Economy

North Carolina's unemployment rate saw the largest month-to-month decrease since February 1978 with the rate in January at 4.3 percent. That's down from December's rate of 5.1 percent.

North Carolina's unemployment rate also dropped below the national average, which was 4.7 percent in January.

Charlotte Business Journal: N.C. unemployment rate falls to 4.3% - 2006-03-09

Robert started our week with his piece on Medicaid. I thought I would include my take on it to start our weekend.

A program essential to the health, even the survival of many of our most vulnerable citizens has been targeted for massive cuts by the Bush administration and the Republicans in congress. The poor, the elderly and disabled children will be particularly affected by these cuts and in many states are in a more tenuous situation than ever before. These groups may fare a bit better in North Carolina than in other states, but the possibility of a negative impact looms in the future.

Keep reading . . .

For those who are interested in following the free-market vs. government regulation debate at a conceptual level, this Kos diary is an excellent refutation of what the Pope Puppets have to say. Enjoy.

The tax breaks that state and local governments give to businesses have been highly controversial but also highly successful in creating new jobs in North Carolina. After this week, the tax breaks may also be a thing of the past. The Supreme Court is hearing a case that argues the tax incentives are unconstitutional. If the Court agrees, it would be a big blow to North Carolina, who has used the incentives to lure growth to the area. In fact, the new growth is one reason that the state has been able to recover from the downfall of the textile, manufacturing, and tobacco industries. There is a good article about the issue on CNN, but everything that know up to this point can become moot once the Court hears the case this week.

Don't you think that we would be better off [...economically and with our educational system] if there was smaller government?

What President Bush says and what he does are rarely within hailing distance, but it was still pretty startling to see the White House press release earlier today about the State of the Union address:

“To keep America competitive in a dynamic economy, the President will set out an agenda focused on the priorities that families are most concerned about. He will talk about the importance of having an educated, skilled workforce, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and making health care more affordable, accessible, and portable.”

Sounds like one of us, right? Don’t show him the secret Democratic handshake. He doesn’t really mean it. And he certainly won’t really do anything about it.

Desperate times call for desperate measures (of course they could just vote against free-trade candidates):

North Carolina town prays for jobs
LENOIR, N.C. -- After years of layoffs at furniture plants, the county with North Carolina's highest unemployment rate held a day of prayer hoping it would help end tough economic times.

About 200 people gathered at the Caldwell County Fairgrounds Sunday to seek divine intervention for a community coping with a 13.1 percent jobless rate.

When I think about all the things I expect from North Carolina, "the good roads state" doesn't jump to the top of my list of priorities. But along with forever bragging about our accidental claim to First in Flight, we sure seem to have a hang up about spending on highway construction.

There was probably a time when visionary thinkers could make the case that a network of world-class roads would be key to a sustainable future . . . like 90 years ago or so, when we pioneered the practice of making untold public investments into a miraculous network of highways . . . ready and waiting for Peak Oil.

RedState.org, around Halloween:

All in all, the economy is booming at a rate comparable to the late 1990s. And yet the media continues to report it as if we are about to fall off a cliff and that things are getting worse by the day. That is poor reporting and it is affecting how the public perceives the overall state of the economy.

|| RedState.org

Meanwhile, in the reality-based community: