During the early stage of the COVID crisis in 2020, my daily commute got super easy. Then it got scary hard.
All by John Hood
John Hood: COVID Mandates Were Too Strict
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper and other officials began exercising government power in ways unprecedented in modern times
John Hood: Get off the voter ID merry-go-round
North Carolinians want their election laws to include a photo ID requirement. They’ve made this clear many times. In 2018, a large majority of voters chose to add such a requirement to the state constitution.
John Hood: Yes, they'll waste our money again
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.
John Hood: Broyhill Helped Build the Modern GOP
As the founder of one of North Carolina’s largest companies, James Edgar Broyhill helped build high-quality, durable furniture. His son James Thomas Broyhill, who died February 18 at the age of 95, helped build something just as lasting: the North Carolina Republican Party.
John Hood: When Politics Enters the Workplace
Should businesses weigh in on political controversies? According to a recent Gallup poll, the general public is closely divided on the question, with 48% in favor and 52% opposed.
John Hood: Racial Disparities Aren’t Proof of Bias
Black-headed households are less likely than white-headed ones to own their residences. The latest data from the Census Bureau put the homeownership rate at 75% for whites and 45% for blacks. According to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, our state’s racial disparity is roughly similar.
John Hood: Deaths of Despair Need Careful Analysis
According to the latest-available set of comparable data, North Carolina ranks 33rd in the nation in “deaths of despair” — that is, in the combined rates of suicides, fatal drug overdoses, and alcohol-induced deaths. In 2020 our age-adjusted rate was 55.5 deaths of despair per 100,000 residents, slightly higher than the national average of 54.8. From 2018 to 2020, our rate rose by 26%.
John Hood: Let's really reform state universities
Are North Carolina policymakers thinking big enough about the future of post-secondary education and training? I’m not convinced they are.
John Hood: How North Carolina Can Expand Opportunity
Having enacted major reforms of North Carolina’s tax code, regulatory system, budgeting process, transportation funding, and education system over the past dozen years, what should the General Assembly do next?
John Hood: Liberate Markets to Help Workers Succeed
I have two favorite quotes from Ronald Reagan about the world of work. The first one illustrates his mastery of an indispensable political tool: self-deprecating humor. “It’s true hard work never killed anybody,” he quipped, “but I figure, why take the chance?”
John Hood: Competition Makes Public Schools Better
According to multiple media reports, there will likely be major efforts during the 2023 session of the North Carolina General Assembly to raise and reform teacher compensation and enact other public-education reforms while also expanding the state’s school-choice programs.
John Hood: New Law Properly Checks Governor’s Power
When COVID-19 first struck North Carolina nearly three years ago, Gov. Roy Cooper responded with a series of executive orders that closed or limited the operations of schools, businesses, public amenities, and even churches.
John Hood: Democratic Court Blew It on Redistricting
I’ve been on the redistricting beat a long time. Back in the early 1990s, I wrote numerous articles criticizing the collaboration among Republican and NAACP activists to maximize the number of black-majority districts. After the egregious Democratic gerrymander of 2001, I cheered on the lawsuit that ultimately became the Stephenson v. Bartlett case, which overturned the gerrymander and enforced the state constitution’s rule against unnecessarily splitting counties in legislative maps.
John Hood: Christmas Gets a Cheeky Defense
One of the ironies of the holiday calendar is that Christmas follows closely after Thanksgiving. Many of the Pilgrims and Puritans who helped make Thanksgiving an American tradition were appalled by and opposed to the celebration of Christmas.