Free Republic

RALEIGH-Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Not exactly an original insight, I grant you, but a handy one for the current situation. Members of the General Assembly, including House Speaker Jim Black, are reportedly considering another half-cent sales-tax increase-taking the combined tax rate to 7.5 percent in most of the state-to pay for a package of state expenditures for hurricane relief. This tax increase would be "temporary" (now, where have we heard that before?) and raise more than $300 million. And it would be on top of whatever tax increases lawmakers adopt for the fiscal year beginning...

RALEIGH — I have found myself in a strange position of late: disagreeing with some of my conservative and libertarian friends about the market for and value of a truly engaging, funny, left-wing offering on talk radio. I think there could be a viable business in it. I also believe it would be a valuable addition to the public discourse. Most of my colleagues disagree. But on one point, at least, our viewpoints converge. The much-hyped Air America network, which debuted earlier this month on a handful of broadcast outlets and satellite, is unlikely to become a viable enterprise in...

A Special Message from the Desk Of: John Hood, President August 21, 2003 Come Joins Us In The “Locker Room” New weblog to host discussion and debate on public policy issues I’m writing today to alert you and other regular visitors to the John Locke Foundation’s web sites — including www.CarolinaJournal.com, www.NorthCarolinaAtWar.com, and www.JohnLocke.org — about a new Internet feature we unveiled this morning: a weblog on public policy issues of interest to North Carolinians. “Blogs,” as they have come to be known, are an increasingly popular way for a variety of individuals and organizations to communicate with each other,...