EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? We recently laid out answers to some frequently asked questions about Common Core in South Carolina. To recap: Common Core is already being implemented in our state;…
WE HATE TO SAY WE TOLD YOU SO, BUT WE DID In September 2011, a week after President Obama announced that states could apply for waivers from some No Child…
S.C.’S ROAD POLICY: BUILD NEW ROADS WITHOUT FIXING EXISTING ONES Since the close of the 2013 legislative session, the confused priorities of the state’s transportation authorities have been on full…
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR THE STATE’S BIGGEST FARMS ARE MORE LAVISH THAN YOU MAY REALIZE South Carolina received quite a bit of rain recently, causing damage to, and a loss of…
Politicians love to tout job creation through business “incentives” — but is there an incentive to take these jobs? Given the dismal unemployment rates both on the national and state levels (8.1…
POLICE OR SOLDIERS? Since the expansion of the drug war in the 1980s – and especially since the attacks of September 11th, 2001 – local police forces have been…
THE CREATION OF VALUE IS Although the role of government would appear to be a controversial topic in the political sphere, there’s one role commentators on both the left and…
TO PROTECT, TO COLLECT, AND TO SERVE You know the feeling – the feeling you get when you return to your parked car and see the dreaded neon-colored slip of…
HOW S.C. KEEPS ITS CITIZENS IN POVERTY The New York Times recently reported on a new study finding that income mobility in South Carolina is severely limited. Income mobility, as…
OUR LAWS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU A great deal of coverage was given recently to South Carolina’s successful wooing of Connecticut gun manufacturer PTR Industries concentrated on state officials’ – and…
THE REASON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY It’s a tale of two legislative sessions. In one state, lawmakers passed significant tax reform that lowers tax rates across the board,…
WHEN THE ISSUE IS THE PRESERVATION OF POWER, REFORM HASN’T GOT A CHANCE In 2013, despite all the rhetoric with which the legislative year began, lawmakers failed to pass a…
THEORIES ARE DEBATABLE. REALITY? NOT SO MUCH. When a public official wants to sell a big spending increase, he’ll almost inevitably justify it by claiming that it won’t just create…
WHY TAXPAYERS DESERVE DETAILS – NOT VAGUE TALKING POINTS AND HIGHER TAXES On June 25th, the mayor of Columbia, Steve Benjamin, unveiled what’s being commonly called the “Bull Street Development Deal.” The…
GOV. HALEY’S TASK FORCE ON REGULATION HAS BEGUN TO MEET … HERE’S THE PROBLEM IT FACES Unfortunately, we live in a world in which pedicures and funeral parlor bathrooms are…
WHY STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS DON’T MATTER Earlier this year, the Policy Council launched Project Conflict Watch, an initiative asking state elected officials to disclose their sources of private income…
WHAT IS IT? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT? Over the past several weeks, a great deal of controversy and discussions have arisen on…
FIRST PRIORITY FOR GOV. HALEY’S REGULATORY TASK FORCE: A SUNSET LAW Is the General Assembly alone empowered to make laws in South Carolina? Not exactly. No fewer than 21 state…
THINK THERE ARE GREAT ARGUMENTS FOR ELIMINATING THE CORPORATE INCOME TAX? SO DOES ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE. AND YET . . . In a red, “conservative” state like South Carolina,…
A PERNICIOUS BARRIER TO HEALTH CARE FREEDOM HAS COME DOWN. IT SHOULD STAY THAT WAY. Last Wednesday, South Carolina House lawmakers – possibly accidentally – enacted the most pro-liberty reform…
TAKE THE QUIZ … AFTER ALL, IT’S YOUR MONEY 1) How large is the total state budget? a. $6.5 billion b. $16.5 billion c. $22.8 billion d. $24.3 billion 2)…
