North Carolina’s opportunity to break free
The state’s future shouldn’t depend on Washington. Now’s our chance to prove it
Every time the General Assembly sits down to craft a budget, the same question hangs in the air: What’s Washington going to do?
Will the feds keep the Medicaid match? Will FEMA send more money? And so on and so forth.
Over time, Washington has worked itself into nearly every corner of state government. That’s obviously not how federalism is supposed to work, but for the most part, we’ve stopped even noticing.
Two recent moments snapped all this back into focus for me.
First, the Hurricane Helene relief bill, the first signed piece of legislation of the new session. It’s a great achievement, but I still don’t understand what the state is actually responsible for in disaster recovery and what we’re expecting the federal government to handle. The whole conversation continues to hinge on about whether Congress will approve another pot of money.
Then came President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Most of the discussion focuses on fear of disruption, not the real opportunity it presents. North Carolina gets 11% of its K-12 funding from the feds, along with a heavy dose of red tape. This new order opens the door to keeping the money while cutting the strings.
Helene shows the problem. Trump’s move on the Department of Education shows the path forward.
A new focus on self-sufficiency
One of the most interesting ideas on the campaign trail last year came from my friend Hal Weatherman: North Carolina should be self-sufficient. Not just individuals — the state itself.
Sadly, he didn’t win the race for lieutenant governor, but we shouldn’t let that idea go with him.
The reality is that North Carolina can’t go it alone while federal taxes stay this high. We the people send a huge chunk of money to Washington, only to get some of it back. If we want real autonomy, we need a fundamentally different system that we simply can’t craft ourselves: lower federal taxes, more state responsibility, and full control over how that money is spent.
That may seem far off. But there’s a clear next step: block grants.
The General Assembly could push the Trump administration to keep shrinking federal agencies — and shift funding to the states in the form of block grants, just like the plan is for education. No micromanagement. Minimal strings.
We’ll need to build the right systems to handle that and the vision to set our own goals for public services. But that’s the goal. Not just more flexibility, but full control.
It’s about rebuilding a muscle we’ve let atrophy. The federal government is bloated and stretched thin. The more we can handle here at home, the stronger we become.
We won’t cut ties with Washington overnight. But we can start laying the groundwork now.
Quick hits
We are down to the Final Four in the Ultimate N.C. Politics Showdown. Go cast your votes, and I’ll send out the championship round later this week.
Here’s what else I’m thinking about:
The Jefferson Griffin election challenge was heard by a panel of appellate judges on Friday. One suggested that they could send the issue back to the State Board of Elections for a new hearing. I might just tear my hair out if that happens.
I wrote about Gov. Josh Stein’s first budget proposal in The News & Observer: Gov. Stein’s first budget isn’t about passing — it’s about a new kind of positioning
Also in the newspaper: Roy Cooper escaped blame for his disaster failures. A Senate race would change that
At a premium
Important reads
With double-digit vacancy rates, NC state government looks to revamp its hiring process (NC Newsline)
Stein’s approval ratings lead Cooper’s at the same point in tenure (Carolina Journal)
Wilmington is North Carolina’s fastest-growing city, outpacing Raleigh, Charlotte (Triangle Business Journal)
Top spenders on social media this week
Question of the week
Again, no question of the week since we’re voting in the Ultimate N.C. Politics Showdown. Go cast your votes!