A group of protestors stopped by our office today. It was funny how they mimic the Sixties in their protests, though the times are far different. I was in college back then. Don’t let anyone kid you, going on a protest march is a lot of fun. These marchers — under the aegis of an [...]
Economics Archives
Liberalism’s Failure: ‘a Paler Shade of Orange’
ICYMI, the News & Observer had an oped recently that showed how North Carolina liberalism is failing — on its own terms. In “Unfortunate policies lead county to a paler shade of Orange,” UNC professor Michael Jacobs notes that: Of the 25 largest counties in North Carolina, only two had a decline in African-American population [...]
Hollywood Rent Seekers Cry Foul Over Modest Film Credit Reform
A new bill in the NC legislature would very modestly alter North Carolina’s program of tax credits for Hollywood film production. Per the Wilmington Star News: HB 994, co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Catlin (R-New Hanover) and Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender), Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) and Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham), seeks to make the film production [...]
“Privatization” of Economic Incentives Fails to Address Key Problems
Our friend Jeanette Doran of the NC Institute for Constitutional Law penned this op-ed in the N&O on the issue of North Carolina’s economic incentives, and Gov. McCrory’s still vague plan to turn over the state’s incentives programs to a “private non-profit.” Among Doran’s concerns is the issue of transparency: Records of the negotiations aren’t [...]
Memo Sheds Light on ‘Development’ Boondoggles
In another shocking development, it turns out that corporate welfare dispenses lots of money to big corporations without bringing in many jobs. The General Assembly”s Fiscal Research Division released a memo memo saying the movie industry’s tax incentives led to no more than 70 jobs — at the cost of than $30 million in credits [...]
