IN THIS ISSUE 3
e’re Citizens, Not Subjects W The distinction between those who are treated as subjects and those who are respected as citizens is profound. That’s why your gift, and our work, matter.
4 Fast Facts About N.C.’s Dollars & Cents You pay income tax on what you earn. You pay sales tax on what you buy. So what does the state spend it on? Find out where the cash goes.
Notables & Quotables “ There is a mountain of clinical literature that demonstrates that Medicaid does not really produce the best health outcomes for patients.” Katherine Restrepo, JLF’s health and human services analyst and panelist at a Wake Forest law school forum on the future of Medicaid expansion.
5 New Legislative Session = New Opportunities Learn about our 2016 policy agenda to reform health care, taxes, education, and the scope of government.
6 Empowering Parents, Engaging Children JLF research and ideas are woven into many education reforms. Our 2016 school-choice goals represent the next steps in parental choice.
8 W ho Knew Freedom Could Be So Much Fun They enjoy intimate get-togethers. They sample delicious hors d’oeuvres. Best of all, Freedom Club members spread freedom.
10 Candidates Step Into The Arena Of Ideas If elected, candidates for office will make decisions that either embrace freedom or inhibit it. JLF is helping them see the difference.
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aking Freedom Your Life’s Legacy M Let us help you discover the Planned Giving option that ensures your values, your love of freedom, will live on through a very special gift to JLF.
12 Never Been Better: The New CarolinaJournal.com Find out why the new CarolinaJournal.com is one-stop shopping for rigorous reporting, reasoned analysis, and engaging commentary.
2 The Locke Letter Winter 2016
“ Licensure costs are very large hurdles for the poor.” Jon Sanders, JLF’s director of regulatory studies, urging lawmakers to reform the state’s onerous web of occupational licensing rules in testimony before a state legislative committee.
Defining Digits
82% Should North Carolina expand Medicaid under Obamacare, this is the percentage of people who are able-bodied adults with no children who would be added to the rolls of the program designed to aid the disabled, the blind, the elderly, and low-income children
154 Number of job categories burdened by barriers to entry created by North Carolina’s occupational licensing regulations
We’re Citizens, Not Subjects: Why Your Gift, and Our Work, Matter
S
tudents of history know very well the sad and troubled lives endured by millions who’ve been dominated and exploited by government leaders around the world. The distinction between those who are treated as subjects and those who are respected as citizens is profound. The political class loves subjects; it fears citizens. A subject is a passive instrument; a citizen is an active agent.
Kory Swanson President and CEO
This distinction lies at the heart of why the John Locke Foundation’s work matters, and why I can assure you that your financial investment in our Freedom Movement is a sound use of your philanthropic dollars.
We are motivated agents of change and influence, proud citizens with active, open, and curious minds able to discriminate between fact and fiction. That’s why some in government fight so fiercely to fend off our ideas and react so vociferously when our recommendations are adopted, as many have been over the past five years. Those who view you and me as subjects — not citizens — prefer that our minds remain closed and parochial, our influence silenced, and our potential untapped. With your help, that won’t happen on our watch.
We know you share our hopes and dreams for this incredible state.
We know you share our belief that we achieve prosperity through a firm commitment to freedom. We know you share our mission to make North Carolina First in Freedom among the states.
When you invest in the John Locke Foundation, you’re given a voice at the highest level of state government.
When you invest in the John Locke Foundation, you’re given a voice at the highest level of state government. Our experts have testified before the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee, the House Select Committee on Education Strategy and Practices, and the Occupational Licensing Subcommittee. This spring, JLF will have regular discussions with the senior chairs of the House Finance Committee and the House Republican Majority Leader.
We are your most ardent advocate, your most powerful force in leading the way toward a thriving society that recognizes the dignity and preciousness of each individual and the respect that demands. We proudly represent citizens, not subjects. We would be honored to proudly represent you as we advance the timeless ideas of freedom, liberty, private property, limited government, and the pursuit of happiness. I am honored to tell you the work of the John Locke Foundation does matter, and I humbly ask for your continued investment. Thank you.
Dedicated To Making North Carolina First in Freedom
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North Carolina Fast Facts (FY 2015–16)
2016 TAX RATES 35¢
5.75%
4.00%
4.75%
6.84%
Personal Income
Corporate Income
State Sales and Use Tax
Average State and Local Sales Tax
per gallon
State Gas Tax
(Jan. 1, 2016–June 30, 2016)
NORTH CAROLINA STATE GOVERNMENT
13%
Total State Debt (June 30, 2014) $8.8 Billion
Total Budget (all sources) $50.9 Billion
Total General Fund Budget $21.7 Billion Spending Increase (2005-2015)*
21%
Spending Increase (2005-2015)*
* Adjusted for inflation
GENERAL FUND USES $21.7 Billion
K–12 Education 39% $8.5 Billion UNC System 13% $2.7 Billion
Community Colleges 5% $1.1 Billion
Education (total) 57% $12.3 Billion
General Government 2% $392 Million
Health/Human Services 23% $5.1 Billion
Agriculture, Natural & Economic Resources 2% $466 Million
Justice & Public Safety 11% $2.5 Billion
Capital Improvements 1% $17 Million
Reserves & Debt Service 4% $894 Million
GENERAL FUND SOURCES $22 Billion Corporate Income Tax 5% $1.1 Billion Franchise Tax 3% $534 Million Nontax Revenue 4% $821 Million Other Tax Revenue 6% $1.2 Billion
4 The Locke Letter Winter 2016
Unspent From Last Year 1% $265 Million
Personal Income Tax 51% $11.3 Billion
Sales and Use Tax 30% $6.7 Billion
Ready To Advance Freedom The John Locke Foundation’s 2016 legislative agenda is focused on advancing freedom, protecting taxpayers, and reining in government’s size and scope.
