Displaying items by tag: economy

When a major media source tells you to lower expectations, one can easily surmise that interference is being run for President Biden. Please ignore all those political promises like reducing the cost of prescription drugs by 60% or an even more utopian pledge to “unify the country.” Clearly, campaign season is over. It’s time to settle in for some 1970s style malaise — only don’t complain so much this time.

RALEIGH — In a new poll out Thursday, Oct. 21, there are rumblings that North Carolina voters are growing frustrated with President Joe Biden's overall performance and his handling of jobs and the economy. With North Carolina a key state in the 2022 midterm elections, this statewide survey of 600 likely voters found 38% of respondents approve of Biden overall, but 56% do not. The margin of error in the survey is plus or minus 4%.

President Joe Biden has heralded his $4.5-plus trillion spending proposals and accompanying tax hikes as an investment in “leading the world versus letting it pass us by.” Yet, paradoxically, a new analysis exposes one huge way Biden’s plans would make the U.S. less competitive on the global stage. 

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s economic health seems strong. Taxes are low, cost of living is below average, and a recent CNBC study gave the state a No. 2 ranking as “Best for Business” because of solid growth, quality workforce, business friendliness, and technology. 

The income of the median American household fell by nearly 3% last year as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent regulations shuttered many businesses for months, closed others for good, and forced still other employers to cut back on hours and wages for the people they still employed.

When you think of a small business, what comes to mind? Is it the cozy restaurant where you’ve been going for takeout and date night for the last few years? Is it the local shop that sponsors your child’s little league team? For us, it’s our colleagues, friends, and neighbors down the street who have taken the leap to start or grow a business.

We’re about to learn a lot about economic recoveries. Back in 2009, Barack Obama, with a hefty Democratic majority in Congress, tried to pull us out of the Great Recession with a tepid relief program designed to attract Republican support. It led to a slow recovery, and when the GOP took control of the Congress and many state legislatures after the 2010 Republican wave, they instituted austerity policies to counteract Obama’s spending. Climbing out of that recession took almost all decade.

RALEIGH — North Carolina is among the top five states in the nation on metrics such as tax rates, size of state government, and income transfer programs, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council.

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s heavy-fisted response to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a delayed economic recovery, reports from state and national economists show.

RALEIGH — The state budget may be spared economists’ worst fears from the COVID pandemic, according to a new tax revenue forecast.