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Just What We Need, More Billionaires
You hear a constant whining from politicians about wealth disparity – but the fact is politicians gave us wealth disparity. During Covid politicians went on a spending binge – spent trillions they didn’t have, borrowed (printed money is a better description) to pay for their spending. Next inflation soared. And the value of a dollar…
Read MorePaving Trails with Good Intentions
Believing that walking trails will alleviate traffic congestion, politicians in Washington printed up a pile of dollars and handed out grants to local governments. And local politicians took the bait: After all, it was free money. But they missed a key fact: The construction industry is already operating beyond capacity. So the flood of new…
Read MoreInflation Breeds Upheaval
Inflation is an easy way for politicians to manage the debt they pile up by spending money they don’t have – like the trillions they spent during Covid. It works like this: Inflation shrinks the value of a dollar and that, in turn, shrinks the debt politicians piled up. It’s an old story that’s happened…
Read MoreA Debt Surprise
The State Treasurer’s office just shined a spotlight on a shocking problem: North Carolina local governments have piled up $7.6 billion in debt – a debt almost no one knew about. How did that happen? Here’s one example: Local politicians promised to pay for government employees’ healthcare – even after the employee stopped working. Or…
Read MoreNC Innovation
Politicians in Raleigh are out to pass a bill that gives 1.4 billion dollars to NC Innovation – so it can pass out subsidies to corporations. That’s not a good idea. I’m against it. Mark Robinson, my opponent, didn’t try to stop that bill as President of the Senate – he was missing in action.
Read MoreAnother Problem: Labor
It’s good news that folks close to retirement feel they have enough savings to retire early. It’s bad news that ‘baby boomers’ retiring is creating a big labor shortage. That means prices across the board are rising. Which, in turn, is bad news for retirees: Rising prices means their savings aren’t worth what they used…
Read MoreA Big Red Flag
John Hood, an old friend, was straightforward in his column NCInnovation Is a Bridge Too Far. The State Senate wants to hand $1.4 Billion in taxpayers money to NCInnovation – which in turn will pass out subsidies to corporations. John called that deal ‘decidedly anti-conservative’ and ‘a big red flag.’ He hit the nail on…
Read MoreInflation: Prices went up – not down
This headline shot across the internet: Slowing US Inflation Eases Pressure on Households I confess, I’m a sinner. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. But when I read that headline – and the story beneath it – I thought: Don’t they teach math in journalism schools? My second thought was: Why do reporters spin tales? The…
Read MoreAnother Storm Cloud
For years, while politicians spent money they didn’t have, to make their elite friends and donors happy they kept interest rates low. The result: We now have record high debt per citizen. Covid struck, politicians spent trillions more they didn’t have, inflation soared, politicians raised interest rates, and a new storm cloud – in addition…
Read MoreStorm Coming
It’s an old story: Family businesses struggling to survive hard times after politicians bungled the economy. President Biden, Congress, political cronies, tell us recovery is at hand. But – unless you trust politicians – you can hear a distant rumble of thunder. When Covid struck, politicians spent trillions they didn’t have – and borrowed (printed…
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