WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
CLEARLY, LAWMAKERS HAD GOOD REASONS TO KEEP H.3945 SECRET The talk this week has been mainly about the ill-named ethics reform bill being debated in the South Carolina House.…
HOW STATE FAVORITISM HURTS TAXPAYERS AND DRIVES UP ENERGY PRICES An attempt to loosen South Carolina energy regulation and licensing constraints for the benefit of solar energy firms has gained…
HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES COMPROMISE AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT VALUE Equality and liberty are not always compatible and in some cases directly opposed, but there is one notion of equality that is…
S.22 ISN’T ABOUT SEPARATING POWERS. AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN On government restructuring, it’s déjà vu all over again. As happened last year, the Senate passed a weak restructuring bill, S.22, that…
IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO IMPROVE A BADLY FLAWED “SCHOOL CHOICE” BILL, HERE’S WHERE TO BEGIN We recently released our initial analysis of S.279, the most prominent “school choice” bill currently…
WHY THE RUSH TO PUT FUTURE TAXPAYERS 120,000,000 MORE DOLLARS INTO DEBT? The news broke this week that Boeing plans to expand its existing North Charleston campus to include an…
It’s the beginning of April and lawmakers‘ two-week furlough is almost up, leaving us at roughly the half-way point of the 2013 legislative session. This was supposed to be the…
HOW SOUTH CAROLINA’S GOVERNMENT IS UNDERMINING ITS MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION Low taxes, minimal regulations, a competent workforce. These are usually considered the most important qualities a state can foster in…
Transportation Funding: The Current Options
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
The Ethics Reform That Isn’t
CLEARLY, LAWMAKERS HAD GOOD REASONS TO KEEP H.3945 SECRET The talk this week has been mainly about the ill-named ethics reform bill being debated in the South Carolina House.…
Renewable Energy: What’s the State’s Role?
HOW STATE FAVORITISM HURTS TAXPAYERS AND DRIVES UP ENERGY PRICES An attempt to loosen South Carolina energy regulation and licensing constraints for the benefit of solar energy firms has gained…
Liberty, Equality … and Corporate Welfare
HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES COMPROMISE AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT VALUE Equality and liberty are not always compatible and in some cases directly opposed, but there is one notion of equality that is…
Restructuring Update: déjà vu all over again?
S.22 ISN’T ABOUT SEPARATING POWERS. AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN On government restructuring, it’s déjà vu all over again. As happened last year, the Senate passed a weak restructuring bill, S.22, that…
Making a Flawed School Choice Bill (Slightly) Better
IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO IMPROVE A BADLY FLAWED “SCHOOL CHOICE” BILL, HERE’S WHERE TO BEGIN We recently released our initial analysis of S.279, the most prominent “school choice” bill currently…
Boeing Bond Deal Needs Explanation
WHY THE RUSH TO PUT FUTURE TAXPAYERS 120,000,000 MORE DOLLARS INTO DEBT? The news broke this week that Boeing plans to expand its existing North Charleston campus to include an…
Half Time Ethics Report
It’s the beginning of April and lawmakers‘ two-week furlough is almost up, leaving us at roughly the half-way point of the 2013 legislative session. This was supposed to be the…
Asset Forfeiture & Property Rights in S.C.
HOW SOUTH CAROLINA’S GOVERNMENT IS UNDERMINING ITS MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION Low taxes, minimal regulations, a competent workforce. These are usually considered the most important qualities a state can foster in…