NC Policy Watch

April 19, 2013 - A comment made this week by a North Carolina senator to a constituent illustrates a culture of arrogance that has taken hold in the state legislature.

April 10, 2013 - N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory wants to privatize the Department of Commerce and the state's Medicaid program, but the experiences of other states like Louisiana that have carried out similar plans point to serious problems.

March 29, 2013 - The state's Republican leaders are trying to solve a problem they created so they can help themselves politically by solving it. They might be undermining democracy, but you have to give them credit for their brazenness.

March 22, 2013 - The U.S. House and Senate are advancing very different plans for the 2014 federal budget. One represents a balanced approach that includes new revenues, while the other gives tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and cuts public investments that help the most vulnerable.

March 7, 2013 - North Carolina will soon begin issuing driver's licenses to undocumented youth with a pink banner and bright red letters that say "NO LAWFUL STATUS" and "LIMITED TERM." Jeff Shaw with N.C. Policy Watch tells state transportation chief Tony Tata why he wants one, too.

February 14, 2013 - Once known as the "most aggressively conservative" federal appeals court and the "black hole of capital litigation," the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond has shifted to the center, thanks to six appointments by President Obama.

January 30, 2013 - The legislative session that starts today promises to bring big changes to North Carolina as the leaders of the once-progressive state seek to slash unemployment insurance, create a more regressive tax code, impose voter ID requirements, increase private control of public schools, and enshrine right-to-work in the state constitution.