Joseph Coletti

The General Assembly has provided real spending discipline since 2011, in marked contrast to the previous two decades. In the graphs below, we look first at the General Fund, then at total spending, then at the General Fund’s share of total spending. Within each set, we look first at inflation-adjust…

Gov. Roy Cooper’s official Twitter account posted earlier today that the budget “pays teachers less than state employees.” Teachers make on average $53,975 per year. State employees earn on average $48,748. The budget provides an average 3.9 percent raise for teachers and an average 2.5 percent raise…

Younger people and older working class men are the vanguard of a loss of trust in traditional institutions. They have been hardest hit by lack of opportunity and lack of human connection. Jordan Roberts has commented on the effects among Millennials. Derek Thompson at The Atlantic highlights the…

How can North Carolina pay for the construction and maintenance of roads in the future? The North Carolina Future Investment Resources for Sustainable Transportation (NC F1RST) Commission is looking for ways to ensure North Carolina can continue to build and maintain the roads it needs. Patrick McHugh of the NC Budget…

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…

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…

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…

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…