IT’LL ONLY GO AWAY WHEN LAWMAKERS LEARN TO TURN AWAY FEDERAL CASH On several recent occasions we’ve heard pundits or public officials – and in one case a candidate for…
SH.3945 HAS GIVEN LAWMAKERS FAR TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO BAD THINGS The House version of the “ethics reform bill,” H.3945, approved this week, is a beautiful example of why…
WE KNOW, YOU WON’T CUT MUCH. BUT COULD YOU AT LEAST SKIM A LITTLE? The Senate is set to take up the budget recently approved by the Senate Finance Committee.…
A BRIEF LOOK AT WHY The latest ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index ranks South Carolina’s economic outlook at 31st in the nation. That’s right. Despite handing out hundreds of millions…
LEGISLATORS’ ARGUMENTS FAIL TO PERSUADE H.5072 – one of the most brazen acts of legislative retaliation we’ve ever witnessed – would allow the House and Senate to authorize a special prosecutor to investigate…
ARE LAWMAKERS GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT REGULATION? The Policy Council has pointed out before the economically destructive effects of regulation. We’ve also argued that regulation is often – perhaps usually –…
THE STICKING POINT: SELF-POLICING A House Judiciary subcommittee met on Tuesday to once again take up the “ethics bill” – H.3945. Versions of the bill have already passed both the…
PERSONAL FUNDING REQUESTS SHOULDN’T BE ANONYMOUS A vast amount of money, but you know virtually nothing about what’s being spent, or why. That’s not because you’re uninformed – the state…
LAWMAKERS’ ANSWER TO UNFAIRNESS: PUNISH MORE BUSINESSES, NOT FEWER Almost all forms of taxation raise the question of fairness. Why does one person pay a higher percentage of his or…
“Veterans” of the South Carolina Senate know the Senate rules and Jefferson’s Manual like the back of their hands. To the untrained eyes and ears, the legislative “code” used in…
THE CLOCK IS TICKING… An omnibus “ethics” bill has passed the House and the Senate in different versions. That bill, which could be considered more of an income disclosure bill…
SO THIS IS THEIR IDEA OF “CONSERVATIVE” BUDGETING? Despite South Carolina politicians’ claims over the past decade that South Carolina has a “conservative” budget, the FY 2014-15 budget passed by…
Originally released to media on Thursday, March 13, 2014. A report by The State that Speaker Harrell’s attorneys are trying to get the Attorney General thrown off of Harrell’s case…
WHERE DOES THE ETHICS BILL STAND TODAY? The famous (and at times notorious) “ethics bill,” having recently passed the Senate, may soon head to conference committee. The House can propose…
THE SHORT ANSWER: YES, BUT . . . This week on the Senate floor, a member recited two familiar – but no less remarkable – facts: In 2000, South Carolina…
The K-12 The Education Subcommittee met Wednesday to discuss bills related to Common Core, most notably, S.300 that, as originally written, would prohibit the use of Common Core academic standards…
WHERE’S THE MONEY GOING? HOW MUCH? WHAT FOR? The federal health care law known as “ObamaCare” gets more unpopular every week, but the question for citizens and policymakers is…
WHY NOW? On Wednesday February 5, the Senate Education K-12 Subcommittee heard six short presentations on Common Core – three for and three against – in a packed room full…
‘SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE IT’ ISN’T A SUFFICIENT REASON TO CURTAIL INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY “Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will,” wrote Thomas Jefferson in a letter of 1819,…
COMMITTEE WON’T MAKE DECISION, CITIZENS PAY THE PRICE In February of 2012 the State Board of Education approved the use of SMARTER Balanced assessments – the tests made by a “consortium”…
IF AN ETHICS REFORM BILL ALLOWS LAWMAKERS TO CONTINUE POLICING THEMSELVES, IS IT REALLY AN ETHICS REFORM BILL? During a brief debate on H. 3945 – a bill most legislators…
