Joseph Coletti

Senior Fellow

Posts by Joseph Coletti (page 2)

  • Preventing and responding to ransomware attacks

    Cities and counties across the country and in North Carolina are tempting targets for ransomware attacks that block access to computer systems until the hacker receives money. More attacks on governments have been reported in North Carolina this year than over the past three years combined, although it is…
    Joseph Coletti, August 30, 2019

  • Prudence in good times to avoid austerity in bad times

    Economist Valerie Ramey tells readers of the Wall Street Journal “It’s time to start worrying about the national debt.” Ramey notes that the last time debt was as high as it is today, after World War II, budget surpluses helped cut the debt by 12%, but “the main driver…
    Joseph Coletti, August 26, 2019

  • North Carolina not alone: Most states miss the mark with internet sales tax collections

    For years, budget experts have forecast billions of dollars in new revenue if state could just get online retailers to collect sales taxes like their Main Street counterparts. The National Conference of State Legislatures projected North Carolina would raise $426 million a year. Since companies started collecting sales tax for…
    Joseph Coletti, August 19, 2019
    Featured image thumbnail

  • Refunding the surplus?

    My commentary yesterday on the possibility of refunding some or all of the surplus to people has generated some discussion, thanks in part to a simpler version on this blog and to comments on Twitter. A couple suggestions seemed worth pursuing. First, refunding money to taxpayers using the…
    Joseph Coletti, August 15, 2019

  • State Department of Transportation hit by storm and state constitution

    North Carolina’s Department of Transportation announced it is reviewing up to 1,000 temporary and contract jobs for temporary layoffs, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. Those positions are vulnerable, in part, because NCDOT has paid $675 million over the past three years responding to storm damage. Compensation for decades…
    Joseph Coletti, August 14, 2019

  • House Democrats close budget chapter

    House Democrats effectively shut the door on a veto override, and with it a new budget agreement for the fiscal year, yesterday. All but four of them signed a commitment letter to uphold Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Unless three more decommit or are not present, Republicans will be short of…
    Joseph Coletti, August 8, 2019

  • Alcohol for the public good

    A letter writer to the Hendersonville Times-News worries that private liquor sales would eliminate “profits for public advantage” and put personal profits ahead of the “control and prevention of underage drinking.” Alcoholic Beverage Control managers, however, seek personal profits just as much as a private business would. The current system…
    Joseph Coletti, August 7, 2019

  • Want a good way to tax wealth and capital income?

    Wealth taxes and estate taxes are taxes on the virtue of saving. And nobody has found a good way to implement such a tax. Ten European countries, including France, Germany, and Sweden have repealed wealth taxes. India also repealed its wealth tax, first enacted in 1957, in 2015. Chris Edwards, in…
    Joseph Coletti, August 2, 2019