The American Legislative Exchange Council brings together corporations (from Koch Industries to Coca-Cola), conservative state legislators, and rightwing think tanks to fabricate model bills that advance their common interests: reduce government regulation and taxes; increase the transfer of wealth from average Americans to the super rich. ALEC working groups, research memos and draft bills push [...]
While the NC General Assembly is on a 24-day recess, House Republicans are taking quick advantage of a loophole in state law to sponsor a major fundraising event this Wednesday and solicit contributions of up to $5,000 from PACs that are barred from giving while the General Assembly is in session. The event looks like [...]
North Carolina’s infamous photo ID bill (H-351 – we call it the “Voter Suppression Act of 2011”) passed as expected on party line votes and is on its way to Gov. Bev Perdue. You can encourage her to veto the bill with this handy action alert. The other major anti-voter bill, S-47, was pulled off [...]
Earlier this week, Democracy North Carolina released a report that sharply criticized a proposal jammed inside the state Senate budget to merge and shrink the three agencies that oversee elections, ethics, and lobbying. We’re pleased to report that the proposal, which many others also rebuked, is no longer a part of the Republican budget plan. The Senate [...]
Another report, this one by Citizens for Tax Justice, spotlights mega-corporations that rake in massive profits and pay nothing in federal income taxes – in fact, they get a credit, which means money from you. This is what happens when corporations rig the tax code to their advantage, a product of their investment in bad [...]
Consumers will likely see the cost of small loans go up in North Carolina, thanks to a bill in the NC General Assembly that will hike interest rates and add new fees. According to a detailed report by Democracy North Carolina, the bill is the reward for finance company owners suddenly shifting allegiance and pumping [...]
Donna Clark gives a first-person account of what it means to be without health insurance in North Carolina. She expresses the hope of millions for a better system - and the outrage of seeing insurance companies overtake and rig the new system against her. She recognizes the unethical behavior of NC legislators colluding with the [...]
5/13/2011 - The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle has gained a new distinction: Biggest gas guzzling metro area in the nation, according to Forbes. The Triad and Charlotte metro areas are also in the top 10. As Big Oil profits soar and gas prices approach $4 at the pump, more people and politicians are wondering how the [...]
The Los Angeles Times and Center for Responsive Politics have produced a model expose of the mining industry’s use of campaign money and high-dollar lobbyists to kill mine safety legislation in Congress. The story documents the close correlation of campaign contributions and votes by Members of Congress, and the timing of when the donations were [...]
As the price of gas moves toward $4 a gallon and oil company profits soar, US House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) declared that Big Oil should pay its fair share of taxes and the industry’s lucrative federal subsidiaries should be reviewed. That was Monday of this week. By Thursday, he was in retreat and echoing [...]