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER RECORD BUDGET At roughly $25 billion, it can be said that the executive budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15 is the most liberal in state history. While the…
THE TROUBLE IS: MORE MONEY ≠ BETTER PERFORMANCE Last week Governor Haley unveiled her K-12 Education Reform Initiative for South Carolina. The governor’s new plan is consistent with most education improvement…
KEEP AN EYE ON THESE Throughout December, lawmakers pre-filed their bills for the 2014 legislative session – 102 in the Senate and 83 in the House. It’s extremely difficult to…
WHAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA, ISN’T Minimum wage workers around the country, including workers in South Carolina, made headlines recently when they protested in favor of higher wages. “America can’t…
ONCE UPON A TIME, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COULDN’T BAN A PRODUCT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WANTED TO A bill pre-filed in the South Carolina Senate will likely attract a lot of…
MORE MONEY FOR K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION: A GOOD IDEA? State agencies virtually always ask for more money than they had last year. That’s what they do – even, or especially,…
‘NULLIFYING’ COMMON CORE WON’T MAKE IT GO AWAY, BUT A BILL NOW IN THE LEGISLATURE WOULD GIVE TAXPAYERS SOME SAY IN THE MATTER The first step toward removing Common…
WHAT COMES AFTER THE WELFARE STATE? Today the welfare state is omnipresent in every part of the United States. The federal budget is dominated by entitlement spending, with 45 percent…
YOUNG AND HEALTHY? BE READY TO PAY UP. Now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is actually being implemented, many Americans are not pleased with the law. One population of…
Sadly, Common Core Is Not Dead
IT’LL ONLY GO AWAY WHEN LAWMAKERS LEARN TO TURN AWAY FEDERAL CASH On several recent occasions we’ve heard pundits or public officials – and in one case a candidate for…
House Version of “Ethics Reform”: Smoke & Mirrors
SH.3945 HAS GIVEN LAWMAKERS FAR TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO BAD THINGS The House version of the “ethics reform bill,” H.3945, approved this week, is a beautiful example of why…
Hey Senators, Here’s What to Cut
WE KNOW, YOU WON’T CUT MUCH. BUT COULD YOU AT LEAST SKIM A LITTLE? The Senate is set to take up the budget recently approved by the Senate Finance Committee.…
S.C.’s Economic Outlook Still Lackluster
A BRIEF LOOK AT WHY The latest ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index ranks South Carolina’s economic outlook at 31st in the nation. That’s right. Despite handing out hundreds of millions…
Lawmakers’ Latest Power Grab: Just the Facts
LEGISLATORS’ ARGUMENTS FAIL TO PERSUADE H.5072 – one of the most brazen acts of legislative retaliation we’ve ever witnessed – would allow the House and Senate to authorize a special prosecutor to investigate…
New Deregulation Bills Filed
ARE LAWMAKERS GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT REGULATION? The Policy Council has pointed out before the economically destructive effects of regulation. We’ve also argued that regulation is often – perhaps usually –…
The Ethics Bill: Still Alive, for Now
THE STICKING POINT: SELF-POLICING A House Judiciary subcommittee met on Tuesday to once again take up the “ethics bill” – H.3945. Versions of the bill have already passed both the…
Making Earmarks Public
PERSONAL FUNDING REQUESTS SHOULDN’T BE ANONYMOUS A vast amount of money, but you know virtually nothing about what’s being spent, or why. That’s not because you’re uninformed – the state…
A Crackdown on Accommodations Tax “Evaders”
LAWMAKERS’ ANSWER TO UNFAIRNESS: PUNISH MORE BUSINESSES, NOT FEWER Almost all forms of taxation raise the question of fairness. Why does one person pay a higher percentage of his or…
Senate Leadership Gets Taste of Own ‘Rules’ Medicine
“Veterans” of the South Carolina Senate know the Senate rules and Jefferson’s Manual like the back of their hands. To the untrained eyes and ears, the legislative “code” used in…
Last Minute Chances at Ethics Reform?
