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.
Unleashing Capitalism A Prescription for Economic Prosperity in South Carolina FACT SHEET Capitalism (n): an economic system characterized by private ownership of capital goods and investments determined by private decision;…
By Dr. Jameson Taylor Director of Research TRAC Testimony: November 12, 2009 Lower the Rate and Eliminate Sales Tax Exemptions South Carolina needs sales tax reform that is equitable and…
HOW SCHOOL CHOICE CAN CREATE JOBS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA AN EXPERIMENTAL CASE STUDY OF FIVE COUNTIES Sven R. Larson, Ph.D. Our findings are based on the research of Russell…
South Carolina's Budget & Control Board (BCB) is a unique state agency, the only one of its kind in the country. While the Board itself is technically made up of…
As we review the best and worst environmental legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. Following a…
As we review the best and worst environmental legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. Following a…
As the Policy Council has previously reported, South Carolina’s Medicaid spending has increased rapidly in recent years. South Carolina already spends more than 20 percent of its total $21 billion…
As we review the best and worst health care legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to remerge during the 2010 session. Since…
As we review the best and worst economic development legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface in 2010. Politicians in South…
To entice legislators to send more money its way, the S.C. State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education will pay a Columbia advertising agency up to $200,000 to design a…
Authors: SCPC and Kevin Dietrich With the money Greenwood School District 52 spent on more than two dozen E-book reading devices this summer, it could have bought thousands of paperback…
Welcome to the inaugural publication of The S.C. General Assembly: Best & Worst of 2009. Our aim here is to highlight the best and worst ideas of the 2009 session.…
Instead of playing games with tax credits and economic development boondoggles, the best way for the state to attract new business is to lower taxes. In particular, lawmakers should eliminate…
By: Geoff Pallay and Kevin Dietrich Despite a lack of direction from federal officials, state agencies in South Carolina claim to be on track for complying with stimulus funding guidelines,…
Authors: SCPC and Geoff Pallay At the mention of tort reform at any one of the recent health care town halls across the state, crowds cheered with delight. Virtually no…
Alternative energy advocates unveiled elaborate visions of what green energy could mean for South Carolina’s future during a climate change conference last week at South Carolina State University. State and…
It would appear the “private” aspect of Innovista, originally touted as a “public-private partnership,” is all but dead. To date, USC’s research campus, which has cost taxpayers more than $100…
here were no two ways about it: as legislators worked through the spring to cobble together a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, they claimed South Carolina was on the…
South Carolina student performance on the 2009 SAT dropped by 9 points to a lowest-in-the-South average score of 1452, according to an S.C. Policy Council analysis of the 2009 College…
South Carolina’s performance on the ACT college entrance test dropped this year to an average score of 19.8, which ranks 46th in the nation. In 2008, the state’s average score…
Online check registers are an essential tool to make government spending decisions transparent and allow the public to see how their tax dollars are spent by government officials. In February,…
Citizens earning more than $32,879 rank amongst the wealthiest half of U.S. taxpayers and paid more than 97 percent of all income taxes in 2007, according to new IRS data…
Proposals now before Congress seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States through a “cap‐and‐trade” system, under which U.S. producers would receive tradable permits to emit greenhouse gasses.…
As the Budget & Control Board prepares to meet next week to discuss how to respond to the state’s current revenue shortfall of $92 million, they might consider making some…
When plans for Innovista, the University of South Carolina’s 500-acre research campus, were rolled out in 2005, it was touted as a can’t-miss project that would become a driving force…
In spite of a change in rules in January 2009 requiring recorded votes on contested pieces of legislation, the S.C. General Assembly did not record votes on most of the…
2009 General Assembly Voted Anonymously 75 Percent of the Time The South Carolina General Assembly recorded its votes on 532 out of 2,116 bills considered during the 2009 legislative session,…
The General Assembly voted Wednesday to override Governor Sanford’s veto of those parts (IA and III) of the budget (H 3560) that spend disputed federal stimulus dollars, with the Senate…
This year’s budget debate has not only been one of the most contentious in state history, it has produced the second-largest state budget in history ($20.7 billion), an increase in…
Legislation under consideration by the South Carolina Senate would raise the cigarette tax by 700 percent and cost the state more than 4,100 jobs, according to a dynamic analysis conducted…
Unleashing Capitalism Fact Sheet
Unleashing Capitalism A Prescription for Economic Prosperity in South Carolina FACT SHEET Capitalism (n): an economic system characterized by private ownership of capital goods and investments determined by private decision;…
Policy Council Testifies on Sales Tax
By Dr. Jameson Taylor Director of Research TRAC Testimony: November 12, 2009 Lower the Rate and Eliminate Sales Tax Exemptions South Carolina needs sales tax reform that is equitable and…
How School Choice Can Create Jobs
HOW SCHOOL CHOICE CAN CREATE JOBS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA AN EXPERIMENTAL CASE STUDY OF FIVE COUNTIES Sven R. Larson, Ph.D. Our findings are based on the research of Russell…
Fast Facts About the Budget & Control Board
South Carolina's Budget & Control Board (BCB) is a unique state agency, the only one of its kind in the country. While the Board itself is technically made up of…
A Review of Environmental Policy for 2009-2010
As we review the best and worst environmental legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. Following a…
A Review of Environmental Policy for 2009-2010
As we review the best and worst environmental legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. Following a…
S.C. Medicaid: More Spending, Lower Quality Care on the Horizon
As the Policy Council has previously reported, South Carolina’s Medicaid spending has increased rapidly in recent years. South Carolina already spends more than 20 percent of its total $21 billion…
The Best and Worst to Come: A Review of Health Care Policy for 2009-2010
As we review the best and worst health care legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to remerge during the 2010 session. Since…
The Best & Worst to Come: A Review of Economic Development Policy for 2009-2010
As we review the best and worst economic development legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface in 2010. Politicians in South…
Tech Schools Board Shells Out $200K for “Lobbying”
To entice legislators to send more money its way, the S.C. State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education will pay a Columbia advertising agency up to $200,000 to design a…
School District’s Foray into E-Books Inefficient, Ill-Advised
Authors: SCPC and Kevin Dietrich With the money Greenwood School District 52 spent on more than two dozen E-book reading devices this summer, it could have bought thousands of paperback…
The S.C. General Assembly: Best and Worst of 2009
Welcome to the inaugural publication of The S.C. General Assembly: Best & Worst of 2009. Our aim here is to highlight the best and worst ideas of the 2009 session.…
Fast Facts: South Carolina’s Corporate Income Tax
Instead of playing games with tax credits and economic development boondoggles, the best way for the state to attract new business is to lower taxes. In particular, lawmakers should eliminate…
Stimulus Task Force Says Agencies Moving Forward Despite Contradictions
By: Geoff Pallay and Kevin Dietrich Despite a lack of direction from federal officials, state agencies in South Carolina claim to be on track for complying with stimulus funding guidelines,…
Why Tort Reform Needs to Be Part of Health Care Reform
Authors: SCPC and Geoff Pallay At the mention of tort reform at any one of the recent health care town halls across the state, crowds cheered with delight. Virtually no…
A Look into the Future of Alternative Energy
Alternative energy advocates unveiled elaborate visions of what green energy could mean for South Carolina’s future during a climate change conference last week at South Carolina State University. State and…
Innovista: A Public-Private Partnership That’s All Public
It would appear the “private” aspect of Innovista, originally touted as a “public-private partnership,” is all but dead. To date, USC’s research campus, which has cost taxpayers more than $100…
Legislature Sticks Taxpayers With $1.45 Million Bill for Hydrogen Fueling Stations
here were no two ways about it: as legislators worked through the spring to cobble together a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, they claimed South Carolina was on the…
SAT Scores Drop, Achievement Gap Widens
South Carolina student performance on the 2009 SAT dropped by 9 points to a lowest-in-the-South average score of 1452, according to an S.C. Policy Council analysis of the 2009 College…
S.C. ACT Test Scores Decline Slightly
South Carolina’s performance on the ACT college entrance test dropped this year to an average score of 19.8, which ranks 46th in the nation. In 2008, the state’s average score…
Local Transparency
Online check registers are an essential tool to make government spending decisions transparent and allow the public to see how their tax dollars are spent by government officials. In February,…
IRS Says $32,000 Qualifies as Wealthy
Citizens earning more than $32,879 rank amongst the wealthiest half of U.S. taxpayers and paid more than 97 percent of all income taxes in 2007, according to new IRS data…
“Cap and Trade” to Cost SC Jobs
Proposals now before Congress seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States through a “cap‐and‐trade” system, under which U.S. producers would receive tradable permits to emit greenhouse gasses.…
Budget and Control Board Billing Should be Transparent, Competitive
As the Budget & Control Board prepares to meet next week to discuss how to respond to the state’s current revenue shortfall of $92 million, they might consider making some…
Innovista: State-Driven Economy Struggling Despite $140 Million in Taxpayer Support
When plans for Innovista, the University of South Carolina’s 500-acre research campus, were rolled out in 2005, it was touted as a can’t-miss project that would become a driving force…
Significant Legislation Passed by Voice Vote in 2009
In spite of a change in rules in January 2009 requiring recorded votes on contested pieces of legislation, the S.C. General Assembly did not record votes on most of the…
2009 General Assembly Voted Anonymously 75 Percent of the Time
2009 General Assembly Voted Anonymously 75 Percent of the Time The South Carolina General Assembly recorded its votes on 532 out of 2,116 bills considered during the 2009 legislative session,…
SC Budget FY09-2010 Summary Review
The General Assembly voted Wednesday to override Governor Sanford’s veto of those parts (IA and III) of the budget (H 3560) that spend disputed federal stimulus dollars, with the Senate…
Five Myths About the FY09-2010 State Budget
This year’s budget debate has not only been one of the most contentious in state history, it has produced the second-largest state budget in history ($20.7 billion), an increase in…
Proposed Cigarette Tax Increase to Cost SC 4,100 Private-Sector Jobs
Legislation under consideration by the South Carolina Senate would raise the cigarette tax by 700 percent and cost the state more than 4,100 jobs, according to a dynamic analysis conducted…