Politics

January 23, 2015 - An Institute analysis of who turned out for the 2014 midterm election in North Carolina finds small but steady increases in engagement among voters of color. Could they make the difference in the state in 2016?

January 23, 2015 - A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds that the tax systems in all 50 states worsen economic inequality by taxing the wealthy at a lower rate than working families -- and several of the states with the most regressive tax systems are in the South.

January 23, 2015 - Numerous states are facing likely budget shortfalls, but some of those facing the most serious problems are hamstrung in crafting solutions by political leaders opposed to new taxes and by regressive tax systems that rely on struggling working-class families.

January 16, 2015 - With the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision lifting political spending restrictions coming up on Jan. 21, the Brennan Center for Justice released a report this week looking at outside spending and dark money in last year's U.S. Senate races -- and it paints a frightening for democracy.

January 16, 2015 - Next week the U.S. celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended campaign spending limits -- and the two occasions are more closely linked than many realize.

January 15, 2015 - The Bible instructs us to "love the stranger," but migrants probably won't be feeling much love this year in Mississippi. Gov. Phil Bryant is up for re-election, and he has built his political career in part on demonizing undocumented migrant workers.

January 14, 2015 - With Duke Energy under pressure to move toxic coal ash away from waterways, it's planning to send it to abandoned clay mines in two North Carolina counties. But could scores of mines elsewhere in the state end up being targeted for coal ash dumping, too?