March Madness is the best time of the year for college basketball fans, and this year’s tournaments promise to be no exception.
Madness extends beyond the court in issues more profound than hoops, however, prompting some head-scratching on various issues. Examples for this correspondent include the following:
• A widespread public consensus that U.S. immigration enforcement needed reform was torn apart by federal officials’ inept management, excessive force and ignorance of basic constitutional protections. An issue with bipartisan support in the 2024 elections became an opportunity for Democrats to gain majorities in Congress later this year.
• Soaring costs for healthcare are making insurance policies unaffordable for many individuals and businesses, prompting greater reliance on government-sponsored Obamacare. When federal lawmakers sought to rein in costs through stricter eligibility measures, many lawmakers expressed outrage. Those leaders remain mostly mute as the insurance and hospital industries consolidate and unleash unprecedented capital spending. Meanwhile, costs of care and insurance soar at double the core inflation rate. Is it that complicated to connect M&A and expansions, which are detailed in this month’s report on North Carolina hospitals, with higher healthcare costs and bills?
• North Carolinians are spending $700 million a month on sports betting, two years after its legalization. A $1 billion casino is opening this month in Cleveland County; another massive operation is bubbling in Robeson County. Gambling is an entertainment choice that provides economic benefits to some Native American tribes and state tax coffers, while shifting discretionary spending from other areas. Does anyone doubt that there will be inevitable negative impacts from this surge in gambling? Is the “make-a-quick-buck” culture sustainable?
Those are hot topics of the day. Perhaps a more important, long-term head-scratcher is the growing support for “socialism,” highlighted by an Axios-Generation Lab poll in November. It found that 67% of U.S. college students have a positive or neutral view of the word “socialism,” compared with 40% with the word “capitalism.”
The poll was released days before Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, highlighting the disillusionment of younger generations over economic trends. Three months later, the mayor, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist, is fulfilling his pledge to favor those of lesser means. He wants New York to boost income taxes on the richest Big Apple residents by 2 percentage points, or have the New York City Council approve a 9.5% property tax increase.
Either route should prove to be terrific news for North Carolina’s efforts to lure more jobs and residents from the largest U.S. city.
More importantly, though, is how our state balances growth and quality of life. Younger North Carolinians have good reason to be skeptical about a society in which income inequality has reached historic levels, buying a first home is out of reach for so many, and the rent is too dang high. Same for food, auto insurance and electric bills.
North Carolina’s key responses over the past decade have included cutting taxes, limiting regulations, investing more in public colleges and universities and supporting expansion of non-public, K-12 schools. Those choices mostly conflict with the socialist playbook, which promotes equitable distribution over profit maximization. That sets up an interesting dispute over the next decade.
History suggests socialism rarely delivers a more just society. Until recently, that has been a bipartisan consensus in the U.S., but the tide is turning. Actions by business leaders will play an important role in the debate.
In the meantime, enjoy March Madness.
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The February edition included an incorrect photo for Shelly Cayette-Weston, president of business operations for the Charlotte Hornets. The edition also misstated the opening date of NationsBank Corporate Center in Charlotte. It was 1992.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.