THERE IS NO COMPARISON. LITERALLY. South Carolinians have become accustomed to seeing their state placed at or near the wrong side of a variety of national rankings. Early childhood education,…
INCREASED FUNDING FOR 4K EDUCATION SOUNDS GOOD. BUT DOES IT IMPROVE RESULTS? When it comes to public education the prevailing opinion among those in power is: More is better. More…
OUR ONLY LABOR UNION HAS MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK This week is National Employee Freedom week – a week intended to bring attention to the fact that people across…
DO TAXPAYERS WANT TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING IN THIS YEAR’S $24.3 BILLION BUDGET? Last year, Governor Nikki Haley vetoed $57.1 million of a $23.6 billion budget – less than…
WHAT DOES IT DO? AND IS THIS A SOLUTION? [UPDATE: Gov. Haley signed H.3360 on Monday, June 24] The legislature has finalized the conference version of the last transportation bill…
WHY DOES THE STATE OPERATE ITS OWN PORTS? GOOD QUESTION. One of the major issues debated this legislative session has been the state’s infrastructure and the need for improvement.…
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS ABOUT TO BE A BIG PART OF YOUR WORLD The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, has already begun to take…
2013 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ‘YEAR OF ETHICS REFORM.’ IT WASN’T. SO DOES ANYONE CARE? At the conclusion of the 2013 legislative session, as the Senate prepared to vote…
What Will Our Children Learn Under Common Core? – Part I
EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? We recently laid out answers to some frequently asked questions about Common Core in South Carolina. To recap: Common Core is already being implemented in our state;…
How “Waiving” NCLB Reinforced Federal Control
WE HATE TO SAY WE TOLD YOU SO, BUT WE DID In September 2011, a week after President Obama announced that states could apply for waivers from some No Child…
Road Funding Priorities Run Further Amok
S.C.’S ROAD POLICY: BUILD NEW ROADS WITHOUT FIXING EXISTING ONES Since the close of the 2013 legislative session, the confused priorities of the state’s transportation authorities have been on full…
Damaged Crops: What’s Government’s Role?
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR THE STATE’S BIGGEST FARMS ARE MORE LAVISH THAN YOU MAY REALIZE South Carolina received quite a bit of rain recently, causing damage to, and a loss of…
More “Incentive” for Welfare or Work in S.C.?
Politicians love to tout job creation through business “incentives” — but is there an incentive to take these jobs? Given the dismal unemployment rates both on the national and state levels (8.1…
The Militarization of the Police
POLICE OR SOLDIERS? Since the expansion of the drug war in the 1980s – and especially since the attacks of September 11th, 2001 – local police forces have been…
“Creating Jobs” Isn’t the Point
THE CREATION OF VALUE IS Although the role of government would appear to be a controversial topic in the political sphere, there’s one role commentators on both the left and…
Tax Collection: Law Enforcement’s New Role?
TO PROTECT, TO COLLECT, AND TO SERVE You know the feeling – the feeling you get when you return to your parked car and see the dreaded neon-colored slip of…
Income Mobility in South Carolina
HOW S.C. KEEPS ITS CITIZENS IN POVERTY The New York Times recently reported on a new study finding that income mobility in South Carolina is severely limited. Income mobility, as…
Is South Carolina Really All That ‘Pro-Gun’?
OUR LAWS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU A great deal of coverage was given recently to South Carolina’s successful wooing of Connecticut gun manufacturer PTR Industries concentrated on state officials’ – and…
Reforms Pass in North Carolina … But Not Here
THE REASON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY It’s a tale of two legislative sessions. In one state, lawmakers passed significant tax reform that lowers tax rates across the board,…
Why Did Reform Die in 2013?
