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Love and death in the time of COVID
A caregiver for her terminally ill friend contracted COVID. Not only did it make dying — and grieving — more difficult, but it also unveiled the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system.
My best friend didn’t die of COVID-19. But COVID-19 would make a huge difference in the way she died.
NC reparation efforts focus on ‘generational wealth,’ avoid direct payments
By Anton Delgado and Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez The approval of reparations for Black residents in Asheville this month is being followed by similar demands in other North Carolina cities. The historic vote accepted a reparations initiative, part of which aims to provide funding to programs that increase homeownership and business and career opportunities among Black people in […]
In Graham, hundreds of protesters demand removal of Confederate statue, sheriff’s resignation
Approximately 700 demonstrators wearing masks, waving flags and carrying signs returned to the Confederate monument in Alamance County during a “March for Justice & Community” on Saturday. This was the first demonstration at the statue since a controversial protest ban — issued by the Graham City Council and enforced with the help of the Alamance County Sheriff’s […]
N.C. advocacy groups unite with southern neighbors, call for shared COVID-19 response
Today, the NC Justice Center, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, and other North Carolina groups joined fellow southerners in a shared vision for the region’s COVID-19 response. Policy organizations, grassroots movements and scholars are collaborating to inform and hold accountable policymakers and stakeholders on the social and economic inequities exposed by the global pandemic. Further, as […]
Release: Latest labor market figures show devastating blow from COVID-19
The Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center, issued the following summary and assessment of North Carolina labor market data released today. From the media release: RALEIGH (May 22, 2020) — Labor market data for N.C. released today show April was the worst month of job losses in North Carolina’s history, far […]
State and federal policy responses to the COVID-19 virus
This blog post will be regularly updated to capture key policy responses to the COVID-19 virus. (Last updated 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 24) Reports from Budget & Tax Center Staff This post summarizes steps taken thus far at both the federal and state levels. Scroll down to see a list of steps taken so far, […]
New labor market data point to continuing N.C. economic slowdown
The Budget & Tax Center released its analysis of the latest N.C. labor market data, which was published on Friday. Patrick McHugh, Senior Policy Analyst with the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center, points to the data as a sign that North Carolina’s economy has been stumbling this year. According to […]
Federal shutdown is affecting family-run businesses in N.C.
The ripple effects of the federal shutdown are being felt by family-run businesses in North Carolina, according to an article on Friday by Paul B. Johnson of the High Point Enterprise. Nick Owens and employees at his family-run business are having to turn away customers through no fault of their own because of a ripple […]
Misleading “missing children” narrative gains traction amidst an already terrible month for immigrant community
Even by the standards of what has become a disturbing status quo as of late, the past month has been plagued by dehumanizing rhetoric and violent actions directed at immigrants and children of immigrants. It is part of a growing and horrifying narrative encouraging violence and reprisals toward the immigrant community in our nation – […]
Budget & Tax Center Statement: Passage of this budget is a new low for North Carolina
Statement from Alexandra Sirota, Director of the Budget & Tax Center, on the budget passage RALEIGH (June 1, 2018) – A new low has certainly been reached in North Carolina with the passage of this budget. The question now is how much lower will North Carolina’s legislative leadership take our state. All along, legislative leaders have […]
Statement from Budget & Tax Center Director on Governor’s Budget Proposal
Statement from Alexandra Sirota, Director of the NC Budget & Tax Center: The Governor understands that you can’t both cut taxes and invest in children’s education, pay teachers competitively, or build thriving communities. The move to freeze the corporate income tax rate at an already low 3 percent and the income tax rate at 5.499 […]
North Carolina is a cautionary tale for tax cuts, new series shows
New evidence shows that North Carolina’s economy fell behind other states in the Southeast after cutting taxes, while locking in harmful cuts for schools and widening racial inequalities in the state. A billion dollar shortfall looms in 2020. These are the main points of a new blog series released today from the Center on Budget […]