Jon Sanders

So South Carolina is beating us in this made-up game. How are we comparing otherwise?

A bill to sweeten the pot with more government giveaways for "big boys with deep pockets" only gives good-government, free-market advocates pause, it seems.

The number of girls at risk of female genital mutilation in North Carolina approaches 10,000, which includes over 2,000 in the Raleigh metropolitan area and over 4,000 in the Charlotte metropolitan area.

No kidding, the NYT is promoting a chat program so kids can practice arguing politics with an "Angry Uncle" during Thanksgiving.

But North Carolina is caught in a public-choice trap with its occupational licensing system. Licensing reform is an issue that unites conservatives and liberals, the political Right, Left, and Center, but deep-pocket lobbies have so far been able to suppress attempts to restore people's fundamental civil right to earn a living as recognized in the State Constitution.

It is as if American vocabularies have lost the ability and terms to make the fine distinctions needed for drawing richer, fuller distinctions.

It's not as if Texas was minding its own business and suddenly won the low-tax business-welcoming climate lottery. Texas adopted policies that economists have consistently shown to promote stronger economic growth.

Now North Carolina isn't having to plumb new depths in cronyism like some mad Captain Nemo. Make no mistake, that's what our leaders were fully prepared to do.