John Hood

1 week ago | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |John Hood

North Carolina’s motto is a Latin phrase: Esse quam videri. Popularized by the ancient Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, who likely first read the Greek version from Plato and Aeschylus, the phrase means “to be rather than to seem.”The General Assembly adopted it as our official state motto in 1893. Ever since then, North Carolinians have disputed whether we’ve ever really lived up to it, that we have truly been rather than just seemed. Guess what?

1 week ago | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |John Hood

For more than a decade, the North Carolina General Assembly has pursued a prudent and successful strategy of making our state one of the best places in the country to live, work and invest. I call the strategy prudent because it reflects conservative governance at its best, with a focus on reducing the cost of living and creating jobs (through tax and regulatory reform) while also improving the return on public investment in services such as transportation and education.

4 weeks ago | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |John Hood

For universities, state governments, localities, medical providers and other institutions receiving lots of federal money, it’s time to batten down the hatches. Storm’s a-brewing. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved a plan to extend the federal tax cuts enacted during the first Trump administration. It calls for up to $2 trillion in budget savings to (partially) offset […]

1 month ago | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |John Hood

North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. If present trends continue, we’ll surpass Georgia and become the eighth-most-populous state by 2030. There’s even an outside chance we’ll overtake seventh-ranked Ohio. This is a fact. What it means is contested. Indeed, for the past 15 years, Republicans and Democrats have argued incessantly about it. The former argue […]

1 month ago | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |John Hood

In recent weeks, I’ve written several columns flagging areas where North Carolina lags behind other states. We don’t do a good job of providing patients access to telehealth services, for example, and our education system — previously among the best in the country in converting public investment into reading and math performance — has tumbled in the rankings since the school shutdowns of the COVID era. Ready for some good news?