January 7, 2010

Shopping Mall Incentives a Bad Deal for Taxpayers

The Policy Council released an analysis by College of Charleston economist Peter Calcagno, Ph.D., on an economic incentive package under consideration by the General Assembly. The measure would give a Georgia based developer $132 million in targeted tax breaks for an upscale shopping mall in Jasper County.
 

The Best & Worst to Come: A Review of Restructuring Legislation for 2009-2010

A new Policy Council report released this week reviews the best and worst ideas on government restructuring that will likely come up in the 2010 legislative session.

The best ideas regarding restructuring include reducing the number of statewide elected officials, enacting an effective spending cap, streamlining state agencies and shortening the legislative session. The worst ideas include measures that would co-opt executive appointments and further weaken gubernatorial authority.     

Blogs of the Week from The Palmetto Insider:

The Tax Foundation Cites SCPC Opinion on Gun Sales Tax Holiday

The Tax Foundation cited the Policy Council's opinion on South Carolina's gun sales tax holiday in an article on a similar measure in Oklahoma.

SC Delegation Loses to Michigan in $35 Million Bid for Battery Factory

It was reported this week that lithium-ion battery manufacturer Toda America would no longer locate its new plant in Berkeley County. This is another example of how South Carolina's growing addiction to special interest economic incentives has failed, but that hasn't stopped our politicians from playing the game.
  
First, Phantom Districts; now it's ZIP Codes

Recovery.gov, the federal government's website that tracks stimulus spending, infamously reported on stimulus spending in phantom districts. Now they have reported stimulus spending in SC ZIP codes that do not exist.    

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