Primary Defeats Surprise Incumbent N.C. Lawmakers

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The recent primary election brought bad new to several North Carolina lawmakers, as they lost their elections to challengers from their own political party. John Locke Foundation President John Hood discusses the issues at play in the losses for both Democrats and Republicans. Hood also updates listeners on election efforts by several former legislators to return to the legislature and three sales tax referenda that appeared on the May 4th ballot. Then we turn to the ongoing policy debate over public charter schools. The General Assembly has been slow to take any action that would lift North Carolina's statewide cap of 100 public charter schools. The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools hopes to spur interest in the issue with an "Intelligent Increases Initiative," a proposal that would grant charter-cap exceptions for certain types of charter school with a history of success. You'll hear highlights from a recent news conference on the topic, along with reaction from Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies. Next, we hear about North Carolina's fight with a major online retailer. Amazon.com is battling the N.C. Department of Revenue in court over a First Amendment dispute. Amazon contends the revenue department wants too much information about its customers' purchases. You'll hear the other side of the story, from N.C. Special Deputy Attorney General Tiare Smiley, who's representing the state. That's followed by a look at the role of government in the economy. If you believe that taxpayer-funded bailouts and increased government regulation will reverse our economic decline and prevent future large-scale recessions, you haven't been listening to Thomas Woods. The senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and author of the book Meltdown says government deserves much of the blame for the recent economic collapse. He explains that more government involvement in health care, the financial sector, and other areas of the economy will make conditions worse.  And finally, John Locke Foundation Fiscal and Health Policy Director Joe Coletti discusses the impact the new federal health insurance law is already having on North Carolina. The impact relates to the state's high-risk pool, which was created several years ago to help North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions access affordable health insurance. Recently, Gov. Beverly Perdue accepted the federal government's offer to expand the pool. The action will force North Carolina to, for several years, pick up additional costs not covered by the feds. Perdue could have chosen not to participate, as other states have done.