TECHNICALLY, YES. IN EVERY OTHER WAY, NO. Twenty-four billion is a large number. No one has ever seen 24 billion dollars all together, so it’s difficult to imagine an amount…
IT WON’T CAP SPENDING IF GOVERNMENT GETS TO KEEP THE MONEY Yet another legislative session is about to pass in which there was some talk about controlling state spending, but…
WHY THE BUDGET TAKES HALF A YEAR TO PASS, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT It has become an almost yearly tradition for the South Carolina General Assembly to use…
(WITHOUT RAISING TAXES) How do lawmakers propose to deal with the fact that South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in suboptimal shape? The governing assumption behind most answers to this…
THE LATEST PROPOSAL TO FIX OUR ROADS ASSUMES STATE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY Last week, H.3412 was placed on the Senate calendar for consideration. Originally the bill would have…
LOTS OF PUBLIC MONEY, VERY LITTLE PUBLIC INPUT Budget debate will begin on the Senate floor today. The budget was passed out of committee May 3, and made publicly available…
MANY SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICIANS HAVE SPOKEN OUT STRONGLY AGAINST OBAMACARE. THEIR ACTIONS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. In March, Governor Nikki Haley publicly stated that “as long as [she is] the…
FINES AND FEES GO UP WHEN TAX REVENUES ARE DOWN … AND WHEN THEY’RE UP, TOO For the last decade, the majority party in both chambers of the legislature has…
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
CLEARLY, LAWMAKERS HAD GOOD REASONS TO KEEP H.3945 SECRET The talk this week has been mainly about the ill-named ethics reform bill being debated in the South Carolina House.…
HOW STATE FAVORITISM HURTS TAXPAYERS AND DRIVES UP ENERGY PRICES An attempt to loosen South Carolina energy regulation and licensing constraints for the benefit of solar energy firms has gained…
HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES COMPROMISE AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT VALUE Equality and liberty are not always compatible and in some cases directly opposed, but there is one notion of equality that is…
S.22 ISN’T ABOUT SEPARATING POWERS. AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN On government restructuring, it’s déjà vu all over again. As happened last year, the Senate passed a weak restructuring bill, S.22, that…
IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO IMPROVE A BADLY FLAWED “SCHOOL CHOICE” BILL, HERE’S WHERE TO BEGIN We recently released our initial analysis of S.279, the most prominent “school choice” bill currently…
WHY THE RUSH TO PUT FUTURE TAXPAYERS 120,000,000 MORE DOLLARS INTO DEBT? The news broke this week that Boeing plans to expand its existing North Charleston campus to include an…
It’s the beginning of April and lawmakers‘ two-week furlough is almost up, leaving us at roughly the half-way point of the 2013 legislative session. This was supposed to be the…
HOW SOUTH CAROLINA’S GOVERNMENT IS UNDERMINING ITS MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION Low taxes, minimal regulations, a competent workforce. These are usually considered the most important qualities a state can foster in…
IT’S ALL ABOUT POWER (A LOT OF IT) AND ACCOUNTABILITY (NONE OF IT) Last week, we posted a brief analysis of S.535, legislation that would create a murky new…
A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE Obamacare by Another Means While the governor and Speaker of the House are promoting what they call an “alternative” to Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid,…
WHY KEEP TRYING TO ‘COMPETE’ ON OUR COMPETITORS’ TERMS? For generations, South Carolina lawmakers of both parties have shown an unwavering commitment to the idea that special tax incentives encourage…
JUST BECAUSE STATES CAN’T PRINT THEIR OWN MONEY DOESN’T MEAN THEY CAN’T ACCUMULATE DEBT … LOTS OF DEBT In a recent study by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), South…
THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE Many government officials in South Carolina, particularly elected officials, take pride in frequently announcing that South Carolina is one of the most business…
