Category: Columns

Duke Energy’s ‘Black Christmas’ is the outrageous story of the week

By David Larson Raleigh, NC – Over Christmas weekend, instead of the iconic “white Christmas” most long for, many North Carolinians experienced something very different — a “black Christmas” of rolling (i.e. on purpose) blackouts across the state. Duke Energy,…

The new-normaling of blackouts

By Jon Sanders Raleigh, NC – On Christmas Eve, 2022, in North Carolina, something happened that had never happened before in living memory. People across the state were alerted by their power company, Duke Energy, that there would be rolling…

North Carolina’s workforce is still too small

By John Hood Raleigh, NC – Most economic forecasters expect us to enter a recession sometime in 2023. I sure hope they’re wrong. Even a mild recession would throw tens of thousands of North Carolinians out of work. And the…

Economic freedom is a shock absorber

By John Hood Raleigh, NC – In a normal market, creditors demand higher interest from borrowers to whom they lend money for longer periods of time. That’s because these creditors are assuming more risk that they won’t be paid, and…

2022’s best & worst cities for singles

single black female having a beverage alone

Finding love can be tough, especially during a year of high inflation that has left many people strapped for cash. The average date costs over $90 and 19% of people in Gen Z and 22% of millennials report going into…

What the American founders meant by equality

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris: Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776 — Public Domain via Wikipedia

By Lawrence W. Reed Memorize the following line, teach it to your children, and shout it from the rooftops every chance you get. It’s one of the most important truths you’ll ever learn or teach: Free people are not equal,…