Restructuring Done Right, Part II – A guide for the perplexed

The Senate is currently debating potentially the most important government restructuring legislation in decades (H.3066). The bill is intended to concentrate accountability by separating executive from legislative functions. But what’s “intended” and what gets signed into law are often two different things, and for that reason it’s worth taking a closer look at what the bill would actually do and whether it can be improved.
What to watch in 2012

The new legislative session has officially begun, and scores of bills are scheduled for consideration. Here are just a few we’re keeping our eyes on. TRANSPARENCY H.4432 wouldn’t kill the “incentives racket” whereby well-positioned companies lobby for, and get, millions in taxpayer-supported favors that don’t apply to their competitors. What it would do is bring [...]
The Patriots Club

The Goal We want to make South Carolina the most free state in the nation. To accomplish that goal, we’ll focus on three American principles: Self-governance. Ideas and policies that take power away from politicians and return it to South Carolina’s citizens. In South Carolina, the legislative branch dominates the other branches of government: legislators [...]
When writing the state budget: Follow the law

For decades, South Carolina lawmakers have cobbled together the state budget with little input from anyone but lobbyists and bureaucrats. Except for vetoes on the back end, the governor had almost no influence on the budget.

The Nerve

We created The Nerve because there isn’t enough independent reporting on government and the politicians who run it. We hired veteran South Carolina investigative reporters to cover the big stuff in Columbia. They’re very, very good. What makes The Nerve even better is the volunteers from all over the state who are our Citizen Reporters. They’ll [...]

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Our Declaration

Because the power of South Carolina’s government is concentrated in the hands of a few while accountability is diffused beyond citizens’ reach; and Because the heavy hand of government has caused our once-prosperous state to descend into poverty; and Because our state is heavily dependent upon the federal government for funding that comes with a [...]

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Join us!

Membership in the South Carolina Policy Council is an investment in the future of South Carolina. The Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that accepts no government funding. Instead, we rely on donors from across South Carolina — individuals, large and small businesses, and foundations — to support our work. Your contribution is tax deductible [...]

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About

Since 1986, the mission of the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation has been to promote freedom, to protect freedom, and to prove that freedom works. We are dedicated to restoring citizens’ power and prosperity through limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty and responsibility.

No other organization can match the Policy Council’s success in assembling top national and state experts on issues affecting the taxpayers of South Carolina. That ability – the ability to bring new ideas to bear on policy debates and to create a broad base of support for market-based reforms – makes the Policy Council our state’s leader in turning sound ideas into optimal state policies.

The Policy Council was founded by one of South Carolina’s most admired and successful business leaders, the late Thomas A. Roe of Greenville. Tom envisioned an institution that could introduce the principles of limited government and free enterprise into current political debates by supplying elected leaders with credible and up-to-date research, ideas, and analysis.

The Policy Council is still committed to that goal. Over the past several years, SCPC has been at the center of debates over how to bring market-based reforms to South Carolina state government. Indeed, even the opponents of limited government and economic freedom concede that the Policy Council is the premier research institution advocating those principles.

Commentary

I-95 Agency Meets Its Fate?

What should be done about poverty along the I-95 Corridor? Last year a handful of state lawmakers had a bright idea: What the “Corridor of Shame” really needs is another state agency. They passed a bill creating the I-95 Corridor Authority, but the governor vetoed it – leaving the Authority in limbo. SCPC gave our members [...]

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Let the Spending Begin!

The state budget process gets into full swing, according to state law, on January 10th. That’s the date by which the governor is required to submit her executive budget to the legislature. The Senate and House appropriations committees, in turn, are required to hold joint open hearings on her budget five days later. But in [...]

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Want A Solvent Retirement System?

In 2009, the Policy Council released a report highlighting issues surrounding the risks of depressing future asset growth and health care costs for the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS). In 2010, we followed up that report with ten recommendations for reform that wouldn’t require total overhaul of the system. Here’s a quick overview: SCRS’s financial [...]

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Is the ‘Incentives Game’ Worth It?

In South Carolina, 2011 turned out to be a watershed year in at least one respect. For the first time, the merits of government-driven “economic development,” and especially the use of economic “incentives,” became the subject of serious and widespread public debate. Before this year, politicians and other officials could speak of using “incentives” to [...]

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SC’s Tax Structure: Good, Bad, or Just Plain Awful?

In recent months, some of our state lawmakers have spoken of South Carolina’s tax structure as if it’s the lowest, most business-friendly in the world. Some, indeed, have claimed we have the “lowest taxes in the nation.” But before you take the hype at face value, consider: 1) South Carolina does not have the “lowest taxes [...]

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Financial Coercion: Federal Control of South Carolina’s Entitlements

Part of the Obama administration’s stimulus bill established unemployment “incentive grants” to states who “modernize” (translation: expand) unemployment benefit eligibility. Any state whose law coheres with federal standards could receive the money. For South Carolina, the federal government offered $97 million dollars in federal funds if – and only if – state lawmakers changed state law to expand unemployment benefit eligibility.

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The Clyburn Center Mess: A Multimillion Dollar Catastrophe

The James E. Clyburn University Transportation Research and Conference Center at South Carolina State University is a $107 million dollar project. The complex was intended to serve as a transportation research center, a research facility for large trucks, the archive of James Clyburn’s papers, and a garage for Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority’s bus fleet. However, two reports, one by the Charleston Post and Courier and one by the Legislative Audit Council, reveal the incredible extent of the Clyburn Center’s failure. The project is sputtering along with no viable funding plan, delayed construction, and poor oversight. The story of the Clyburn Center is a melancholy illustration of the fact that federal money isn’t “free” money: indeed, in many cases it costs the state millions of wasted tax dollars.

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SC’s Health Planning Committee Recommends Against a State Exchange

In recent months, the South Carolina Health Planning Committee has seen presentations by industry experts, academics, lawyers, consultants, and insurance companies on the state’s health insurance market. Its charge? To make policy recommendations regarding the establishment of a health insurance exchange in South Carolina, as outlined within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). [...]

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Unfunny: South Carolina’s Job-Destroying Regulations

In 2004, Jon Stewart’s Daily Show featured South Carolina in a hilarious segment about the state’s absurd regulations on hair braiding. That’s right. Regulations on hair braiding. The segment featured an interview with the head of the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology, who expressed her concerns about “harm to the public” stemming from unlicensed hair braiders. [...]

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The Matthew Lesko Approach to Economic Development

The federal government is trying to run the U.S. economy – and South Carolina is helping out by taking federal grants for “economic development.” Why? Because it’s free money from the government! But is that always a good thing?

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