Special Features Archive

A new county-by-county analysis of North Carolina voters points to dramatic shifts in the past decade that will likely influence campaign strategy for hot elections this year for Richard Burr’s US Senate seat and for control of the General Assembly.

Ten years ago, North Carolina’s leaders promised to dramatically close or even eliminate the academic achievement gap between white students and black, Hispanic and American Indian students. However, a new report from the North Carolina Justice Center shows that, based on the results of various achievement tests, the gap is virtually unchanged from 10 years ago.

North Carolina’s unionized workers earn better pay and benefits than non-union counterparts; the Employee Free Choice Act would help workers organize

North Carolina’s low unionization rate partially explains the state’s dismal standing in pay and benefits for working families, a new report says - but the federal Employee Free Choice Act is “a critical step in the right direction for North Carolina’s workers.”

Over the past decade, jobs-centered development has emerged as a promising alternative to the South’s traditional strategies of economic and workforce development. Following the Second World War, southern leaders waged an aggressive campaign to transform the regional economy. To this end, officials mixed public policies with private market forces to create jobs and cultivate a more skilled workforce. In doing so, they created a distinctive model of economic growth: a model based on luring industries south by offering a low-cost business climate, subsidizing key expenses, and providing customized workforce training.

Last Friday at the Progressive Pulse, we reported on NC Blue Cross’ statewide nasty postcard campaign aimed at Senator Hagan. The postcards are meant for people to fill out and are postage paid to go to Hagan’s office with a message against a public health care option and “government-run” health care.

A study of North Carolina’s General Fund reveals the deep impact of the recession on tax revenues.

North Carolina government spending per person has fallen to its lowest rate in 13 years, a report released today finds. This provides further evidence that balancing the state budget using cuts alone was simply an impossible task.

Far from costing jobs, the tax increases passed by North Carolina’s legislature are likely to forestall job losses in both the private and public sectors, a new study by the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center finds.

With North Carolina’s economy and budget in crisis, state leaders of all political parties and philosophies are demanding - more than ever - a solution to the mushrooming growth in corrections expenditures. Can North Carolina gain control of this unsustainable budget-buster while, at the same time, improving both public safety and outcomes for offenders? If we follow the example of a growing number of states, the answer to his question may well be a resounding “yes.” Come learn more at a very special, mid-summer Crucial Conversation Luncheon.

With North Carolina's economy and budget in crisis, state leaders of all political parties and philosophies are demanding - more than ever - a solution to the mushrooming growth in corrections expenditures. Can North Carolina gain control of this unsustainable…

A new report released by HCAN today finds the pool of people in North Carolina covered by health insurance is shrinking coupled with the huge increases in costs over the last decade. Click here for a copy of the report…

NC Budget & Tax Center analysis shows that for every one dollar in additional taxes in the House budget, there are three dollars in spending reductions

Members of the NC House of Representatives have proposed some painful cuts in their budget to help the state deal with its $4.6 billion budget deficit.

Report outlines policy changes that could aid recovery

Assisting families and communities recover is about more than helping North Carolinians find jobs because economic security requires much more than income. Achieving a more stable economic recovery for our state means connecting families to assets such as affordable housing, educational opportunities and savings accounts.

The Senate Finance Committee’s proposed tax modernization plan would require an additional 0.3% of income ($32 average annually) from the lowest income earners, 0.1% of income ($32 average annually) from middle-income
taxpayers and 0.1% of income ($958 average annually) from the highest 1% of income-earners.

The vast majority of states facing budget gaps comparable to North Carolina’s are raising revenues to protect their economies, a new report finds.

The North Carolina Budget & Tax Center just released a new issue brief looking at the state’s worsening budget gap. This budget shortfall is more than 20% of the current state budget which means that NC has the 11th largest projected budget gap for fiscal year 2009-10.