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 [...]

South Carolina’s Tax Burden: Among the nation’s best – or worst?

Legislative leaders are claiming that South Carolina “has the lowest state taxes in the nation.” If only it were true. Unfortunately the claim confuses tax collections and tax rates. It’s true that the state collects fewer dollars – but those who pay taxes, pay at higher rates.

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.’

Budget Watch 2011: Yet more budget provisos that merit a second look…

Yet more budget provisos that merit a second look…

Budget Provisos | Fast Facts

What are Budget ‘provisos’? Provisos are lines in the state budget that give temporary authorizations for the use of state money. Like federal earmarks, they’re usually inserted into the budget by individual legislators.

The Incentives game

Government-driven economic development is a secretive process in which politicians give away tax exemptions, subsidies, and other taxpayer-funded incentives to private companies. Politicians “invest” tax dollars without disclosing any meaningful analysis or information on the company, without providing an estimated return-on-investment, and with no public input.

New Taxes Imposed by the Federal Health Care Takeover

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is expected to cost trillions and increase the national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. All in all, taxpayers are looking at $669 billion in new taxes over the next 10 years to pay for the federal health care takeover.[1] This is in addition to billions of dollars in regulatory fines and fees.

How Higher Tuition Translates into More Debt for State Universities

The S.C. Budget and Control Board recently announced a moratorium halting construction at four-year public institutions that raised tuition by 7 percent or more for the 2010-2011 school year.

Higher Education in South Carolina: Cut Administrative Costs and Focus on Student Performance

While South Carolinians can take pride in our state’s higher educational system, costs and tuition have skyrocketed in recent years, even as graduation rates remain below 40 percent. At the same time, South Carolina’s leading universities have been drawn away from their core mission and increasingly become conduits for the Legislature’s economic development plans. The solution is to refocus on student performance, cut administrative costs and look to innovative technology that will improve both access and affordability.