WHEN THE ISSUE IS THE PRESERVATION OF POWER, REFORM HASN’T GOT A CHANCE In 2013, despite all the rhetoric with which the legislative year began, lawmakers failed to pass a…
Beware the Multiplier Effect
THEORIES ARE DEBATABLE. REALITY? NOT SO MUCH. When a public official wants to sell a big spending increase, he’ll almost inevitably justify it by claiming that it won’t just create…
The Bull Street Deal: Extreme Caution Advised
WHY TAXPAYERS DESERVE DETAILS – NOT VAGUE TALKING POINTS AND HIGHER TAXES On June 25th, the mayor of Columbia, Steve Benjamin, unveiled what’s being commonly called the “Bull Street Development Deal.” The…
The Real Problem with Regulation
GOV. HALEY’S TASK FORCE ON REGULATION HAS BEGUN TO MEET … HERE’S THE PROBLEM IT FACES Unfortunately, we live in a world in which pedicures and funeral parlor bathrooms are…
Project Conflict Watch: The SEI Response
WHY STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS DON’T MATTER Earlier this year, the Policy Council launched Project Conflict Watch, an initiative asking state elected officials to disclose their sources of private income…
Common Core in South Carolina: FAQs
WHAT IS IT? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT? Over the past several weeks, a great deal of controversy and discussions have arisen on…
How to Reduce S.C.’s Regulatory Burden
FIRST PRIORITY FOR GOV. HALEY’S REGULATORY TASK FORCE: A SUNSET LAW Is the General Assembly alone empowered to make laws in South Carolina? Not exactly. No fewer than 21 state…
Why Tax Reform Can’t Happen (Yet)
THINK THERE ARE GREAT ARGUMENTS FOR ELIMINATING THE CORPORATE INCOME TAX? SO DOES ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE. AND YET . . . In a red, “conservative” state like South Carolina,…
“Certificate of Need” Program: Not Needed
A PERNICIOUS BARRIER TO HEALTH CARE FREEDOM HAS COME DOWN. IT SHOULD STAY THAT WAY. Last Wednesday, South Carolina House lawmakers – possibly accidentally – enacted the most pro-liberty reform…
Test Your Knowledge of the S.C. State Budget
TAKE THE QUIZ … AFTER ALL, IT’S YOUR MONEY 1) How large is the total state budget? a. $6.5 billion b. $16.5 billion c. $22.8 billion d. $24.3 billion 2)…
Income Disclosure Laws: How Does S.C. Rank?
THERE IS NO COMPARISON. LITERALLY. South Carolinians have become accustomed to seeing their state placed at or near the wrong side of a variety of national rankings. Early childhood education,…
Why More Spending on 4K Education Won’t Work
INCREASED FUNDING FOR 4K EDUCATION SOUNDS GOOD. BUT DOES IT IMPROVE RESULTS? When it comes to public education the prevailing opinion among those in power is: More is better. More…
Is South Carolina Really a “Right to Work State”?
OUR ONLY LABOR UNION HAS MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK This week is National Employee Freedom week – a week intended to bring attention to the fact that people across…
What Will Gov. Haley Veto?
DO TAXPAYERS WANT TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING IN THIS YEAR’S $24.3 BILLION BUDGET? Last year, Governor Nikki Haley vetoed $57.1 million of a $23.6 billion budget – less than…
Road Maintenance Bill Heads to Governor
WHAT DOES IT DO? AND IS THIS A SOLUTION? [UPDATE: Gov. Haley signed H.3360 on Monday, June 24] The legislature has finalized the conference version of the last transportation bill…
Should S.C. Privatize Its Ports?
WHY DOES THE STATE OPERATE ITS OWN PORTS? GOOD QUESTION. One of the major issues debated this legislative session has been the state’s infrastructure and the need for improvement.…
What Will ‘Obamacare’ Mean for You?
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS ABOUT TO BE A BIG PART OF YOUR WORLD The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, has already begun to take…
Bureaucratic Middle Men in State Government
FOR GOVERNMENT, IT TAKES A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND MONEY South Carolina’s state budget now tops $24 billion – a staggering sum (and just to put that in…
Why Ethics Reform?
2013 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ‘YEAR OF ETHICS REFORM.’ IT WASN’T. SO DOES ANYONE CARE? At the conclusion of the 2013 legislative session, as the Senate prepared to vote…