JLF’S 2016 LEGISL ATIVE GOALS
Put More Money In Your Wallet
Lower Your Electric Bill
• Eliminate the bias against savings and investment by reducing or removing the tax on capital gains
• Increase the 0% tax bracket to give all taxpayers a break from taxes on the first several thousand dollars of income
• Repeal the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which forces utilities to buy higher-cost, less reliable “renewable” energy, which has added $276 million to North Carolina electric bills since the mandate took effect in 2008, more than twice the national average increase
• Expand the per child tax credit, recognizing that children are the human capital of the future
• Support business owners by allowing them to deduct expenses in the year they’re incurred rather than over many years
• Reform the net metering law, which forces utilities to buy power generated by private solar producers at retail prices, rather than the appropriate wholesale rate
Urge Patient-Driven Health Care Solutions
• Repeal the Certificate-of-Need law, a required government permission slip that prevents doctors and hospitals from offering more services as they see fit, thereby undercutting consumer choice, stifling innovation, and inhibiting market-driven competition and decreased costs
• Resist pressure to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, which at 17 percent is the fastestgrowing part of our state’s general operating budget, an expense that would balloon due to massive numbers of able-bodied childless adults added to the rolls, choking off funding for core services such as education, criminal justice, and public safety
Focus Education Resources On The Classroom
• Reward excellent teachers who possess in-demand skills in math, the sciences, and other hard-to-fill areas, or who agree to teach in hard-to-staff schools
• Empower principals with the authority to manage their schools and teachers in order to ensure improvement and excellence in performance
Expand Educational Choices For Parents and Children
• Ensure that applicable public charter school laws and regulations are fair, accommodating, and constructive
• Expand access and enrollment in our state’s virtual schools
• Invest more resources in private-school scholarship programs for low-income families and kids with special needs
• Protect homeschool parents from intrusive and unnecessary government regulations
Pare Back The Overly Broad Criminal Code
• Eliminate the sweeping power of administrative agencies and licensing boards to add crimes to the list of more than 700 that now make up our state’s burgeoning criminal code, placing individuals and small businesses in constant legal jeopardy for inadvertent law breaking that discourages entrepreneurship
Unburden Entrepreneurs From Overregulation
•E nact a state-level REINS Act, which would require any rule with major economic impact to undergo scrutiny and approval by the legislature and governor before becoming law
• Review, reorganize, and repeal occupational licensing rules, which ensnare more than 150 job categories and prevent hard-working men and women — particularly the poor — from practicing their trade or craft due to fees, training, and time requirements Dedicated To Making North Carolina First in Freedom
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Trapped No More: Empowering Your Gift Will Help Ensure No Child Is Praise For the John Locke Foundation’s Influence On Expanding Choice “Over the past decade, my particular passion has been to give parents more freedom to choose when, where, and how their children are educated. I’m proud to say that we’ve had much success in opening up choices and options. At the same time, we’ve also worked diligently to improve the traditional public classroom for those families who choose that model.
The John Locke Foundation has been invaluable in these efforts, as it has across an array of public issues.” Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam (R-Wake) N.C. House Speaker Pro Tempore, School Choice Champion
Choice Empowers Parents Need-Based Private School Vouchers
Choice Expands Opportunity Charter Schools
• Disability Grant Program provides $8,000 per year for children with special needs
• Charters enroll over 82,000 kids in 158 schools in 59 counties
• 770 students with special needs were awarded Disability Grants for 2015–16
• As a group, charter schools would be the thirdlargest school district in the state
• Opportunity Scholarship Program provides $4,200 per year for children from low-income families
• Nearly half of charters received an “A” or “B” performance grade in 2015
Home Schools • An estimated 107,000 children were homeschooled last year • In 2014, homeschool enrollment eclipsed private school enrollment for the first time
6 The Locke Letter Winter 2016
Private Schools • Last year, over 97,000 children were enrolled in 720 private schools • There has been a nearly 5 percent increase in private school enrollment over the last 10 years • There are more private schools today than at any time in the last 25 years
Parents, Engaging Children Trapped In a One-Size-Fits-All Classroom We’ve Only Scratched the Surface of Meaningful Change “John Locke Foundation research and policy recommendations are woven into the fabric of many of our state’s education reforms, particularly those enacted since 2011. We must continue to provide decision-makers with intellectual grounding to enact new ideas and next steps.
