North Carolina’s “Top State for Business” Ranking Further Undercuts the Case for NCInnovation | Eastern NC Now

With such a business-friendly climate, why would NCInnovation even be necessary?

ENCNow
    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Brian Balfour.

    For the second straight year, CNBC awarded North Carolina the top slot in its annual "Top State for Business" ranking.

    Among the categories in which NC performed the best were workforce (#1), economy (#3), technology & innovation (#6), access to capital (#6), and education (#7).

    CNBC describes North Carolina's economy as "booming," which tracks closely with the decade of success our state has experienced, dating back to the historic tax cuts of 2013. The rankings also credit North Carolina for its "solid state finances," a testament to the conservative fiscal approach of the legislature for the past dozen years that included a significant reduction of state debt alongside building up reserves to their largest level in history.

    Our state's lofty ranking in the technology & innovation and access to capital categories are also noteworthy. The Senate's decision to include an eye-popping $1.4 billion for the crony NCInnovation program makes even less sense in light of the ranking.

    Facilitating more technological research and providing such research with greater access to capital head up the stated reasons for NCInnovation. But if North Carolina is already better than almost every other state in those categories, NCInnovation appears to be unnecessary. Why should taxpayers be on the hook for a program that amounts to nothing more than a solution in search of a problem?
Go Back

HbAD0

Latest Regional Business

This effort in exposition begins the noble experiment of many years of understanding this land, deep within the Chocowinity Bay /Pamlico River watershed, its essence in totality, and, ultimately, the planning of that benefit to the collective will of humankind.
Extending over 2.57 acres (if purchased in one block), this Commercial Corner, the former John H. Small property, is now for sale, and may be sold as one tract, or sold in building lots of varying sizes.
Changes at Chocowinity EMS does not mean you are loosing EMS services
This effort in exposition begins the noble experiment of many years of planning this land, deep within the Chocowinity Bay /Pamlico River watershed, and how capture its essence, and its true value as an eclectic mixed use community.

HbAD1

WASHINGTON, NC— The Beaufort County Community College Foundation received a $40,000 donation from the First Annual Belhaven Trout Tournament and Festival.
Coming on the heels of a second-quarter report that saw losses of $526.7 million, VinFast reported Thursday that it lost an additional $623 million for the third quarter of 2023.
Charlotte has joined a list of major US cities who recently placed a formal bid to designate the Queen City as a nationally recognized regional tech hub.
As North Carolina is America’s ninth most populous state, film and television producers are working with the Tarheel State in mind.
Beaufort County officials on Thursday helped the Beaufort County Committee of 100 welcome renowned e-commerce, digital marketing, and consulting firm BTW Global, LLC to its new headquarters in Washington.
Disney plans to eliminate thousands of jobs next week, dismissing as many as 15% of entertainment staffers, according to a recent report from Bloomberg.
Neuralink founder Elon Musk said he hopes implanting wireless brain-computer chips in humans will play a role in the existential risk of population reduction posed by artificial intelligence.
Ford announced on Monday that it is pausing construction on a multi-billion dollar battery plant in Marshall, Michigan that had drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over the company’s partnership with Chinese battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL.
On Tuesday, for the second year in a row, North Carolina earned the top spot in CNBC’s annual “America’s Top States for Business” rankings out of all 50 states.

HbAD2

North Carolina is one of six southern states that, together, have become an economic powerhouse, overtaking the once dominant Northeast region of the United States. That’s according to a new analysis from Bloomberg.
North Carolina is set to receive over $1.53 billion in federal funding to help with expanding high-speed internet across the state. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) made the announcement Monday.
It’s not just young people who are getting screwed by the current economy.
The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to the highest level in 22 years on Wednesday, despite easing inflationary pressures.
David Stevens, a senior housing official under former President Barack Obama, condemned a proposal from President Joe Biden that will effectively penalize financially stable homebuyers to subsidize those with higher risk.
North Carolina benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of small business migration. That’s according to a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Last week, Beer Serves America reported that the beer industry contributes 75,082 jobs and brings in about $1.8 billion in taxes to the state of North Carolina.

HbAD3

 
 
Back to Top