RALEIGH — Donald Trump will likely win North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes this year. Our state is a political battleground, no question about it, but in presidential races the Democratic Party always runs a bit uphill here.
State and local governments annually collect tens of billions of dollars in taxes from North Carolinians. The total bill comes to an average of $5,300 per person per year.
North Carolina’s traditional public schools are represented by 115 county and city school districts. For almost 100 years since the Great Depression and the Machinery Acts of 1931 and 1933, the State of North Carolina has provided the preponderance of financial support for most of the public school employees in these school districts.
While some economic metrics continue to offer good news to North Carolinians, others point in a different direction. U.S. agricultural exports, for example, fell by $17 billion last year and appear to be on track for another decline of about $8 billion or so this year.
On May 23 the University of North Carolina System Board of Trustees voted to repeal its Diversity & Inclusion Policy in favor of “institutional neutrality.” This new policy, which was introduced in April, will remove funding for DEI offices and eliminate various diversity-related positions across the 17 UNC System schools. Chancellors will be required to report cuts to existing jobs and DEI spending by September 1.
Billy Graham was known the world over—not bad for a Southern Baptist preacher from North Carolina. Many of us feel some connection with the famed evangelist either directly or indirectly.
In 1993 Robeson County residents had a median income of approximately $21,000. Respectively, in 2022, residents of Robeson County, NC had a median income of approximately $35,000. This is the county I grew up in and this county remains one one of North Carolina's poorest counties.
RALEIGH — Is it the job of government to make you happy? While it may seem like a straightforward question, there are some important subtleties packed into those few words.
As inflation squeezes our wallets, concerns over the cost of healthcare loom large for North Carolina families. A recent survey showed that 54% of state residents worry about affording medications, with nearly a third resorting to skipping doses or refusing to fill prescriptions to save money.
Most students and their families invest time, effort, and resources into higher education for vocational reasons. They expect the knowledge, skills, and relationships acquired at a college or university will lead to good jobs — which will, in turn, generate income for graduates to support themselves and their families as well as the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from productive employment or entrepreneurship.
In a small church on the outskirts of Smithfield on a Sunday afternoon, people are comparing light bills. One woman reports that her electrical costs could reach $700 in the summer when she ran the air conditioning; another tells the story of losing power after a hurricane and being unable to afford reconnection fees on her preschool teacher salary.
That’s what a recent reviewer said about my novel Mountain Folk, which she called an “entertaining and instructive” blend of American history, folklore, and fantasy. “As a long-time teacher of middle school and high school students,” she wrote, “I think Mountain Folk would be a great addition to school reading lists.”