ANSWER: BECAUSE SOMEBODY SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR CORRUPTION There is probably no more boring word in the English language than procurement. And yet, if you pay taxes, it should be…
TAXPAYERS ARE GETTING POORER. GOVERNMENT ISN’T. Lately a number of commentators have tried to make the case that South Carolina is already a lean model of low taxes and limited…
SINCE WHEN DOES ‘RESERVE’ MEAN ‘SLUSH’? As has become a yearly tradition, legislators have voted to raid the Capital Reserve Fund to funnel money to their own pet projects. The…
STEP NO. 1: ELIMINATE THE HALF THAT ALMOST NOBODY CAN READ Each fiscal year, the South Carolina state budget is split into two major pieces: Part 1A and Part 1B.…
. . . AND HOW NOT TO FUND IT State lawmakers have introduced a new plan to increase funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT) without raising revenues or fees.…
. . . A LOT THAT YOU’LL NEVER KNOW ABOUT. HERE’S WHY. Over the last two years, the Policy Council has repeatedly stressed the importance of a law that…
…BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT YOUR MONEY AND WHO’S ACCOUNTABLE FOR SPENDING IT If the General Assembly is going to restructure government, it’s worth remembering the point of restructuring – separation…
THE HOUSE GOP ‘ALTERNATIVE’ TO OBAMACARE AND THE WINNERS & LOSERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S HEALTH CARE DEBATE We recently reported that House Republicans introduced an alternative plan to ObamaCare in a…
Does S.C. “Live within Its Means”?
TECHNICALLY, YES. IN EVERY OTHER WAY, NO. Twenty-four billion is a large number. No one has ever seen 24 billion dollars all together, so it’s difficult to imagine an amount…
Another Useless Attempt to Cap Spending
IT WON’T CAP SPENDING IF GOVERNMENT GETS TO KEEP THE MONEY Yet another legislative session is about to pass in which there was some talk about controlling state spending, but…
The State Budget Shouldn’t Take This Long
WHY THE BUDGET TAKES HALF A YEAR TO PASS, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT It has become an almost yearly tradition for the South Carolina General Assembly to use…
How to Fund Road Maintenance
(WITHOUT RAISING TAXES) How do lawmakers propose to deal with the fact that South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in suboptimal shape? The governing assumption behind most answers to this…
The Answer to Road Funding: Tax Hikes?
THE LATEST PROPOSAL TO FIX OUR ROADS ASSUMES STATE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY Last week, H.3412 was placed on the Senate calendar for consideration. Originally the bill would have…
Senate Finance Budget: What to Keep an Eye On
LOTS OF PUBLIC MONEY, VERY LITTLE PUBLIC INPUT Budget debate will begin on the Senate floor today. The budget was passed out of committee May 3, and made publicly available…
ObamaCare by the Back Door?
MANY SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICIANS HAVE SPOKEN OUT STRONGLY AGAINST OBAMACARE. THEIR ACTIONS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. In March, Governor Nikki Haley publicly stated that “as long as [she is] the…
Why the State Budget Grows … No Matter What
FINES AND FEES GO UP WHEN TAX REVENUES ARE DOWN … AND WHEN THEY’RE UP, TOO For the last decade, the majority party in both chambers of the legislature has…
Transportation Funding: The Current Options
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
The Ethics Reform That Isn’t
CLEARLY, LAWMAKERS HAD GOOD REASONS TO KEEP H.3945 SECRET The talk this week has been mainly about the ill-named ethics reform bill being debated in the South Carolina House.…
Renewable Energy: What’s the State’s Role?
HOW STATE FAVORITISM HURTS TAXPAYERS AND DRIVES UP ENERGY PRICES An attempt to loosen South Carolina energy regulation and licensing constraints for the benefit of solar energy firms has gained…
Liberty, Equality … and Corporate Welfare
HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES COMPROMISE AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT VALUE Equality and liberty are not always compatible and in some cases directly opposed, but there is one notion of equality that is…
Restructuring Update: déjà vu all over again?
