NC Policy Watch's the Progessive Pulse

The NC Senate gave final approval Monday to legislation requiring drug tests for those seeking Work First benefits  such as food stamps, small cash grants, or job training.

Macon County Senator Jim Davis told his colleagues the bill was intended … Read More...

With the endorsement of former governors Democrat Jim Hunt and Republican Jim Holshouser, North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections and Justice at Stake today announced a campaign to save the state’s judicial public financing program.

The Judges Not Politicians… Read More...

Eleven rural physicians from Clinton, NC wrote to the Sampson Independent over the weekend to express their grave reservations about Governor McCrory’s privatization plan being touted by McCrory’s DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos and Medicaid Director Carol Steckel:

As proposed by

Strange but true – Governor Pat McCrory’s proposed legislation for privatizing our award-winning NC Medicaid program (presented to the General Assembly by NC DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos last week) is two pages long.  The Administration’s new policy for DHHS workers … Read More...

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a pay dispute between six federal court judges and their employer, the United States.

In U.S. v. Beer, the judges claimed that Congress violated the Compensation Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which … Read More...

Just released:

Mandatory drug testing of Work First applicants, recipients would be costly, ineffective, and likely illegal
New report finds universal drug testing could cost North Carolina as much as $2.3 million

RALEIGH (April 22, 2013) — North Carolina lawmakers … Read More...

Frank Bruni of the New York Times had a thoughtful column about the future of American higher education over the weekend entitled “Questioning the Mission of College.” It is a balanced piece that explores the debate between those who want public … Read More...

In Raleigh, these days, some Charlotte-area lawmakers are leading the charge to remake North Carolina’s tax code in a distinctly regressive fashion. This week, national and state experts on the impact of such policies will be in the Queen City … Read More...

This week’s Top Five on NC Policy Watch:

1. The arrogant and vindictive Senate

2. Community college radio show taken off air after NC Rep. complains

3. Critically important, but not divine

4. Is the Courts Commission on the chopping … Read More...

Progressive income taxes are an important part of state tax systems and offer advantages that far outweigh the volatility in revenue during a recession, according to a recently released report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

Proponents … Read More...

Hugh Caperton’s back in the news, with a new trial against his West Virginia coal-mining enemy about to kick off,  just shortly before the release of a book detailing his nemesis’s attempts to buy off that state’s supreme court justices.… Read More...

One of the more controversial bills of this year’s voter suppression package at the North Carolina General Assembly is Senate Bill 667 – a proposal that would purport to prevent parents from claiming their children as tax deductions if they … Read More...

It’s been a tough week for proponents of austerity economics—the misguided notion that government spending cuts and debt reduction magically produce economic growth. First, a team of respected mainstream economists completely discredited one of the foundational studies supporting the claim … Read More...

When will the folks running our state learn that the key to economic development does not involve slashing taxes and moving away from foward-looking ideas like renewable energy?

Maybe…today?

This is from a WRAL.com report:

Google to invest $600M in

Who said fabulously rich people don’t occasionally do and say some really smart things? As the Huffington Post reports:

WASHINGTON — Adolphus Busch IV, heir to the Busch family brewing fortune, resigned his lifetime membership in the National Rifle

The expensive marketing campaign that an extreme, anti-government national  group launched in North Carolina this week to promote a great tax shift that will hurt the state’s economy flies in the face of the facts.

Arlington, Virginia-based Americans for Prosperity … Read More...

Yesterday, I received an inspring press release. Check out the following excerpts (and related video) below.

JOIN SAM’S RIDE FOR PEACE

APRIL 18, 2013 Raleigh, NC – World War II Marine combat veteran Samuel Winstead, who is riding his bicycle on a 350 … Read More...

The wonks at the Budget and Tax Center are out with a new report — “Cutting corporate income taxes won’t be an economic boon for North Carolina” – that ought to be a “must read” for state government leaders.

It … Read More...

Former N.C. state Rep. Stephen LaRoque will go to trial in May at the federal courthouse in Greenville on charges of stealing from two federally-funded economic development charities.

In a court order filed last week, U.S. Senior District Judge Malcolm … Read More...

Here’s a quick rundown of courts-related bills filed in the General Assembly this session:

HB 161 Provides magistrates are subject to same mandatory retirement age as judges, but applies only to those becoming magistrates after January 2015. Passed House, in … Read More...