We have momentum, so let’s capitalize on it. Will you join us?” Dr. Terry Stoops Director of Research and Education Studies, John Locke Foundation
Let’s Unleash the Potential of EVERY CHILD. Mail your tax-deductible donation in the envelope included in this issue.
Our School Choice Goals For 2016 Affirm North Carolina’s Strengthen our state’s virtual
schooling options by expanding access and enrollment.
Build on the success of North Carolina’s public charter schools by ensuring that applicable laws and regulations are fair, accommodating, and constructive.
commitment to families with disadvantaged and specialneeds children by investing greater resources in private school scholarship programs.
Safeguard the right of parents to
educate their children at home by protecting them from intrusive and unnecessary regulatory requirements.
Dedicated To Making North Carolina First in Freedom
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Freedom With a Dose of Fun: Put Your Name on the Freedom Club Map Club members and their guests are treated to exclusive events featuring dynamic speakers like former Gov. Jim Martin, John William Pope Foundation President John Hood, and National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke. To find out about VIP benefits and to join the club, contact Paige Hamp at 919-280-5209 or phamp@johnlocke.org.
Club Members Live In Every Region of the State
“ We are honored to support JLF’s commitment to founding principles of individual liberty and limited, constitutional government. Specifically, its investigative journalism and role as a government watchdog consistently produce excellent research, resources, and publications in championing those principles for all North Carolinians.”
Joelle and Bob Weltzin (Wake Forest) “ I am a proud member of the Carolina Freedom Club! I happily donate to the John Locke Foundation because, through their speakers and investigative reports, they showcase how free markets and limited government combine beautifully to ignite innovation, personal responsibility, and a greater prosperity and freedom for all.”
Lee Green (Durham)
8 The Locke Letter Winter 2016
“ Our country needs organizations that provide to the public information on the workings of our government and how best to support those functions that maintain the integrity and positive changes necessary for preserving our liberty. The John Locke Foundation accomplishes this task superbly.”
Ron Demas (Wilmington)
JLF’s Carolina Freedom Club Look like fun? It is. Freedom Club events are hosted by prominent JLF supporters and friends. Members enjoy sharing a glass of wine and delectable treats while engaging in great conversations with like-minded friends. Our generous hosts have included Art and Kathy Pope, Bryan and Carolyn Taylor, Chuck Fuller, Ted and Felicia Hicks, and Nan Miller.
Art and Kathy Pope, Dottie Martin, Paige Hamp, Gov. Jim Martin, and John Hood enjoy the aftermath of a Raleigh Freedom Club meeting featuring Martin and Hood discussing “Catalyst: Jim Martin and the Rise of North Carolina Republicans.”
National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke discusses current events and his book, The Conservatarian Manifesto, at a Charlotte gathering of Freedom Club members and guests hosted by Bryan Taylor.
Gov. Jim Martin gets acquainted with John Locke Foundation board member Ted Hicks, at a Freedom Club meeting hosted by Art and Kathy Pope.
Freedom Club members Vernon Robinson and Steve Long share a beverage at the office of JLF board member Chuck Fuller (foreground), while JLF President and CEO Kory Swanson chats with JLF supporter Thorsten Hamp.
Freedom Club members June Roberg, Nancy Monteith, and Page Cox enjoy hors d’oeuvres at a club gathering hosted in Raleigh by Art and Kathy Pope.
Dedicated To Making North Carolina First in Freedom
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Inspiring a New Generation of Leaders They’re stepping into the arena of ideas, and now they’re better prepared to defend freedom. More than 60 candidates for elective office came from all corners of the state to join JLF in Raleigh for our debut 2016 Candidate Education Forum. But the Jan. 8 workshop was only the start of this yearlong project. JLF’s Vice President for Outreach, Becki Gray, is crisscrossing North Carolina. She’s engaging candidates in group discussions and in one-on-one meetings, providing the intellectual ammunition they need to advance ideas that will make our state First in Freedom.
Thank you to our generous supporters who’ve stepped up to help. Can we count on you to join them?
JLF’s Becki Gray, vice president for outreach, offered a primer on the many policy reforms achieved since 2011 and JLF’s role as thought leader and guiding resource.
Thanks to our donors, each candidate received a policy guide, thumb drive full of resources, and the North Carolina Constitution.
JLF’s Director of Research and Education Studies, Dr. Terry Stoops, explains the many components of the state budget.
Ready to Make Your Mark on the Future? Send your gift in the enclosed envelope. Write “Candidate Education Forum” on the form. Or donate online at johnlocke.org/support. Thank you!
10 The Locke Letter Winter 2016
Freedom. Pass It On. We would be honored to help you discover the John Locke Foundation Planned Giving option that ensures your values will inform generations to come. PL ANNED GIVING OPTIONS: • Bequest as Part of Your Will
• Life Insurance Policies
• Charitable Remainder Trusts
• IRA and other Retirement Plans
Make the defense of freedom your life’s legacy. Contact Kory Swanson at kswanson@johnlocke.org or 919-828-3876 to schedule a personal conversation.
Dedicated To Making North Carolina First in Freedom
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12 The Locke Letter Winter 2016