John Locke Foundation

On Thursday, customers of Duke Energy received a text alerting them to expect high energy demand the next day. Let's hope it's not a sign of things to come...

Duke’s Worrisome Text Late afternoon on Thursday, January 4, customers of Duke Energy received a text message alerting them to expected high energy demand the next day and requesting they “take steps to minimize power use from 6:00 to 9:00 am to keep energy demand low.” Understandably, just over a year after the Duke...

New year, new laws! Here are some of the state laws that went into effect in North Carolina on New Year's Day 👇

The New Laws That Affect You in 2024 The dawn of a new year often signifies more than just a change in the calendar; it also means the enactment of new laws and regulations. Here in North Carolina, we have sixteen state laws that are now in full effect. The new effective laws include subjects related to education, elections, and local....

If the current voter registration trends hold, there will be more Republicans than Democrats in North Carolina sometime in 2027.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but telling people the solution to the blackouts is to flood the grid with loads more intermittent, unreliable solar is bonkers."

How Cooper and Clean Energy Cronies Use Blackouts to Argue for More Blackouts Amy O. Cooke, retired Locke CEO, wrote a piece yesterday in Carolina Journal discussing the strange take in response to the Christmas Eve 2022 blackouts offered by Gov. Roy Cooper and his renewable energy cronies and donors. I commend the entire column to you, but I wanted to discuss this bit: A cur...

T-minus 23 days until the Carolina Liberty Conference! Check out the schedule sneak peek, and snag your tickets here: http://tiny.cc/CLCSchedule

Effective January 1: election law changes and new high school requirements New state laws are effective today, including new requirements for high school graduation and Election Day is the final deadline for receiving absentee ballots.

New Archbridge Institute rankings place NC at #23 in Social Mobility

Upset you can't grab a bottle of liquor for that New Year's Eve Party today? You can thank NC's ABC system for that.

“Corporate incentive deals often fall through – and even if taxpayers aren’t on the hook for the incentives, they’re still on the hook for the infrastructure expenses for roads, water or site preparation that have already been doled out.” - Locke CEO, Donald Bryson

The taxpayer cost of Cooper's development deals (The Center Square) – Gov. Roy Cooper is touting the new jobs and capital investments by large companies in North Carolina over the last year, achievements incentivized by large taxpayer

North Carolinians will soon see a 14.6% rate hike for customers of Duke Energy Carolinas - a major source being upgrades the grid will need to support more renewable energy.

Energy Rates in NC Going Up Duke Energy's move to more "renewable" energy will take a bigger bite of your budget - with no benefit.

Who’s filed for the 2024 Election? Check it out below 👇

Who’s filed for the 2024 Election? Filing for the 2024 election has officially closed as of noon on December 15th. With it, we know which legislative seats will be contested and who is running for what seats. The full breakdown of candidate filings for the North Carolina Legislature and Congress can be found here. North Carolina Cong...

It's time to end North Carolina's benefits cliff. Read more: http://tiny.cc/NCBenefitsCliff

Read our Jon Sanders’ parody of the famous Christmas poem, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”

‘Twas the Night Before Blackouts Below is a parody of the famous Christmas poem, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," but redone to describe the 2022 NC blackouts the night before Christmas. For those who need a primer on the events of that night, please see the overview below. If not, you can skip down to the poem itself. Enjoy and

You can score tickets to the 2024 Carolina Liberty Conference for as low as $75 from now until Christmas Eve! 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭! Grab your tickets to the state's largest event of its kind below!

Carolina Liberty Conference 2024

Still have some loose ends to tie up on that Christmas list? Take some inspiration from these tasty treats - courtesy of the land of the long-leaf pine!

Justice Phill Berger Jr. will be joining us for the Carolina Liberty Conference next month. 👨‍⚖️ Grab tickets to North Carolina's largest center-right gathering - hosted on January 26th and 27th - NOW! 🎟️ http://tiny.cc/CLC2024

Check out Locke’s 2023 Year in Review, "Locke Wrapped," in the comments!

