Carolina Journal Radio No. 706: Trump’s potential impact on Obamacare

The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president is likely to lead to major changes in the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. Katherine Restrepo, the John Locke Foundation’s director of health care policy, assesses the potential impact of a Trump administration on the future of American health care policy. Free speech on N.C. public university campuses has had no more vocal advocate in recent years than Mike Adams, professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. During a recent speech in Raleigh, Adams explained why his latest free-speech cause involves the orientation sessions first-year students face at campuses across the state. Adams wants to see First Amendment training replace “microaggression” training during those orientation meetings. Before voters headed to the polls on Election Day to select North Carolina’s next governor, Republican incumbent Pat McCrory announced plans for dealing with Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts. Those plans include a special legislative session to deal with recommendations from an appointed hurricane relief committee. Much of that work is expected to take place before the end of the calendar year and the next gubernatorial inauguration. The N.C. General Assembly continues to examine the future of occupational licensing in the state. The legislature’s Program Evaluation Division has recommended several changes to the licensing process. That includes a new commission to look into consolidation and termination of some licensing groups. Some lawmakers recently noted their interest in moving forward with a legislative review of commissions without the new bureaucracy of a licensing commission. You’ll hear highlights from their debate. North Carolina voters booted longtime State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson from office and replaced her with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board member Mark Johnson. That could lead to major changes in the way the state Department of Public Instruction operates. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation director of research and education studies, explores Johnson’s potential impact on state education policy.