Displaying items by tag: reform

North Carolina suffers from a severe case of overcriminalization. We have more activities and actions classified as a crime, something worthy of public condemnation, than just about any state.  

I remember when the inherent boredom of redistricting was a laugh line.

RALEIGH — Legislative leaders released highlights of a $24 billion spending plan for 2019-20 while girding for a budget battle with Gov. Roy Cooper.

Although policymakers sometimes portray increasing access and reducing cost as separate objectives for health care reform, the two are closely related. When North Carolinians lack immediate access to primary care or mental health services, they bear the cost either of waiting for an appointment or of traveling long distances to get the care they need.

A bill recently introduced in the North Carolina legislature would allow judges to use discretion when sentencing defendants facing drug charges.

RALEIGH — A bipartisan group of House members hopes to break a regulatory chokehold on surgical facilities.

After it became clear Donald Trump’s Electoral College triumph would be accompanied by a popular vote loss, USA Today predicted renewed attempts “to kill the Electoral College.” Since then, Oregon has joined those national popular vote efforts, and Colorado is poised to, pending its governor’s signature.

In the twilight of his political career, Ronald Reagan made the media rounds to discuss his administration, legacy, and unfinished business. During several of these interviews, Reagan went out of his way to criticize the longtime practice of gerrymandering electoral districts for partisan advantage.

Milton Friedman once observed that “nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” To be sure, spending bills or regulations initially sold as limited responses to specific conditions often take on a life of their own. They create constituencies that receive funds or protection from the program and thus have a strong interest in converting the temporary into the permanent.

Past and prospective hospital patients will have an extra reason to celebrate when the clock strikes midnight and the date changes from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.