It’s no secret that many North Carolinians rely on governmental assistance programs to make ends meet. But they often get caught in something called a “benefits cliff” that disincentivizes them from looking for more meaningful work and gaining independence.

Working Families Face Steep Benefits Cliffs In North Carolina. Here’s How To Fix It. It’s no secret that many North Carolinians rely on governmental assistance programs to make ends meet. But they often get caught in something called a “benefits cliff” that disincentivizes them from looking for more meaningful work and gaining independence. Benefits cliffs occur when an indivi...

North Carolina’s Certificate of Need law harms patients, insurers, and taxpayers by making health care more expensive and less accessible.

Recent Developments in a Challenge to North Carolina’s Pernicious and Unconstitutional Certificate of Need Law North Carolina’s Certificate of Need law harms patients, insurers, and taxpayers by making health care more expensive and less accessible. In a lawsuit currently before the North Carolina Supreme Court, New Bern eye surgeon Jay Singleton claims the law also violates the North Carolina State Consti...

Proposed voter ID rules provide exceptions that are so easily exploitable that they make North Carolina a voter ID state in name only.

What's up with that?

Elections Board To Make Squishy Voter ID Law Even Squishier The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) held a public hearing on proposed voter ID rules on December 13. The proposed rules are for in-person (08 NCAC 17 .0101) and mail (08 NCAC 17 .0109) voter ID. A review of those regulations reveals that they provide exceptions that are so easily explo...

Since 2016, the federal government has massively subsidized renewable sources of electricity — with wind receiving nearly 20 times more subsidies per unit of power generated than nuclear, and solar receiving nearly 100 times more.

More on the Costs of North Carolina’s Different Electricity Generating Sources Since 2016, the federal government has massively subsidized renewable sources of electricity — with wind receiving nearly 20 times more subsidies per unit of power generated than nuclear, and solar receiving nearly 100 times more. The Biden administration boasts that incentives and credits for ren...

Ho-ho-hold onto your wallet!

Nearly half of North Carolinians are spending less on presents and traveling less this holiday season.

What about you? Are you cutting your holiday spending this year?

Ho-Ho-Hold Your Wallet This Christmas A recent analysis of government data indicates that, due to the surge in inflation to the highest levels in four decades, an average American family must incur an extra expense of $11,434 yearly to sustain the same quality of life they had in January 2021. Here in North Carolina, nearly half of Nort...

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Both North Carolina and Tennessee have fast-growing populations, thanks to our business-friendly environments.

Take a watch of this latest episode of Policy Pizza, where we talk to our friends from Beacon Center of Tennessee about the ways we can advance freedom across both of our popular states.

Right to Work and Health Policy in the States | Taylor Dawson | Policy Pizza Taylor Dawson of the Beacon Center of Tennessee took a break from a national conference in Chicago to join us for our second round of deep dish policy in the...

Over 93% of likely voters in North Carolina believe that open record laws are essential to maintaining accountability.

North Carolinians Crave Transparency Last week, Locke released results from their recent Civitas Poll, which surveyed likely North Carolina general election voters on topics including the importance of open records laws. To see the full results from the latest Civitas Poll, click here. Let’s break down a couple of key findings: First...

Want to watch a live recording of Carolina Journal's The Debrief in Raleigh?

Then you will want to be at CLC '24! Locke and Carolina Journal are bringing the studio to conference attendees.

When will you claim your tickets?

Tix: http://tiny.cc/CLC2024

North Carolina's small and rural school districts are spending Covid relief funds on short-term solutions. Will that pay off in the long run?

NC School Districts are Spending Covid Relief Funds on Bonuses and Short-term Fixes. Will They Avert the Fiscal Cliff? Bella DiMarco, a policy analyst at FutureEd, an education think tank affiliated with Georgetown University, has written an informative report on how North Carolina schools, are spending local ESSER funds. DiMarco’s analysis suggests that many North Carolina school districts – especially small an...