THE CLOCK IS TICKING… An omnibus “ethics” bill has passed the House and the Senate in different versions. That bill, which could be considered more of an income disclosure bill…
State Budget Skyrockets in Ten Years
SO THIS IS THEIR IDEA OF “CONSERVATIVE” BUDGETING? Despite South Carolina politicians’ claims over the past decade that South Carolina has a “conservative” budget, the FY 2014-15 budget passed by…
SCPC Statement on Speaker Harrell
Originally released to media on Thursday, March 13, 2014. A report by The State that Speaker Harrell’s attorneys are trying to get the Attorney General thrown off of Harrell’s case…
The Ethics Bill: House vs. Senate
WHERE DOES THE ETHICS BILL STAND TODAY? The famous (and at times notorious) “ethics bill,” having recently passed the Senate, may soon head to conference committee. The House can propose…
Should Economic Incentives Be Evaluated?
THE SHORT ANSWER: YES, BUT . . . This week on the Senate floor, a member recited two familiar – but no less remarkable – facts: In 2000, South Carolina…
Anti-Common Core Legislation: Update
The K-12 The Education Subcommittee met Wednesday to discuss bills related to Common Core, most notably, S.300 that, as originally written, would prohibit the use of Common Core academic standards…
How Do We Stop ObamaCare? Transparency.
WHERE’S THE MONEY GOING? HOW MUCH? WHAT FOR? The federal health care law known as “ObamaCare” gets more unpopular every week, but the question for citizens and policymakers is…
Lawmakers Meet on Common Core – 3.5 Years Too Late
WHY NOW? On Wednesday February 5, the Senate Education K-12 Subcommittee heard six short presentations on Common Core – three for and three against – in a packed room full…
Banning E-Cigs: WWFD?
‘SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE IT’ ISN’T A SUFFICIENT REASON TO CURTAIL INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY “Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will,” wrote Thomas Jefferson in a letter of 1819,…
Education Oversight Committee Passes the Buck on Common Core
COMMITTEE WON’T MAKE DECISION, CITIZENS PAY THE PRICE In February of 2012 the State Board of Education approved the use of SMARTER Balanced assessments – the tests made by a “consortium”…
Is Legislative Self-Policing Really a Problem?
IF AN ETHICS REFORM BILL ALLOWS LAWMAKERS TO CONTINUE POLICING THEMSELVES, IS IT REALLY AN ETHICS REFORM BILL? During a brief debate on H. 3945 – a bill most legislators…
Governor Proposes Most Liberal Budget in SC History
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER RECORD BUDGET At roughly $25 billion, it can be said that the executive budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15 is the most liberal in state history. While the…
Gov. Haley’s Education Plan: More Money
THE TROUBLE IS: MORE MONEY ≠ BETTER PERFORMANCE Last week Governor Haley unveiled her K-12 Education Reform Initiative for South Carolina. The governor’s new plan is consistent with most education improvement…
Top Ten Bills to Watch
KEEP AN EYE ON THESE Throughout December, lawmakers pre-filed their bills for the 2014 legislative session – 102 in the Senate and 83 in the House. It’s extremely difficult to…
Why Raising the Minimum Wage Raises Unemployment, Too
WHAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA, ISN’T Minimum wage workers around the country, including workers in South Carolina, made headlines recently when they protested in favor of higher wages. “America can’t…
Allowing Hemp Cultivation: WWFD?
ONCE UPON A TIME, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COULDN’T BAN A PRODUCT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WANTED TO A bill pre-filed in the South Carolina Senate will likely attract a lot of…
What You’ll Be Spending in 2014, Part II
MORE MONEY FOR K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION: A GOOD IDEA? State agencies virtually always ask for more money than they had last year. That’s what they do – even, or especially,…
Rejecting Common Core – and the Structure that Made It Possible
‘NULLIFYING’ COMMON CORE WON’T MAKE IT GO AWAY, BUT A BILL NOW IN THE LEGISLATURE WOULD GIVE TAXPAYERS SOME SAY IN THE MATTER The first step toward removing Common…
The History and Lessons of Mutual Aid
WHAT COMES AFTER THE WELFARE STATE? Today the welfare state is omnipresent in every part of the United States. The federal budget is dominated by entitlement spending, with 45 percent…
S.C.’s Young, Healthy Adults: ObamaCare’s Impact
YOUNG AND HEALTHY? BE READY TO PAY UP. Now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is actually being implemented, many Americans are not pleased with the law. One population of…