A Tale of Two Tax Proposals

Despite lawmakers’ disingenuous claims that South Carolina has some of the “lowest taxes in the nation,” the truth is that South Carolina taxpayers and businesses pay far too much to the state. The principle is simple: Taxes should be low and equitable, and South Carolina’s tax structure, for the most part, is neither. Consider: South [...]

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 [...]

How (and how not) to cap government spending

If the last few legislative sessions prove anything, it’s that almost nothing can compel state lawmakers to exercise spending restraint. A report released by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) revealed South Carolina increased state spending by 26.5 percent from 2010-11. The most recent budget is a little under $22 billion, making it [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Is Economic Development the Job of a University?

Our taxpayer-supported colleges and universities should get back to their mission of educating young people – and leave economic development to the market.

Film incentives: A bad idea that won’t die

Film incentives are back in the news. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has pulled the plug on a $420,000 credit for Jersey Shore, a popular but controversial “reality show” that follows the lives of several raucous young adults living in New Jersey. The governor reasons that New Jersey’s taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to support a show that “perpetuate[s] misconceptions about the State and its citizens.” That’s a polite way of saying Jersey Shore makes New Jerseyites look like a bunch of self-indulgent, barely literate nitwits.

Total Employment Falls, Local Government Hiring Continues to Grow

Last week, we demonstrated that South Carolina’s improved employment picture hasn’t really improved much at all. Rather, government hiring and a shrinking labor force are making the job numbers look better than they are. Our analysis looked at government hiring from January to May 2010. The numbers for June—which account for the elimination of thousands [...]

The ‘Incentives Game’ – what else are lawmakers giving away?

Here are just a few of the things legislators are doing right now in the name of ‘economic development.’

Budget Watch 2011: Provisos raising more questions

In our examination of the Senate Finance Committee’s budget – being debated right now in the South Carolina Senate – a few more provisos caught our attention. Here are a few additional examples of how lawmakers are spending taxpayer dollars in a ‘tough budget year.’