By John Hood Raleigh, NC – The General Assembly ought to enact big pay increases for educators in North Carolina’s public schools. In the context of soaring prices, strong revenue collections, tight labor markets, and persistent vacancies in key teaching…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – We will probably never know how much of our money was squandered during the pandemic by reckless politicians. But here are two damning numbers to start with: $400 billion and $855,000 per job year.…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – Violent crime is on the rise in North Carolina — up 18% since 2018. Voter concern about crime is also rising. It played a key role in the 2020 elections. It will probably do…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – Because I am an inveterate optimist who likes to think the best of other folks, I’m going to assume for the sake of the following argument that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and former…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – North Carolinians are greatly concerned about our economy. According to the John Locke Foundation’s latest Civitas Poll, 77% of state voters believe we are currently in a recession. Most call inflation “a huge problem”…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – When the North Carolina General Assembly enacted its budget revision for the 2022-23 fiscal year, it contained a major change in how the state funds roads. Until now, the system relied overwhelmingly on revenue…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – I have strong opinions about education policy in North Carolina and beyond. Maybe you’ve noticed! I’ve also been researching and writing about the subject for a very long time. During my first stint as…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – When the news broke on January 3 that one of North Carolina’s largest school districts, Cumberland County, was considering a shift to virtual instruction in response to rising case counts of the Omicron variant,…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – It’s my go-to slide. I’ve shown it to all the classes I teach at Duke University. The slide is striking. It’s revealing. And now it’s out of date. The slide in question is based…
By John Hood Raleigh, NC – How much say should the public have about public education? Parental revolts against “wokeness” fads in the classroom are all the rage right now, but gaps between public preferences and the practice of public…