Budget | PoliticsNC

GOP Healthcare Policy at Odds with Itself on Medicaid Expansion

by Derek Scott | Aug 7, 2019 | Budget, Health Care, Medicaid, North Carolina, Politics

The battle over North Carolina’s 2019-20 and 2020-21 budgets is currently raging a month into overtime. The crux of that fight is, of course, Medicaid expansion. Along the way it has been portrayed by opponents as a liberal hobby horse, a pet project, the most...

When Dems voted to override Gov. Perdue’s veto

by Kirk Kovach | Jul 16, 2019 | Budget

As we enter yet another week of budget stalemate, the focus remains on a handful of Democratic lawmakers who could make or break the Governor’s veto strategy. Part of the rub with the budget, as Thomas wrote last week, is that the power dynamics in Raleigh have...

Failing Upwards, Revisited

by Kirk Kovach | Jun 28, 2019 | Budget, The Feed, The Kovach Corner

Last December I put together a little piece examining the fact that former Rep. Justin Burr, from Stanly, snagged a prime job right off of his electoral defeat. Burr, who has no experience at all in the field for which he would be responsible in this job, skated...

Cooper Unveils Education Spending Proposal

by Kirk Kovach | Mar 6, 2019 | Budget, Education, Politics, The Kovach Corner

Governor Cooper released his recommendations for the 2019-21 fiscal year budgets yesterday. As was expected, the proposed budget from Cooper highlighted his commitment to invest a notable amount of resources into education in North Carolina. Some top-line information...

Subsidizing billionaires

by Thomas Mills | Jun 11, 2018 | Budget, Editor's Blog | 15 comments

Mixed in the pork from the North Carolina GOP’s 2018 budget is a line item giving $1 million to an equestrian center in Polk County. That’s a big horse arena to host shows for wealthy owners from across the country. Among the owners are members of the Mercer family....

Now, that’s a Democratic budget

by Thomas Mills | May 11, 2018 | Budget, Editor's Blog, NC Politics | 7 comments

Roy Cooper released a budget yesterday that clearly outlines Democratic priorities. Republicans say it’s dead on arrival. Maybe so, but it sure sets up a fight in an election year. Cooper is betting that the priorities in his budget mirror the priorities of the state....