Jeff Moore

VP of Communications
John Locke Foundation

[Brian Balfour @BrianBalfourNC]

NC lies at a crossroads, with competing visions for the public policies that would best benefit its citizens into the future.

Read Part 1 of our series that examines the vision the progressives at Carolina Forward has for our state.
#ncpol
https://t.co/gDCQkvF3se

[David L. Bahnsen @DavidBahnsen]

Who could’ve seen this coming?

[John Locke Foundation @JohnLockeNC]

Join the John Locke Foundation and @CarolinaJournal for FreeCon Raleigh on Wednesday, November 18, from 4–8 pm. It will be an evening of timely political analysis, lively conversation, and ideas about the future of freedom and American conservatism.
#ncga #ncpol
https://t.co/NpusnG9yBr

[Andy Jackson @andyinrok]

At Vote Tracker, North Carolina county boards of elections have accepted 22,409 ballots in the November 3 election.

The modal age is 74 years. That will decline somewhat when we start early voting next week.

Click on the link below for more data. #ncpol

[John Locke Foundation @JohnLockeNC]

A Statement from our CEO on Proposed Gas Tax Holiday.
"Any temporary suspension of the motor-fuels tax should be structured to protect transportation funding. NC has long relied heavily on user fees to fund its roads, and the gas tax remains a substantial part of that system."
#ncga #ncpol
https://t.co/z42XB1rzhE

[Carolina Journal @CarolinaJournal]

NC property taxpayers could have saved $5.9 billion over the past five years if county property tax levy growth had been limited to inflation plus population growth, according to a new @JohnLockeNC model released Monday. 
#ncga #ncpol
https://t.co/LpZgORnXXH

[Brooke Medina @Brooke_Medina_]

Thank you to @realDailyWire for covering our research on the spread of socialism across the states. The DSA has steadily grown its membership for the past 13 years. This year, their candidates and policies are on ballots at the state, local, and federal levels.

[Brian Balfour @BrianBalfourNC]

Total spending on Medicaid in NC will exceed $41 billion this year - an increase of 93% in just four years.
#ncpol

[Brian Balfour @BrianBalfourNC]

How much could a property tax cap save you?

Find out with this calculator tool created by the Locke Foundation:
#ncpol
https://t.co/5d4cMoMQxo

[Donald Bryson @donaldbryson]

@JohnLockeNC: Property tax levy limit could have saved taxpayers $5.9B  https://t.co/1AevYEXTtn via @CarolinaJournal #ncpol

[Andy Jackson @andyinrok]

D gains just before an election are normal. They even outgained Rs in 2016, when Trump won.

At this week's rate of Change, there will be more Democrats than Republicans by the time I post the Oct 19 update in two weeks.

https://t.co/TQsvnwuImn

[Jeff Moore @JeffreyKMooreII]

None of us are obligated to respond to idiots, saying idiotic things, as if they're not idiots.

[Andy Jackson @andyinrok]

https://t.co/yWSjQrEpE6

[Donald Bryson @donaldbryson]

North Carolina just made a quiet shift in who gets to say what the rules mean.

The REINS Act got the headlines: costly rules must now come back to the legislature. But a huge change was buried in SB 445. Gov. Stein signed it in August, mostly talking about housing. He didn't dwell on the fact that courts and administrative law judges must now read state rules de novo. An agency’s interpretation can inform the case. It no longer binds the court.

That is not a technical tweak. For years, the same officials who wrote a rule got extra weight when someone challenged its meaning. The Supreme Court ended that practice last fall in Mitchell. The General Assembly has now written it into statute.

Regulatory power was never supposed to sit with unelected staff. The legislature makes the law. Agencies carry it out. Courts say what it means. North Carolina has started putting that arrangement back together quietly. https://t.co/iT1yqJpV7K #ncpol #NCGA

[Brian Balfour @BrianBalfourNC]

Locke Foundation research cited in this report.
#ncpol

[Jeff Moore @JeffreyKMooreII]

The left: "Everyone must wither."

[Carolina Forward @ForwardCarolina]

Some people are surprised to learn that North Carolina's state leadership has a whole team of people who try to lure big economic development projects to high-need parts of the state, instead of just going to Wake & Mecklenburg, where it's often easier.

The program is set up so that companies who relocate only get tax breaks for verified and demonstrated performance milestones: people hired, at [X] average wage, amounts invested, etc. The company doesn't get a check - they just get a break on taxes. It's literally a no-lose situation for the taxpayer.

These incentives help on the margins, but they're not decisive. In this case, a manufacturing company got $3.9 million worth of tax breaks spread over 12 years. It helped a little to keep the company (and jobs) in Kinston, rather than moving overseas or whatever.

But finally, the numbers just didn't work and this firm decided to shut down and probably go elsewhere.

This is literally the opposite of "welfare" - you could even call it "work requirements."

But for folks who don't like this approach, the question is: should the State of North Carolina not be trying to incentivize economic development in low-income rural counties? Should they just leave rural NC to rot?

That is what some "free-market" fundamentalists would say, yes. Let everyone sink or swim on their own.

But we would say: we're one state here. Charlotte cannot thrive while Kinston withers. We should be investing more in rural North Carolina, not less.

[John Locke Foundation @JohnLockeNC]

Two ideas to keep ratepayers from funding unreliable energy.
#ncga #ncpol
https://t.co/kncOE6jkH4

[Andy Jackson @andyinrok]

At Vote Tracker, county elections boards have accepted 16,041 ballots for the November 3 election. Here is the partisan breakdown:
D: 45.9%
R: 15.9%
U: 37.9%

For a similar point in 2022:
D: 51.9%
R: 16.0%
U: 31.9%

Click on the link below for more election data. #ncpol

[Jon Guze @JonGuze]

Read more about the CON Law and the legal challenge here:
https://t.co/XcZ9f8UDUX
https://t.co/FC8qunLHf0
https://t.co/3eeZXDmesX
https://t.co/mlmTx0kRzx

[John Locke Foundation @JohnLockeNC]

NC needs more housing. As communities across the state continue to grow, the question for policymakers is not simply how to make housing more affordable, but how state and local policies can make it easier for the private market to produce the homes North Carolinians need.
#ncga #ncpol
https://t.co/6wN84QU4Nl