The South Carolina Policy Council Archive

HIGH COURT UPHOLDS RULE OF LAW. BUT WHY SECRECY IN FURTHER HEARINGS? Wednesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court reversed an unprecedented and dangerous ruling issued by a Circuit Judge Casey…

WE’RE ALL THE BENEFICIARIES OF CREATIVE DESTRUCTION In recent weeks, taxi services have protested in Washington D.C., Boston, London, and elsewhere over the existence of ride-sharing services like Uber (or…

WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY ISN’T LOGIC BUT POWER South Carolina will never truly be considered the freest state in the nation until its citizens are able to keep more…

FAKE REFORM BILLS, NO EFFORT ON OBAMACARE, MASSIVE BUDGET INCREASE Every year should be a new opportunity in a supposedly “red” state like South Carolina for lawmakers to cut taxes,…

HOORAY FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT, RIGHT? After the General Assembly rammed through a record high $25.5 billion state budget with little public debate, Governor Nikki Haley had the opportunity to make…

 THIS 23-PAGE ‘ETHICS BILL’ ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK (UPDATE: The bill analyzed here died on the Senate floor before the sine die session ended on June 19, 2014.) The South…

  REGULATION STUNTS OUR ECONOMY AND HURTS CONSUMERS. HERE’S WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. South Carolina, like the rest of America, is suffering from burdensome regulation on individuals and businesses.…

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK The conference committee on H.3945 (the “ethics bill”) met on Wednesday to hash out differences in the House and Senate versions of the bill before…

A GREAT IDEA…BUT A LITTLE LATE This week, it came as a surprise to many when Governor Haley called for abolishing South Carolina’s income tax. This new proposal is significantly…

“THERE IS NO LIBERTY, IF THE POWER OF JUDGING BE NOT SEPARATED FROM THE LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE POWERS.” South Carolina state government is inordinately under control of the legislative branch.…

IN A WORD: INFLEXIBILITY “Common Core has nothing to do with curriculum, instruction, or testing.” No matter how many times Common Core’s most prominent supporters make that claim, it’s still…

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…

THE GOOD NEWS: THE STATE HAS ENOUGH TO FUND ROADS. THE BAD NEWS: LAWMAKERS WILL NEED TO GO WITHOUT PAY HIKES, CORPORATE WELFARE, AND PORK. State budgets are a big deal.…

“The lower court’s order is unprecedented in American law and unsupported by any known legal authority.” On May 19, Attorney General Alan Wilson filed an appeal with the Supreme Court…

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…

IT’S MORE THAN A SPAT BETWEEN POLITICIANS One June 24, 2014, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether Judge Casey Manning ruled properly when he shut down the Attorney…

THE GOVERNMENT CAN TAKE YOUR LAND FOR ALMOST ANY REASON. HERE’S WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. In June of 2005 the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in the now…

IT’S NOT JUST WRONG. IT’S DANGEROUS. Judge Casey Manning’s recent ruling in the matter of the state grand jury investigation of House Speaker Bobby Harrell will, if allowed to stand,…

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.…

APPARENTLY THE PURPOSE OF “ETHICS REFORM” IS TO USE ALL AVAILABLE MEANS TO PROTECT POLITICIANS FROM SCRUTINY The more lawmakers amend the ethics bill, the more we’re put in mind of…

THEY STIFLE COMPETITION AND PENALIZE LOW-INCOME CITIZENS. SO WHY DO S.C. LAWMAKERS LIKE THEM SO MUCH? Last week the Policy Council drew attention to the contrast between South Carolina’s free market reputation…

WILL COMMON CORE PREPARE YOUR KID FOR SUCCESS? UNFORTUNATELY, NO. Over the last year, we’ve seen a number of pro-Common Core publications that ask and purport to answer some variation of…

 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…

THINK S.C. LAWMAKERS ARE SERIOUS WHEN THEY EXTOL THE VIRTUES OF “LOW TAXES”? PREPARE TO BE DISAPPOINTED. South Carolina is known as a “red state” and a “conservative” state, and  so…

SOUTH CAROLINA MAY WITHDRAW FROM THE COMMON CORE-ALIGNED CONSORTIUM KNOWN AS SMARTER BALANCED. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? With the recent move by the South Carolina Department of Education to remove…

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 –…

ARE HOUSE MEMBERS USING THE LAW TO PROTECT SOMEONE? OR TO WARN SOMEONE? PERHAPS THEY SHOULD EXPLAIN. Over the last year, we’ve noticed a growing number of bills introduced for the…

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…

YOUR ELECTRICITY RATES ARE HIGH, AND GOING HIGHER. HERE’S THE REASON. In South Carolina – as in most other states – regulation has almost completely divorced the energy sector from the…