Joseph Coletti

Senior Fellow
Joe Coletti is a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation focused on fiscal policy issues. He previously headed the North Carolina Government Efficiency and Reform initiative within the Office of State Budget and Management, which led to changes automotive fleet management, natural and cultural resources, and state contracting. He has spent his career improving operations and strategies at for-profit, nonprofit, and government entities. He has degrees from Johns Hopkins SAIS and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Posts by Joseph Coletti (page 1)

  • How 2019 could be like 1969

    World events from the failed Arab Spring to the elections of 2016 “should have mugged” conservatives to question the post-War “secular-liberal-technocratic consensus,” says New York Post Op-Ed Editor Sohrab Ahmari. In his First Things review of Max Boot’s memoir The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right, Ahmari sees parallels…
    Joseph Coletti, April 10, 2019

  • Higher minimum wage, more crime

    A new working paper’s conclusions make sense if you believe the data that a higher minimum wage makes it harder to find low-skill jobs. The impact is significant Our results provide no evidence that minimum wage increases reduce crime. Instead, we find that raising the minimum wage increases…
    Joseph Coletti, March 18, 2019

  • Competing debt proposals

    Governor Cooper’s $3.9 billion bond proposal for schools and water systems is the fourth entry in the contest to use state government debt capacity. The State Capital and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) already dedicates 4 percent of General Fund revenue to debt service and new capital projects. The Debt…
    Joseph Coletti, March 6, 2019

  • Causes and effects of unfunded public pensions

    Unfunded pension liabilities are driving up the cost of state government borrowing. For states, there may not be much difference between Republicans and Democrats. But for local governments, Democratic control means more unfunded promises. When people voter with their feet, the problem gets worse: Today’s public-sector employees…
    Joseph Coletti, March 5, 2019

  • The real root of retirement risks

    Andrew Biggs provides a reminder that governments are the main source of concern for future retirees’ incomes. while household retirement savings are growing, government retirement plans—Social Security, government employee pensions and the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.—are underfunded by up to $26 trillion. The World Economic Forum estimates that…
    Joseph Coletti, March 1, 2019

  • What happens when judges make up facts

    Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins overturned two constitutional amendments approved by voters in November, arguing that the General Assembly are “usurpers” who “did not represent the people of North Carolina.” John Hood explains how this fact-free ruling will endanger Democrats and invite “chaos and confrontation.” In his…
    Joseph Coletti, February 26, 2019

  • Income growth in 2018

    North Carolina’s one-year income growth in the third quarter of 2018 was faster than any state in the southeast. The Pew Charitable Trusts has a great tool to see this and cross-state comparisons.
    Joseph Coletti, February 14, 2019

  • What happens when you try to pay the unauthorized substance tax

    If you are comfortable providing your name, phone number, and mailing address to get the tax stamps required for illegal substances, Jonathan Holbrook of the School of Government would like to hear how it goes. Actually, we all would.
    Joseph Coletti, February 13, 2019