The Heartland Institute

The Senate’s response to fiscal Sanity? Delete. The Senate is wrapping up their budget debates…So far it is $100 million more than the House version. Here’s a quick look at how the Senate Finance Committee has purged some of the House budget’s best ideas. Stopping taxpayer-funded lobbying The Senate gutted a House proviso eliminating ...

- That question was asked at a recent meeting of the House Ways & Means Committee – and not a single lawmaker had an answer. Here are 10 things you should know about our state’s “Research Authority.” The South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) is a state-created and state-controlled technology and real estate company. It contracts ...

Government spending grew every year from 2002 to 2009. In 2010, the overall budget decreased by less than a half of 1 percent – not because lawmakers cut spending, but because revenues dropped. This year’s budget continues down the same path… South Carolina lawmakers are on track to pass the largest budget in state history ...

Legislators are almost finished with the state budget. Here’s a taste of what’s in it... We’re still on track to pass the largest budget in state history – $652 million more than last year Every part of this year’s budget is larger than last year’s – the General Fund is up by $238 million, Fines and Fees/Other Funds are ...

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. The moratorium applies only to institutions that raised tuition by 7 percent or more. This means it does not apply to the University of ...

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 ...

As we review the best and worst education legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. There is no disputing that South Carolina’s educational system is among the worst in the United States (if not the developed world). Consider the following: 82 percent ...

In spite of a massive increase in K-12 expenditures during the 1990s, South Carolina’s schools rank among the worst in the country. For the past 10 years, K-12 education funding has consumed more than one-third of all state revenue and, including federal, state, and local funding, exceeds $7 billion -- the size of the entire ...

For years, the General Assembly has shut the door, cut deals with lobbyists and given away billions of dollars in incentives. Deals are hatched and negotiated by a few powerful legislators – in many cases not even their legislative colleagues know what they’re doing. Once the deals are negotiated, legislation is rammed through ...

Using money that’s only available for one year to fund ongoing functions of government Legislators are taking $150 million from various earmarked/restricted funds to pay for ongoing obligations at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (Medicaid). Using millions in “anticipated” revenue to fund ...

For years, the General Assembly has shut the door, cut deals with lobbyists and given away billions of dollars in incentives. Deals are hatched and negotiated by a few powerful legislators – in many cases not even their legislative colleagues know what they’re doing. Once the deals are negotiated, legislation is rammed through ...