As a former resident of North Carolina and now living overseas, I welcome the positive news of this article. Perhaps to some people, looking from the outside of what was reported, it may appear "humorous", but "ya hadda be there" to appreciate the attempt to report some really positive changes in the state debt situation. Yes, there are some problems with the article in that many of the factors in the cause and effect are not taken into account, but we are talking about a newspaper article and not an economic treatise or a statistical analysis. What we have here is an attempt to report a few facts about a very positive turnaround in the state of NC, that was and is sorely needed. Are there any more possible causes for this remarkable turnaround? Surely. What is the mechanism for the happy result? Well, part of it is due to a change in viewpoint of how do you run your state government and spend its money. NC state government bit the bullet and made unpleasant and unpopular (at the time) changes for longer term benefits to its residents (I still have a house there, so I know). Does getting lazy bums off welfare (its actually about unemployment benefits) help? Absolutely. Just think. More people working and paying taxes....and less people mooching off of the state government for weekly social security unemployment benefits. Could that help state government coffers? Absolutely. Collecting unemployment payments was just too easy and made a lot of people dependent on those payments instead of really looking for a job. Just think. Less debt to the federal government and more money to be applied to real needs for residents of the state....like education. As a former educator, I saw budgets shrink year after year because of the debt situation. Just think. More money for employers to hire workers.....and the emphasis in NC is on skilled workers. NC has an excellent university system and provides tons of skilled workers for its economy. What about gardeners and domestic workers? You generally pay them out of pocket. It is an unofficial economy. So that won't show up in any statistics. How about business relocation to NC? It's been positive for the last 10 years at least...according to statistics, and it is trending upward, net gains of more than 1200 companies per year. Forbes listed the Raleigh, NC area as its number 1 place to relocate in the US in......2014. Can other states benefit from what NC did, using it as a model? Hard to say. Each state has its own set of problems. What about Illinois? Well, under Pat Quinn, Democrat, it was listed as one of the most UNfavorable business climates in the US...along with New York and California. Why was it so unfavorable? Can you say "high taxes and anti-business regulation that stifled
economic growth"? Could Illinois use some of what NC has? Absolutely. Hope the new Republican governor of Illinois gets some help from his state legislature and turns things around. I like good news.
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Lessons From Carolina: Paying People To Not Work Is Losing Policy, Tax Cuts And Reforms Do Work
As a former resident of North Carolina and now living overseas, I welcome the positive news of this article. Perhaps to some people, looking from the outside of what was reported, it may appear "humorous", but "ya hadda be there" to appreciate the attempt to report some really positive changes in the state debt situation. Yes, there are some problems with the article in that many of the factors in the cause and effect are not taken into account, but we are talking about a newspaper article and not an economic treatise or a statistical analysis. What we have here is an attempt to report a few facts about a very positive turnaround in the state of NC, that was and is sorely needed. Are there any more possible causes for this remarkable turnaround? Surely. What is the mechanism for the happy result? Well, part of it is due to a change in viewpoint of how do you run your state government and spend its money. NC state government bit the bullet and made unpleasant and unpopular (at the time) changes for longer term benefits to its residents (I still have a house there, so I know). Does getting lazy bums off welfare (its actually about unemployment benefits) help? Absolutely. Just think. More people working and paying taxes....and less people mooching off of the state government for weekly social security unemployment benefits. Could that help state government coffers? Absolutely. Collecting unemployment payments was just too easy and made a lot of people dependent on those payments instead of really looking for a job. Just think. Less debt to the federal government and more money to be applied to real needs for residents of the state....like education. As a former educator, I saw budgets shrink year after year because of the debt situation. Just think. More money for employers to hire workers.....and the emphasis in NC is on skilled workers. NC has an excellent university system and provides tons of skilled workers for its economy. What about gardeners and domestic workers? You generally pay them out of pocket. It is an unofficial economy. So that won't show up in any statistics. How about business relocation to NC? It's been positive for the last 10 years at least...according to statistics, and it is trending upward, net gains of more than 1200 companies per year. Forbes listed the Raleigh, NC area as its number 1 place to relocate in the US in......2014. Can other states benefit from what NC did, using it as a model? Hard to say. Each state has its own set of problems. What about Illinois? Well, under Pat Quinn, Democrat, it was listed as one of the most UNfavorable business climates in the US...along with New York and California. Why was it so unfavorable? Can you say "high taxes and anti-business regulation that stifled economic growth"? Could Illinois use some of what NC has? Absolutely. Hope the new Republican governor of Illinois gets some help from his state legislature and turns things around. I like good news.