John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – I don’t often agree with Joe Hackney, the minority leader of the North Carolina House. A longtime Orange County representative who is retiring this year, Hackney previously served as majority leader and speaker. His political philosophy lies to the left not just of the overall House but also of the Democratic caucus.

Still, I’ve always respected Joe Hackney. Now I have reason to thank him.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH, N.C. – As the North Carolina House and Senate work out their differences over a 2012-13 spending plan, it’s not too early to be thinking about what the state’s fiscal policy choices will be in 2013.

There will be a new governor. There will be many new members of the General Assembly, although it seems likely that Republicans will retain control. I think 2013 may prove to be an opportune time for North Carolina to make fundamental changes in fiscal policy.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – If you see the two major political parties as more polarized and more ideological than they used to be, congratulations! Your Spidey sense is working. But let’s be sure to interpret those tingles accurately.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – If you say that North Carolina’s public schools are better than they used to be, you’ll get no argument from me.

A generation ago, educational attainment and quality in North Carolina ranked low by national standards. We had a low rate of high-school graduation. Our students ranked low in reading, math, and college readiness. In 1992, more than 60 percent of North Carolina students lacked even basic math skills.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell in April by three-tenths of a point, to 9.4 percent. Good news? Not really.

When interpreting government statistics, you have to look at the details, not just the top-line number. North Carolina’s April decline in unemployment was attributable entirely to people leaving the workforce, according to the seasonally adjusted figures. At 9.4 percent, our state still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States – a dubious distinction North Carolina can claim for virtually the entire period since the onset of the Great Recession.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – Progressives make a point that conservatives ought to take to heart: taxes are far from the only factors that households and businesses take into consideration when deciding where to live, work, invest, shop, or create new businesses.

In other words, you can’t explain the performance of any economy simply on the basis of the prevailing tax rate. Some states and nations with above-average taxes have above-average growth rates. Some states and nations with below-average taxes have below-average growth rates.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – If Gov. Bev Perdue and liberal activists want to know why their Edu-scare campaign against the Republican-led General Assembly hasn’t worked, they need only to consider the insight of essayist Kahil Gibran, who once wrote that “an exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper.”

By JOHN HOOD

John Hood

RALEIGH – After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to protect private property from unjust government confiscation in its 2005 Kelo decision, the backlash from Americans across the political spectrum led many states to strengthen their protections against the abuse of eminent domain – that is, the government’s power to condemn and acquire private land.

By JOHN HOOD

John Hood

RALEIGH – In a previous column I described the political debate about North Carolina’s economy as a disagreement among three schools of thought about how best to stimulate growth. For the sake of convenience, I employed the familiar labels of Left, Center, and Right.

By JOHN HOOD

John Hood

RALEIGH – It’s an election year, and both major political parties have an interest in accentuating the differences between Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, legislature, and other North Carolina offices.

But as a nonpolitician, I have an interest in promoting a broader understanding of North Carolina government among the general public. To that end, let’s consider a few policy areas where the two major parties have grown closer together, not further apart, over the past couple of years.

John Hood

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – If all you know about North Carolina’s state budget is what you see in headlines or hear in political ads, you don’t know enough. Most politicians and analysts talk only about the General Fund – the share of state spending paid for by North Carolina’s income tax, statewide sales tax, and a few other sources.

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – Although those involved may wish us to forget, there were actually two attempts over the past year to

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make a certain statistic, one percent, into a political cause here in North Carolina. Both flopped in telling ways.

The obvious example is the Occupy movement, which began on Wall Street but soon spread to Charlotte, Raleigh,Greensboro, and other North Carolina communities. Protesters rallied against crony capitalism, bailouts, and insider influence. So far, so good. Then the rallies turned into squalid camps of bums and professional agitators, with no coherent message or goals. That far, that bad.

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – Remember when the Republican-crafted North Carolina budget passed over Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto

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last summer? Liberal activists predicted economic disaster. By failing to extend a sales-tax increase, and by balancing the state’s General Fund with budget savings rather than tax increases, the General Assembly had supposedly damaged North Carolina’s job market by shoving tens of thousands of workers into unemployment.

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – Despite his recent stumbles in Colorado and Minnesota, Mitt Romney is still the favorite to win the

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Republican nomination for president. As Democratic and Republican strategists begin to work on their general-election strategies, swing states such as North Carolina will be their main focus. But the presidential race, as important as it is, won’t be the only political story that focuses on battleground states.