Category: Research

Legislative leaders are claiming that South Carolina “has the lowest state taxes in the nation.” If only it were true. Unfortunately the claim confuses tax collections and tax rates. It’s…

The Legislature has sent the state budget to the governor’s desk. As expected, it’s wasteful, irresponsible, and displays a poor sense of priorities. There are scores of examples to choose…

The Budget & Control Board is the only agency of its kind in the nation – a legislative/executive hybrid with vast powers and virtually no accountability. After 61 years, lawmakers…

States use different budget categories to differentiate the sources and purposes of different revenue streams. South Carolina, like other states, has multiple funding categories. Broadly speaking, state spending is divided…

Government spending grew every year from 2002 to 2009. In 2010, the overall budget decreased by less than a half of 1 percent – not because lawmakers cut spending, but…

Legislators are almost finished with the state budget. Here’s a taste of what’s in it ...

Irresponsible government spending doesn’t always happen in the open. Sometimes it’s hidden by a smokescreen of complicated budgeting practices. Take this year’s Senate Finance Budget . . . .

What happened to the ‘tough budget year’? A few weeks ago we reported that the House version of the budget was larger than last year’s budget by about half a…

Government-driven economic development is a secretive process in which politicians give away tax exemptions, subsidies, and other taxpayer-funded incentives to private companies. Politicians “invest” tax dollars without disclosing any meaningful…

After the headlines, after the press releases and fanfare, where do all these investments go? Some of them go south and take millions of tax dollars with them.

For years, the General Assembly has shut the door, cut deals with lobbyists and given away billions of dollars in incentives. Here's what you can do about it.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 – Today South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess was joined by taxpayer advocates and grassroots leaders from across the state to present SCPC’s research on…

Bad budget provisos: Provisos are lines in the state budget that give temporary authorizations for the use of state money. Like federal earmarks, they’re usually inserted into the budget by…

The federal government has given states a choice: either create a “health exchange” to comply with the new federal health care law, or the feds will do it themselves. The…

A list of free-market alternatives to the creation of a state-based health care exchange – a major component of the federal government’s takeover of the health insurance market.

In 2008, the South Carolina Policy Council wanted to know why state spending was so high, so we started to look at how lawmakers were voting. We found there was…

In 2008 the South Carolina Policy Council wanted to know why state spending was so high, so we started to look at how lawmakers were voting. We found there was…

The House budget, as passed by the full Ways & Means Committee, was finally posted yesterday. The budget (H 3700) is expected to go to the floor for a vote…

The budget is expected to hit the House floor on March 15. According to various media outlets, that budget is $5.2 billion. But as the Policy Council has written before,…

For the past few decades, states have experimented with various forms of zero- and performance-based budgeting practices as a means of making state agencies more efficient and accountable. Many states,…

The concentration of power in South Carolina’s legislature is such that the executive branch is generally unable to institute major reforms without the cooperation of the Legislature, whether stemming from…

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more popularly known as “Obamacare,” is expected to cost trillions and increase the national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. All…

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is expected to cost trillions and increase the national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. All in all, taxpayers are looking…

Every lawmaker in South Carolina seems to support roll call voting. And for good reason. Citizens have a fundamental right to know how their representatives are voting. Still, legislators continue…

As the 119th session of the General Assembly begins, roll call voting remains a hot button issue. Of the 11 bills currently before the General Assembly, we’ve identified five of…

In 2009 and 2010, the House and Senate combined only recorded 25 percent of their votes. Significant laws that didn’t receive a recorded vote in the Senate range from multimillion…

Each year we review the best and worst ideas taken up during the legislative session, focusing on those bills that will either make South Carolina more free and more prosperous…

As South Carolina Senators are deliberating a Senate Resolution (cf. S 9) to require roll call voting in the S.C. General Assembly, we have analyzed more roll call voting bills…

With a new session comes more opportunities for the General Assembly to pass legislation impacting the lives of South Carolinians. As the stimulus money comes off the books this year,…

We have concluded that a formula based on supply (available revenue as measured by economic productivity) rather than demand (the perceived need for governmental services) provides the best measure for…