Government should tax only to raise money for its essential functions. I support a thorough review of expenditures each year.  A goal I share with proponents of this Amendment is a mechanism that will restrain state government from overspending. Does this Amendment actually restrain spending? Why is it a constitutional amendment?  It seeks to remedy […]

This is a guest post by Donald Bryson who is the CEO and President of the John Locke Foundation and Publisher of the Carolina Journal. An August 13 Carolina Journal Poll offers a stark warning for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterm elections: North Carolina voters overwhelmingly believe tariffs make the things they buy more expensive. The […]

Several years ago the Tar Heels lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament. During the regular season they split. I figured out why the Tar Heels lost in the final game to Duke. Coach Dean Smith told his team at half time, “Okay men, I’m going to talk to Coach K. I will tell him that we are […]

What true evidence should the jury hear? A case decided in 1988 by the North Carolina Supreme Court, State v. Carter, 322 N.C. 709, sees two attorneys disagree on that question. In 2011, the Court was asked to overrule its holding in State v. Carter by almost the entire legislature (including State Representative Sarah Stevens) […]

Public Ed Works published “Bringing Back Exclusion: NC’s School Voucher Program.” This article is full of factual errors and economic and logical fallacies. It warrants rebuttal. It is written by J. Drew Tonissen, author of “The Resegregation Racket.” Tonissen claims that in 2013 Opportunity Scholarships were sold to the public under the guise of helping […]

Property taxes are too high. What are the questions to ask? What is a tax? Taxes, fees and utility rates are not the same thing. Decades ago, Popular Government published an article by professor Charles Liner explaining why stormwater utility “fees” are in reality a tax. They are the most regressive tax in North Carolina. […]

Many years ago, a distant relative of mine had a problem she wanted me to fix. She was scheduled to go on a cruise to the Caribbean in a few days. She was told she needed a passport or a birth certificate. She had  neither. I had legislative connections. She told me that she had always lived […]

I dictated this memoir on Presidents’ Day. It is too early to cover Presidents 44, 45, 46 and 47. I cover the others who were in office during my life on earth. This is what I remember from many years ago. I have not “fact checked” as I usually do. The Reader’s memory and the […]

Friends, Twice I ran for the Court of Appeals – in 1998 and 2000. Each time it was a squeaker. The primary on March 3rd is only 19 days away. Early voting has already started. Michael has 20+ times more relevant experience for a potential Judge of the Court of Appeals than the other candidate. […]

1. Persistence. Woman’s Right to Know (the Risks of Abortion) took 30 years from initial passage in the State Senate (1981) until it became law in 2011. The State Abortion Fund took 17 years (1978-1995) to effectively end. The “good faith” exception to the exclusionary rule took 23 years from when it was conceived in […]

Why would I admit this? It started innocently enough. My mother was Danish American. She told me that Leif Erikson was my ancestor. That sounded cool when I was a young man, to be related to the first European discoverer of America. That was about 500 years before Columbus brought over three boatloads of Hispanics with […]

James B. Hunt, Jr. died December 18, 2025. He served four terms as North Carolina’s governor from 1977 to the end of 1984 and then from 1993 to the end of 2000. He was the most consequential governor in North Carolina history and had many merits that I appreciate. He was diligent, productive, pragmatic and […]