RELEASE: Passage of Tax Bill to Grow SC GDP by a Quarter Billion Dollars in First Year Alone

Tax & Budget
Blog · April 10, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLUMBIA, SC — A new economic impact study by the Palmetto Promise Institute and the Buckeye Institute predicts that passage of the Republican income tax bill (H.4216) could expand South Carolina’s economy dramatically.   According to Zachary D. Cady, Associate Economist at the Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, analysis of the bill found

Commentary: Free market solutions for SC’s energy future

Energy
Blog · March 27, 2025

This op-ed by Dr. Oran Smith was originally published in the SC Daily Gazette. It is no secret that South Carolina has become a magnet for business, industry, and people. Since 2007, our population has grown by over one million, and the U-Hauls keep coming. The in-migration boom includes manufacturing and high-tech industries as well. This generational change

Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron Appointed by US Commission on Civil Rights

Education
Blog · March 24, 2025

We are proud to share that Palmetto Promise Institute’s President & CEO Wendy Damron was appointed by the US Commission on Civil Rights to the advisory committee for the State of South Carolina.   Below is the press release from the US Commission on Civil Rights regarding Damron’s appointment: On Friday, March 21, 2025, the

Private Donors Help Low-Income Kids Stay In Schools Of Their Choice

Education
Blog · March 13, 2025

This article by Patrick Gleason originally appeared in Forbes. The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision last September to strike down the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF), upending a new education savings account (ESA)-style program enacted by South Carolina lawmakers the prior year. The ESTF program struck down by the South Carolina Supreme

RELEASE: DeVos Foundation Donates $250,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund

Education
Blog · March 13, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DeVos Foundation Donates $250,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund COLUMBIA, SC — The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has made a generous $250,000 donation to the ESTF Families Fund, an initiative launched by Palmetto Promise Institute to assist low-income families impacted by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to

Lawmakers See Tort Reform, Like Tax Relief, As Way To Reduce Costs

Quality of Life
Blog · February 19, 2025
Close up photo of a wooden gavel

Palmetto Promise’s report Sandlapper Shakedown is cited in this piece originally published in Forbes. South Carolina has been among the most successful states recently in attracting individuals, families, and employers from other states. In fact, last year the Palmetto State’s population grew faster than all 49 other states. State lawmakers in South Carolina and Governor

Commentary: Proceed with eyes wide open on VC Summer reboot

Energy
Blog · February 6, 2025

This op-ed by Palmetto Promise Research Fellow Jennifer Buckley was originally published in the Post and Courier. It also has been published in FitsNews. South Carolina’s dormant nuclear energy ambitions could be stirring back to life. Santee Cooper announced Jan. 22 that it is seeking proposals to acquire and complete, or propose alternatives for, the

News Release: South Carolina Voters Want Energy Grid Modernization

Energy
Blog · February 5, 2025

Columbia, S.C. (February 4, 2025) — A supermajority of South Carolina’s general election voters overwhelmingly support the modernization of the state’s energy grid and a move away from the currently siloed monopoly-driven power systems. In a poll of 600 registered general election voters, 80 percent of those surveyed favored moving away from the current monopolistic

South Carolina advocate wins ‘Doer’ award for efforts to fund school choice

Education
Blog · January 27, 2025

This article by Adam Whittenberg was published in The Lion about Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron’s recent award. When the South Carolina Supreme Court abruptly ended South Carolina’s school choice program just weeks into the school year, Wendy Damron didn’t take things lying down. Damron, who heads the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank,

RELEASE: New Donors Push Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue Fund to $2.2 million

Education
Blog · January 27, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Donors Push Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue Fund to $2.2 million  COLUMBIA — To kick off National School Choice Week, Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron announced today that new support from three (3) additional donors has pushed the Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue fund to $2.2 million. The Rescue Fund goal,