The state of North Carolina requires more than hours of training and a year of apprenticeship before a person can become a barber Jon Sanders John Locke Foundation director of regulatory studies says those requirements stem from the racism that helped guide North Carolina's earliest occupational licensing Sanders discusses the history of barber regulations Ever since the COVID- pandemic threw hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians out of work state government has faced problems getting unemployment checks into people's hands A recent legislative hearing highlighted public concerns about the slow pace of unemployment relief State lawmakers added new funding for [... more]

North Carolina's public schools are expected to reopen for the fall but they'll face some changes linked to continuing concerns about COVID- Terry Stoops John Locke Foundation vice president for research and resident scholar analyzes state guidelines for public school operations in the - academic year The pandemic already has created a nearly billion hole in North Carolina's budget Forecasters are not certain whether that hole will grow larger in the months ahead You'll hear recent projections from chief legislative economist Barry Boardman along with reaction from top N C House and Senate budget writers Count Senate leader Phil Berger [... more]

A state legislative committee plans to hire an outside investigator to look into a controversial million fund tied to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Rick Henderson Carolina Journal editor-in-chief analyzes the decision to seek outside investigative help Henderson explains why the fund has raised concerns about North Carolina's environmental permitting process Some people want to target hate by censoring or banning so-called hate speech Nadine Strossen professor at New York Law School and former national president of the American Civil Liberties Union disagrees During a recent visit to North Carolina Strossen touted free speech as the best tool to fight hate [... more]

This week on Family Policy Matters NC Family Pastor Outreach Director Thomas Graham spoke with Dr Patrick O'Connell founder of Sentinel Primary Care They discuss Dr O'Connell's personal journey of faith and vocation as well as how he integrates his religious beliefs into his work as a primary care physician [... more]

An increased focus on direct primary care could lead to major benefits in the fight against chronic diseases that lead to disabilities That's the conclusion of the latest report from Katherine Restrepo the John Locke Foundation's director of health care policy Restrepo explains why DPC holds so much promise for addressing one of the most vexing problems in American health care As policymakers in Washington consider potential repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act one observer who's watching their actions closely is Tevi Troy chief executive officer of the American Health Policy Institute Troy is also former deputy secretary [... more]

North Carolina's maze of alcohol regulations stands in the way of entrepreneurs trying to expand a growing industry in the state Jon Guze John Locke Foundation director of legal studies outlines the complicated regulatory scheme in a recent report He also calls for a rollback of regulatory overreach that would help the economy and enhance freedom within the state Politics tends to influence central bankers and the results often to lead to bad news for the economy That's the argument from Wake Forest University economist John Wood He cites historical examples of political influence that have led central bankers away [... more]