S.22 ISN’T ABOUT SEPARATING POWERS. AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN On government restructuring, it’s déjà vu all over again. As happened last year, the Senate passed a weak restructuring bill, S.22, that…
Making a Flawed School Choice Bill (Slightly) Better
IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO IMPROVE A BADLY FLAWED “SCHOOL CHOICE” BILL, HERE’S WHERE TO BEGIN We recently released our initial analysis of S.279, the most prominent “school choice” bill currently…
Boeing Bond Deal Needs Explanation
WHY THE RUSH TO PUT FUTURE TAXPAYERS 120,000,000 MORE DOLLARS INTO DEBT? The news broke this week that Boeing plans to expand its existing North Charleston campus to include an…
Half Time Ethics Report
It’s the beginning of April and lawmakers‘ two-week furlough is almost up, leaving us at roughly the half-way point of the 2013 legislative session. This was supposed to be the…
Asset Forfeiture & Property Rights in S.C.
HOW SOUTH CAROLINA’S GOVERNMENT IS UNDERMINING ITS MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION Low taxes, minimal regulations, a competent workforce. These are usually considered the most important qualities a state can foster in…
An “Enterprise Division” for Clemson?
IT’S ALL ABOUT POWER (A LOT OF IT) AND ACCOUNTABILITY (NONE OF IT) Last week, we posted a brief analysis of S.535, legislation that would create a murky new…
The Health Care Debate in South Carolina
A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE Obamacare by Another Means While the governor and Speaker of the House are promoting what they call an “alternative” to Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid,…
Wanted: A New Approach to Economic Development
WHY KEEP TRYING TO ‘COMPETE’ ON OUR COMPETITORS’ TERMS? For generations, South Carolina lawmakers of both parties have shown an unwavering commitment to the idea that special tax incentives encourage…
S.C.’s “Debt Limit” Not So Limited
JUST BECAUSE STATES CAN’T PRINT THEIR OWN MONEY DOESN’T MEAN THEY CAN’T ACCUMULATE DEBT … LOTS OF DEBT In a recent study by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), South…
Is South Carolina “Business Friendly” ?
THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE Many government officials in South Carolina, particularly elected officials, take pride in frequently announcing that South Carolina is one of the most business…
Why Is Procurement Such a Big Deal?
ANSWER: BECAUSE SOMEBODY SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR CORRUPTION There is probably no more boring word in the English language than procurement. And yet, if you pay taxes, it should be…
Is State Government Shrinking – or Growing?
TAXPAYERS ARE GETTING POORER. GOVERNMENT ISN’T. Lately a number of commentators have tried to make the case that South Carolina is already a lean model of low taxes and limited…
Capital “Reserve” Fund?
SINCE WHEN DOES ‘RESERVE’ MEAN ‘SLUSH’? As has become a yearly tradition, legislators have voted to raid the Capital Reserve Fund to funnel money to their own pet projects. The…
Budget Transparency: How to Get There
STEP NO. 1: ELIMINATE THE HALF THAT ALMOST NOBODY CAN READ Each fiscal year, the South Carolina state budget is split into two major pieces: Part 1A and Part 1B.…
How to Fund Road Maintenance
. . . AND HOW NOT TO FUND IT State lawmakers have introduced a new plan to increase funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT) without raising revenues or fees.…
What’s in the S.C. State Budget?
. . . A LOT THAT YOU’LL NEVER KNOW ABOUT. HERE’S WHY. Over the last two years, the Policy Council has repeatedly stressed the importance of a law that…
Why Is Bonding Authority a Big Deal?
…BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT YOUR MONEY AND WHO’S ACCOUNTABLE FOR SPENDING IT If the General Assembly is going to restructure government, it’s worth remembering the point of restructuring – separation…
ObamaCare Light?
THE HOUSE GOP ‘ALTERNATIVE’ TO OBAMACARE AND THE WINNERS & LOSERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S HEALTH CARE DEBATE We recently reported that House Republicans introduced an alternative plan to ObamaCare in a…