(01-31-05)Health care always seems to dominate policy debates. It is clear that lawmakers at the state and federal level need to find the courage to develop a comprehensive strategy to provide access to affordable health care for everyone.

A good place to start on the state level would be the bill introduced by Rep. Verla Insko and others in the last few sessions that calls for a constitutional amendment declaring that health care is a right in North Carolina.

(01-28-05) Another week, another top state official telling us how bad the lottery is and then offering support for it. This time, it is State Treasurer Richard Moore. Moore said in a recent speech in Winston-Salem that “the government that I try to give my life to is not supposed to be involved in a game where everybody loses.” So far, so good.

(01-27-05) One of the biggest battles of this legislative session could be fought over Medicaid funding. The budget shortfall gives the people who want to cut services to seniors, the blind and the disabled another opportunity to peddle their remarkably callous proposals.

(01-26-05) Not much suspense at the opening session of the General Assembly today, but some interesting insight about the session from Rep. Jim Black. You can read some of the news of the day here on the NC Policy Watch website.

The session begins without a defining program or agenda. It won’t be an education session or economic development session or early childhood development session. Governor Easley wants a lottery and an expansion of More at Four, but those are not new ideas. Lawmakers will respond to problems individually, gang violence, health care, funding for disadvantaged schools.

(01-26-05) As expected, the House elected Democrat Jim Black as Speaker and Republican Richard Morgan as Speaker Pro Tem Wednesday in the latest version of the power sharing arrangement between the two parties.

(01-24-05) Legislative preview stories the past few days have provided encouraging news about lawmakers’ views on the budget shortfall, at least the one conventional wisdom says the state faces.

(01-21-05) Senator David Weinstein deserves some credit for talking about increasing pay for state legislators. Rank and file legislators currently earn just under $14,000 a year. That does not include expense money and an office allowance that legislators can spend anyway they want.

(01-20-05) What is it about the lottery that makes generally reasonable people say bizarre things? Decent, well-intentioned legislators always seem to lose track of logic when the issue comes up.

(01-19-05) Need another example of how out of whack state priorities are in North Carolina when it comes to folks who don’t have much money? Tuesday’s meeting of the state’s Manufactured Housing Board could be a case study.

(01-18-05) Here we go again, another round of attacks on Medicaid, the state and federal program to provide health care to specific groups of people who can’t afford it, people like the blind, the disabled, seniors, children, and poor pregnant women.

Medicaid continues to be mischaracterized, blamed for causing budget problems, instead of credited for saving lives and dollars.

(01-17-05) This was quite a weekend in North Carolina with the inauguration of Governor Mike Easley and the annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Monday’s holiday set aside to honor him.

(01-14-05) Inaugural weekend in Raleigh is shaping up to be something. . There will be dancing, speechifying, oath taking and even a talk from Andy Griffith. As usual, private donors are picking up the tab.

(01-13-05) Outgoing State Auditor Ralph Campbell did us all a favor Thursday…

(01-12-04) You would think that North Carolina lawmakers would be receptive to an idea that would save lives, protect law enforcement officers, save the state money, and not require any new money in the budget to pay for it…

(01-11-05) Governor Mike Easley, presumably getting ready for his inauguration this weekend, has been giving interviews to newspapers about his agenda for the next four years…