NC Budget and Tax Center
Report: NC relies too much on fines and fees to finance government and the problem is getting worse
Over the past decade, growth in N.C. agency fee revenue outpaced growth in corporate and personal income tax revenue, according to a new report released today by the N.C. Budget & Tax Center. This increasing reliance on fines and fees is posing challenges for state agencies that are trying to provide relief to North Carolinians […]
Three reasons why federal aid to state, local governments is not enough
Last week, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, which was immediately signed by the President. While the bill has many good provisions, it misses the mark in many ways, like prioritizing tax breaks for big companies over federal aid to state and local governments. Of the approximately […]
What to watch now that Congress has passed the America CARES Act
Read more ongoing coverage of state and federal policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more ongoing coverage of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic There’s a lot to digest in the $2 trillion rescue package Congress just passed. The wide-ranging bill contains some vitally needed aid in this moment of crisis, some dubious […]
COVID-19 pandemic reveals North Carolina’s economic vulnerability
Just as it is doing with our health care system, the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing North Carolina’s economic fragility. A reliance on low-wage jobs has left families with no financial cushion, and elected leaders are scrambling to make up for our lack of an adequate social safety to save people in a moment of crisis. The hammer is going to fall first […]
Pandemic likely to render effects of NC’s existing affordable housing shortage even more dire
Now more than ever, housing is a health care issue. People who don’t have safe, secure housing are struggling to follow social distancing and personal hygiene guidelines. Isolation strategies, like stocking up on food and working from home, are a luxury that many cannot afford. Businesses that have closed are already laying people off. When people […]
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, […]
This Pi Day, why the pie is shrinking and what it means for North Carolinians
As people celebrate Pi Day (3/14) today around the world, the Budget & Tax Center is revisiting some of our most telling pie charts for North Carolina from the past year. These graphs show us that, like pi, there are some things in North Carolina that are constant: that we need a collective commitment to […]
Trump should focus on people being hurt by pandemic, not just businesses and industry
On Tuesday, President Trump took a trip over to Capitol Hill to personally pitch Republican lawmakers on his ideas for stimulating the economy and propping up industries already feeling the effects of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. Dramatic stock market losses and the looming risk of a full-blown recession has Trump reaching for the panic button, […]
Expanding the EITC in North Carolina could save lives
Each year, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts millions of adults and children out of poverty. Given the detrimental impact of poverty on health, there is significant research that demonstrates that the credit has a broad positive impact on many aspects of health. Expansion of the federal EITC, and refundable state-level EITCs have […]
Donald Trump promised manufacturing and construction jobs. He didn’t deliver.
The gap between what comes out of President Trump’s mouth and reality is often big enough to drive one of the Mack Trucks he so adores through. Trump promised manufacturing and construction would blossom under his tutelage and has recently turned to claiming he’s delivering on that pledge. Problem is: Reality tells a decidedly different […]
Durham tragedy shows why we need to end the cycle of under-investment in public housing
The tragedies at McDougald Terrace, Durham’s largest and oldest public housing complex, have shaken the community. Authorities evacuated hundreds of families from their homes into hotel rooms after about 40 percent of appliances at McDougald Terrace apartments were found to be emitting carbon monoxide. Housing advocates in Durham have argued that one reason for these […]
Report: Children, teachers, parents benefit from early childcare and education system
N.C.’s youngest children would benefit from a high-quality early child-care and education system. So would everyone in our communities. New research estimates that a “values-based” early child and education (ECE) system would benefit North Carolina’s children, teachers, and parents. A comprehensive publicly financed system that compensates educators fairly could serve between 368,000 and 485,000 children and would employ between 152,000 and 205,000 ECE teachers at fair wages once fully […]