the system’s cost-effectiveness, its capacity to serve nontraditional students, and the impressive labor-market returns for associate degrees and other certificates in such fields as industrial technology, home repair, computer sciences, and health care.
RALEIGH — The police department in Winston-Salem uses a commercial product called ShotSpotter, a network of audio sensors and software, to identify possible incidents of gunfire and ensure a faster response to them.
