This morning, South Carolina’s new Chief Justice John Kittredge released a new administrative order that brings long-awaited reform to South Carolina’s magistrate court system and shuts down potential for conflict of interest in magistrates’ rulings on cases involving lawyer-legislators. Palmetto Promise has written extensively over the last few years about the need for reform in

South Carolina is recognized nationwide as a state that emphasizes the importance of free enterprise. Businesses are attracted by our competitive tax incentives, the ability of our technical colleges to provide a skilled workforce, and our strong right-to-work culture. But economic development incentives used to lure businesses into the state—often tax breaks—are not open-ended. It

The food industry has evolved over the past decade to make room for its newest competitor: the food truck. This innovation has gained a massive audience, with food trucks found in cities of all sizes and many small towns. Entrepreneurs and chiefs have embraced this new culinary adventure as a way of opening their very

Happy Election Day, South Carolina! This is one of the most important days in our nation, where we the people, have the opportunity to make our voices heard and cast our ballots for who we want to represent us and lead our country, state, and community. Voting is a right and privilege we should never

On July 2, 2024, Governor McMaster signed S.1046 into law. This legislation reforms the process by which South Carolina selects its state judges. Well, most of them. Our declaration of only partial victory is not meant to take away from the fact that S.1046 was indeed a substantial step in the right direction towards full

This op-ed by President Wendy Damron was originally published in The State. The old saying goes, “I’d rather have a workhorse than a showhorse.” South Carolina is fortunate to have a workhorse in Attorney General Alan Wilson. Since taking office in 2011, he has worked tirelessly to rein in the federal government’s overreach and reinvigorate

Mikee Albin was a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran. He was living in an RV in the parking lot of the restaurant he ran, hoping to build up the business and achieve the American dream of entrepreneurship and homeownership. But his dream was sidetracked…badly sidetracked. Following an undercover investigation at his restaurant, where it was determined that

South Carolina localities have little to no statutory guidelines regarding when local elections are allowed, which has led to a much smaller voter turnout than the typical statewide general election. But local elections hold just as much importance, if not more, than statewide elections. There, citizens have the chance to vote for the officials that

According to Pew research, 90% of Americans claim to have some awareness of AI. That is not surprising, as the term went from unknown to ubiquitous in only three years. Or was it three weeks? Yet, that same Pew survey found that only one-in-three respondents claim to have heard a lot about it.  Artificial Intelligence

American entrepreneurship, once legendary, is on the decline. The United States Joint Economic Committee reports that since the 1970s entrepreneurship has diminished across multiple different measures, including business formation. One reason for the reduction in business start-ups is the increasingly complex regulatory environment that government has introduced in the past few years. Small businesses are