Alexandra Forter Sirota
Posts by Alexandra Forter Sirota
NC legislators are putting private schools over most of North Carolina’s K-12 students
North Carolinians want strong public schools where every child gets the education that they are owed in our state Constitution. Yet state lawmakers are once again choosing to use education policy to benefit the wealthy few instead of the well-being of us all. The first action by the N.C. General Assembly related to the harmful…
Congressional leaders raise costs of post-secondary education
North Carolinians want affordable, accessible higher education and skills training. The harmful Republican megabill signed by President Trump will raise costs in the post-secondary education arena of obtaining degrees, training, and certifications. As students return to campuses across North Carolina this fall, the shifting landscape for affording post-secondary education will make it harder to achieve…
Big Cuts, Big Costs for NC Factsheet
Note: Updated on July 2, 2025 to show estimates based on the federal budget bill (HR 1) passed by the US Senate on July 1, 2025. The bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025 with no changes, and so these estimates also apply to the final bill. Congress is rushing to pass a…
It’s time for a millionaires tax in North Carolina
For more than a decade, NC legislative leaders have handed out income tax breaks for the wealthiest few while neglecting the well-being of everyone in our state. Now, the US Congress plans to extend a 2017 federal tax law that would hand even more benefits to the richest few, while hundreds of thousands of…
Congress’s anti-immigrant budget threatens health care, food assistance for NC families
Note: The US House passed a budget bill in May 2025, and the US Senate is releasing their budget proposal currently, with a vote expected in June. The two budget proposals are extremely similar: both make massive cuts to health care and food assistance to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. This post includes the…
Work Reporting Requirements: Bad at Improving Employment Outcomes, Great at Making People Sick and Hungry
Updated with new information on Friday, June 27. Congress is proposing a massive expansion of so-called work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid benefits through their federal budget bill. These changes are designed to remove millions of people from critical programs in order to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and corporations. The proposals create arbitrary…
The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Mass Deportation: What’s at Risk in North Carolina
Immigration Research Initiative and NC Budget & Tax Center The authors would like to thank Emily Eisner, Andrew Perry, and Nathan Gusdorf of the Fiscal Policy Institute, who with David Dyssegaard Kallick co-authored a similar report in New York State that was jointly published by the Fiscal Policy Institute and Immigration Research Initiative. Key Findings…
US House plan: Hurting North Carolinians’ wallets and well-being
North Carolinians want their policymakers to keep rising costs in check and make their lives better — not worse. Yet some policymakers continue to rig the rules so that the rich get richer, leaving the rest of us without the supports we all need in hard times — like help getting to the doctor or…
Senate Bill 608: Revise Various Laws / Work First Cash Assistance
Download a PDF of this Brief Improves the state’s Work First benefits SB 608 Summary: Changes the state’s Work First program to provide more adequate income support, reach pregnant women, remove limits on assets that families need to stay connected to work, and align the program’s time limits with federal law. Connecting income support to…
House Bill 564: Public Safety Through Food Access
Download a PDF of this Brief Reducing recidivism by expanding access to benefits SB 564 Summary: Ensures that all people eligible for Food & Nutrition Services and Work First benefits who have been convicted of a drug felony are no longer denied benefits if they complete a substance abuse treatment program. Repealing the drug felony…