Joseph Coletti

“Half of the people who sign up for Obamacare (ACA) get a flurry of medical care, then drop out before a year is over,” Stanford economist John Cochrane writes in summary on a new working paper. “They can always sign up again if they need to. People who…

The legislature is considering a 10-year ,$3 billion bond plan for road construction across the state. That is a lot of money, and voters (read: taxpayers) will not have a say in its final approval, which could add as much as $300 million in new debt each year. Putting a…

A group of students from an elite private school and their teachers came by the office today to talk about poverty. I laid out the case for private responses (surely human nature makes a “solution” impossible) and for rolling back government regulations. Then came the question that always justifies government…

State Auditor Beth Wood and her staff work in a building that has been smoke-free for years. It has been illegal to smoke in state-government buildings since 2010. In recent testimony to the Program Evaluation Oversight Committee, however, Wood noted that janitorial contracts require ash trays to be emptied every…

Triangle residents will still be short of options for good Swedish meatballs and low-cost furniture. Ikea  will not open a new store in Cary despite months of hype and hope. The company is reconsidering its globally recognizable big blue boxes in favor of smaller stores and digital alternatives.

State legislators may have the budget done this weekend and to Gov. Roy Cooper next week, with no amendments allowed. A 40-person conference committee with no Democratic members has done most of the work and now it is between House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tem Phil…

What did the teachers gathered in Raleigh last week have in common with Pres. Donald Trump, besides an affinity for red clothing? The teachers’ union called the walkout a “Rally for Respect,” not just pay. And Trump’s campaign to “Make America Great Again” was seen as a way to restore…

The state’s long-term commitment of incentives to Apple and others, is “just burning money,” according to Nathan Jensen of the University of Texas. He told WRAL that past 20 years, What you’re offering doesn’t make it any more attractive. You’re really borrowing against future revenues for very little benefit. The…