About: Rick Henderson

Drop by the John Locke Foundation at noon today for this week’s Shaftesbury Society meeting, where I’ll be discussing the continuing relevance of Thomas Sowell’s 1987 masterpiece A Conflict of Visions. If you’re not aware of Sowell’s formulation of constrained and unconstrained visions of political thought, perhaps a couple of recent opinion columns will helpContinue Reading

Earlier today, the House Government Committee passed House Bill 274, Taxpayer Bill of Rights, by 22-14 vote, sending it to the Finance Committee. North Carolina’s version of TABOR would, with the beginning of the 2015-16 fiscal cycle, cap state General Fund spending and limit increases to the rate of inflation and population growth. If revenuesContinue Reading

At 2:30 today, New Bern attorney Trawick “Buzzy” Stubbs, Morganton businessman Charles Michael Fulenwider, and former Western Piedmont Community College board member Robert Lee Caldwell are scheduled to appear in Wake County court to address their indictments for roles they played in Bev Perdue’s 2008 campaign for governor. The three may strike plea agreements, trialsContinue Reading

Barry Smith reports that Tax Freedom Day, a calculation from the Tax Foundation estimating the cost of government, arrives today in North Carolina. We’re eight days earlier than the national average, but later than every neighboring state except Virginia. Read Barry’s CJ Online report here.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey caught some flak in January when he called the Affordable Care Act “fascism” (and soon backed down). Mackey, however, continues to point out that, under Obamacare, it will be difficult for him to provide employees the health care benefits package he can afford. The administration may get the last laugh,Continue Reading

From The Washington Times: The Democratic National Committee has no plans to repay Duke Energy for an unprecedented $10 million line of credit it guaranteed to help the Democratic convention’s local host committee put on President Obama’s three-day nominating convention in Charlotte, N.C., last September. A Duke company official said the company was claiming theContinue Reading

I’ve collected a healthy sampling of our tweets at JLF’s new Storify site. Be sure to click the “next page” link to get the whole story. Enjoy!

Gov. Pat McCrory will deliver his first State of the State Address this evening at 7, and various John Locke Foundation/Carolina Journal staffers will offer live commentary and reactions on their Twitter feeds. To stay up on the action, be sure to follow: • Dr. Roy Cordato, vice president of research and resident scholar @RoyCordatoContinue Reading