Prescription for North Carolina's Economic Recovery

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In this encore edition of Carolina Journal Radio, we look at several key issues facing our state. First, the economy. North Carolina's unemployment rate topped 10 percent for most of 2009. At least one economist has predicted it might reach 13 percent next year. So what will it take for North Carolina to get back on its feet? John Locke Foundation president John Hood provides an economic roadmap for lawmakers who have the power, via their policies, either to push the economy back up or to send it over a cliff. At the core of Hood's advice is a focus on the basics, avoidance of more tax hikes and regulations, and addressing head-on the state's serious transportation issues. Then we turn to the growing push for taxpayer-funded campaigns. Some North Carolina lawmakers believe taxpayers should foot the bill for more election campaigns. They say public, or taxpayer, financing of candidates would lead to cleaner elections. Bradley Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, disagrees. He explains the legal and constitutional problems associated with taxpayer-financed elections. Next, we turn to the debate over health care reform. A key concern raised by critics of the Obama administration's health-care proposals involves choice. A 44-year-old South Carolina breast cancer survivor named Tracy Walsh recorded an Americans for Prosperity television ad this year that highlights that concern. Walsh says she fears a government-run health-care system would have stopped her from getting a double mastectomy. She explains why she's speaking out against President Obama's proposals. That's followed by a look at the changing political landscape. The announcement earlier this year that Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter was leaving the Republican Party to join the Democrats caused many national pundits to question the future of the GOP and the conservative movement. National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru discusses the challenges conservatives face in the United States and offers some ideas to help the conservative movement regain strength. And finally, we turn to North Carolina's flawed tax system. In our state, it literally pays for residents to consult the state's tax code before deciding whether to engage in some activities and stay away from others. The John Locke Foundation's Vice President for Research, Roy Cordato, says that very fact illustrates that the tax code needs serious reforms. He discusses what should be done, and why.