Cut the cutting: Budget from view of state’s poor

FEB. 26, 2010 – Maybe state lawmakers should think about how their budget proposals look to someone who doesn’t earn much.

The House Ways and Means Committee this week approved a $5.1 billion budget recommendation that will be the focus of legislative debate starting March 8. Due to the tepid economy, state revenues aren’t robust. In fact, the budget is $5.1 billion – more than a billion less than just a couple of years back.

Balanced budgeting approach can help legislators

FEB. 19, 2010 – Raising taxes in a down economy sounds counterintuitive, but it is a viable strategy that may be better than simply cutting spending, according to a new report on budget strategies. Merely cutting spending as a budget solution can be harmful, writes Iris Lav of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities [...]

Legislature should back off on search, I.D. bills

FEB. 5, 2010 – Something’s fishy in Columbia with two bills that directly impact our constitutional rights.

imagesIn one, state lawmakers want to start so-called “warrantless searches” to allow police to search people on parole or probation without the hassle of getting a search warrant. In another, legislators want to require photo identification for voting, a practice that could dampen turnout among more than 178,000 people who don’t have such identification cards. Click headline for more …

Book’s warning signs may apply to SC

JAN. 22, 2010 – Business guru Jim Collins, the bestselling writer who picks apart successful companies for signs of strength, concludes that all businesses are vulnerable to downfalls, no matter how great they’ve been in the past. …

SC needs to wake up to fiscal realities

JAN. 15, 2010 — Wake up, South Carolina! If we don’t start investing in our state, we might as well submit to being serfs to the Chinese.

Simply put, we need to tax ourselves more. We need to use the money to revitalize education, our business environment and the parts of state government that attract jobs.