Limited Government | Free Enterprise | Individual Liberty
Author: South Carolina Policy Council
Since 1986 the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation has advocated innovative policy ideas that advance the principles of limited government and free enterprise. The Policy Council is the state’s meeting place for business leaders, policymakers, and academics – as well as engaged citizens – who want to see South Carolina become the most free state in the nation.
For questions or comments on the articles on this website, please email Research Director Jamie Murguia.
WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDERS DO? In compiling our guide to the year’s legislation, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly, we found ourselves asking a simple but important…
S.C.’S SESSION SUFFOCATES REFORM AND CULTIVATES FULL-TIME POLITICIANS: WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDERS DO? The Policy Council has long taken the view that South Carolina’s legislative session is far too long.…
LIKE IT OR NOT, THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXISTS Among the few excellent bills filed during the 2013 legislative session – and analyzed in our Best & Worst guide (download here) – is H.3059. This refreshingly…
SOUTH CAROLINIANS ARE PAYING BILLIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE? On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce, and Industry met to discuss a massive debt owed by…
FIRST, THEY’D SCRATCH THEIR HEADS AND ASK WHY IT WAS NECESSARY In this year’s Best & Worst of the General Assembly (and here’s a polite reminder that you can download…
THREE PROVISIONS THAT SHOULD BE AMENDED, PRONTO Today, a Senate Select Committee on Ethics will consider H.3945, the ethics bill that failed to make it out of the Senate last…
IT’S A QUESTION WORTH ASKING Earlier this month, the Policy Council issued our annual guide to the year’s legislative session, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly. In the…
HERE’S WHY WE’RE LOSING: OUR TAXES ARE HIGHER We’ve leveled a lot of criticisms at the South Carolina Department of Commerce over the last several years, and will no doubt…
MAYBE, BUT IT MAY TAKE MORE THAN PASSING A LAW Opponents of Common Core, the nationalized set of academic standards currently being imposed on South Carolina public schools, are wondering…
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS POINTLESSNESS OF MORE GUN LAWS South Carolina, as we contended in an August commentary, doesn’t deserve its fiercely pro-gun reputation – at least, not if the criterion…
DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A CURRICULUM YOU WOULD CHOOSE? In Part I of our analysis of Common Core-based curriculum material, we discussed some problematic lesson plans disseminated by Student Achievement…
NOTHING WRONG WITH MYTHS … JUST DON’T REPEAT THEM AS FACT Since the conclusion of the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers have been blasting out emails that boast of the year’s…
A LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLAN TO DEFINE THE HOMELESS AS CRIMINALS PRESENTS ITS OWN SET OF PROBLEMS You don’t have to go to the shelter, but you can’t stay here.…
WONDER WHAT YOUR LAWMAKERS WERE UP TO IN 2013? IT’S ALL HERE. Our annual guide to the year’s legislative session, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly, has been…
A RECENT EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING SUGGESTS JUST HOW MUCH POWER WE’RE GIVING AWAY “Security has asked me to advise that they are in attendance. If there are any outbursts…
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…
W.W.F.D.?
WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDERS DO? In compiling our guide to the year’s legislation, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly, we found ourselves asking a simple but important…
Half-Year Legislative Sessions: WWFD?
S.C.’S SESSION SUFFOCATES REFORM AND CULTIVATES FULL-TIME POLITICIANS: WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDERS DO? The Policy Council has long taken the view that South Carolina’s legislative session is far too long.…
Unlawful Seizure of Cell Phones: What Would George Mason Say?
LIKE IT OR NOT, THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXISTS Among the few excellent bills filed during the 2013 legislative session – and analyzed in our Best & Worst guide (download here) – is H.3059. This refreshingly…
A New Approach to Unemployment?
SOUTH CAROLINIANS ARE PAYING BILLIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE? On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce, and Industry met to discuss a massive debt owed by…
‘Restaurant Carry’: What Would the Founders Say?
FIRST, THEY’D SCRATCH THEIR HEADS AND ASK WHY IT WAS NECESSARY In this year’s Best & Worst of the General Assembly (and here’s a polite reminder that you can download…
The Ethics Bill Is Back
THREE PROVISIONS THAT SHOULD BE AMENDED, PRONTO Today, a Senate Select Committee on Ethics will consider H.3945, the ethics bill that failed to make it out of the Senate last…
What Would the Founders Do about Medicaid Expansion?
IT’S A QUESTION WORTH ASKING Earlier this month, the Policy Council issued our annual guide to the year’s legislative session, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly. In the…
South Carolina’s Uncompetitive Income Tax
HERE’S WHY WE’RE LOSING: OUR TAXES ARE HIGHER We’ve leveled a lot of criticisms at the South Carolina Department of Commerce over the last several years, and will no doubt…
Can Common Core Be Stopped?
MAYBE, BUT IT MAY TAKE MORE THAN PASSING A LAW Opponents of Common Core, the nationalized set of academic standards currently being imposed on South Carolina public schools, are wondering…
Why S.C. Should Resist Federal Coercion on Gun Laws
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS POINTLESSNESS OF MORE GUN LAWS South Carolina, as we contended in an August commentary, doesn’t deserve its fiercely pro-gun reputation – at least, not if the criterion…
What Will Our Children Learn Under Common Core? – Part II
DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A CURRICULUM YOU WOULD CHOOSE? In Part I of our analysis of Common Core-based curriculum material, we discussed some problematic lesson plans disseminated by Student Achievement…
S.C. Politicians’ Talking Points: Myths vs. Facts
NOTHING WRONG WITH MYTHS … JUST DON’T REPEAT THEM AS FACT Since the conclusion of the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers have been blasting out emails that boast of the year’s…
Best_Worst_2013_Online_b
What (Not) to Do about the Homeless
A LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLAN TO DEFINE THE HOMELESS AS CRIMINALS PRESENTS ITS OWN SET OF PROBLEMS You don’t have to go to the shelter, but you can’t stay here.…
Best & Worst of the General Assembly is Here
WONDER WHAT YOUR LAWMAKERS WERE UP TO IN 2013? IT’S ALL HERE. Our annual guide to the year’s legislative session, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly, has been…
S.C. Public Education & the Common Core Zeitgeist
A RECENT EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING SUGGESTS JUST HOW MUCH POWER WE’RE GIVING AWAY “Security has asked me to advise that they are in attendance. If there are any outbursts…
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…