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NC needs a bold response from lawmakers to Hurricane Helene disaster
As we begin to understand the scale of Hurricane Helene’s damage to communities across our state, it is clear that North Carolina’s policymakers must be ready to make bold decisions — ones that may shift some of their long-held positions — to fund fully and equitably the rebuilding from Hurricane Helene. We know how important…
As students return, NC leaders have failed to replace expiring federal education funds
The traditional calendar year for public schools across North Carolina begins this week. As students return to school, many school districts are faced with the double whammy of expiring federal funds and the failure of state legislators to pass a budget to adequately and equitably fund every child’s access to a sound, basic education. Public…
Reflections on a summer internship with the NC Budget & Tax Center
This summer, we’ve been lucky enough to have two great interns, Jennifer Nguyen and Selene Santiago-Lopez. Jennifer is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and she worked with us as a Policy Analyst Intern. Selene is a UNCG alum with a bachelor’s in International and…
Critical American Rescue Plan funds deadline approaching for NC, local governments
Another key funding deadline is approaching that will matter for the progress we can make in advancing well-being across the state. By Dec. 31, 2024, the state of North Carolina and all local governments must obligate flexible federal funds made available through the American Rescue Plan. These State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) were…
For a lasting victory on child-care funding in NC, we need equitable tax policy
When legislators left Raleigh without passing a budget at the end of June, early childhood educators and child-care advocates were one of the few groups with something meaningful to celebrate. In response to tireless activism across the state, from the western-most counties to civil disobedience in the NC Legislative Building, the NCGA passed a last-minute…
Welcome Our 2024 NC Summer Policy Institute Cohort!
The North Carolina Budget & Tax Center is excited to announce the 2024 cohort of the NC Summer Policy Institute! This year, we welcomed nineteen young leaders from ten counties across North Carolina. The NC Summer Policy Institute (SPI) is a four-day program for students in undergraduate programs, recent graduates, or other young people ages…
Corporate tax cuts worsen racial inequality in North Carolina and US
Most of us across North Carolina — Black, brown, and white — want to contribute to our communities and leave things better for the next generation. But as our work has made the state prosper, a handful of politicians have rigged the rules to redirect resources from our communities to the richest few and to…
In wake of NC leaders missing another budget deadline, we demand tax policy, budget that puts people first
After a chaotic few weeks of abruptly released budget proposals and hurried votes, state lawmakers from the NC House and NC Senate left town at the end of the fiscal year in June without agreeing on a budget adjustment bill for the second year of the state’s two-year budget. (The NC General Assembly makes changes…
You’re paying a lot more for diapers while NC leaders keep giving corporations a free ride
People in North Carolina are facing high prices for food, gas, diapers, and other necessities, and policymakers are failing to make policies that address the rising costs of everyday life. A significant driver of these high prices is greedflation, or the practice of excessive pricing that corporations use during inflationary periods. Corporate profits as a…
NC Senate leaders refuse to debate colleagues’ amendments that would improve budget proposal
The Senate budget proposal for the coming fiscal year was approved on Monday night in a party-line vote. The prospects of it becoming law before the end of the fiscal year on June 30 remain dim, and there are no plans that the Senate and House will negotiate a final spending plan before they leave…