The July issue features coverage of some of the new constitutional amendments that will appear on North Carolina ballots for the November midterm elections. Civitas has covered the income tax cap amendment and Voter ID in depth. Some partisan ideologues are saying we have to support all six or reject all six. The Left is already running with “nix the six” as a favored slogan. I think it’s much better to look at each amendment individually and see how it might place proper restraints on state government or benefit North Carolinians.
Adam Geller, founder and CEO of the polling firm National Research Inc., offers guest commentary on the challenges of polling in the Trump era. I’ve always found polling to be fascinating in the way that it’s so often used to shape public opinion even more so than merely reporting what people think on issues. Alexis de Tocqueville in “Democracy in America” discussed how in America the masses are often fed ready-made opinions that can hinder critical thinking or even a deeper freedom of thought. Polling is important like all things in politics has its limits. I appreciate how Civitas often uses the polling that we do for civic education and engagement. Obviously, almost every poll missed the depth of President Donald Trump’s support in the general election. Geller talks a little bit about that and more in his piece.
Leah Byers offers solid analysis on Gov. Roy Cooper’s history of admiration for tax increases. We all know that taxes are a necessity, thus the saying “death and taxes,” but one of the primary functions of government is to protect private property and it does that best when it remains limited and its proper sphere. Undoubtedly, we should look for leaders who value that understanding of government.
There is a lot of content to check out in the issue below.
