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…
State Program Spends Millions Despite Expired Legislative Authorization
The Senior Center Improvement Program was created almost 20 years ago to finance improvements to 74 senior centers through South Carolina, but nearly a decade after the original projects were…
Who Pays SC State Income Tax?
As South Carolinians across the state prepare for the April 15 tax filing deadline, a Policy Council analysis of the state income tax system finds that more than 30 percent…
Long-Term Liability Challenges for South Carolina Taxpayers
South Carolina taxpayers currently face serious long-term financial challenges based upon a review of the July 1, 2008actuarial report of the largest statewide pension plan – the South Carolina Retirement…
The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: A South Carolina Perspective
Federal government spending comes with costs; it should not be accepted as the free-lunch it is frequently considered to be. Every dollar the government spends must first be removed from…
The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: A South Carolina Perspective
By: Donna Arduin Arthur B. Laffer, Ph.D. Wayne H. Winegarden, Ph.D. Ian McDonough Click here to view the PDF version of this report.
The $21 Billion Budget: Three Categories of State Spending
Download the .pdf version here. The state of South Carolina spends approximately $21 billion each year. This is three times higher than the state budget figure frequently cited publicly. This…
Economics of Climate Change in South Carolina
Written by: David G. Tuerck, PhD Economic analysis of the Climate, Energy and Commerce Advisory Committee (CECAC) report would cost taxpayers billions of dollars while offering a negligible environmental benefit,…
House Rules Change Not Transparency; Most Bills Exempt From Recorded Vote
The South Carolina House of Representatives voted 77-34 today to adopt a House rules change that expands the range of matters subject to a vote on the record, but the…
South Carolina Nation’s Worst at Requiring Recorded Votes
A Policy Council study of the Constitutional and legislative procedural rules in all 50 states finds that South Carolina is one of just five states that do not require lawmakers…
House and Senate Committees Recommend Nearly 7.5 Percent Budget Cuts; Education and Corrections Spared
Written by: Bryan Cox The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee each recommended approximately $480 million in cuts to the state budget Friday to compensate for reduced…
Transparency Reforms Needed in SC Government
The General Assembly wants to play an active role in the South Carolina economy – that much is clear. If elected officials insist on tampering with the American free-market model,…
South Carolina General Assembly Should Call Roll
Legislators must be held accountable for their choices, and South Carolinians deserve to know how their elected officials vote. Roll call voting is critical to ensuring open government. Voice votes…
Cigarette Tax Increase
Written by: Sven Larson, PhD The tax increase passed by the General Assembly, and vetoed by the Governor, would have used new revenue largely to expand Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid costs…
Market Based Medicaid Reform: No New Costs, Better Quality Care
Written by: Mike Bond The best way to assure cost control and good quality in our health care system is to focus reforms on competition and consumer choice. Market-based solutions…
Budget Should Fund Core Government Functions, Not Private Sector
Written By: Ashley Landess The budget debate will rightly focus on raided trust funds, wasteful spending and the looming danger of unfunded liabilities. How much money lawmakers allocate to…
Online Check Registers
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, South Carolina?s state government spent over $19.6 billion dollars in 2007, an increase of more than nine percent over the 2006…
Should Government Be Spending Your Money Like This?
Written by: Ashley Landess The SC House will take up the budget next Tuesday. Lawmakers should carefully deliberate whether some programs should be funded this year ? or at all…
Should Government Be Spending Your Money Like This?
The SC House will take up the budget next Tuesday. Lawmakers should carefully deliberate whether some programs should be funded this year ? or at all ? with public money.…
An Excise Tax is Not a User Fee
Governments apply excise taxes to private market transactions. User fees, on the other hand, are costs associated with a publicly owned good. While some user fees are calculated in accordance…