Despite their declining membership rolls, public sector unions ostensibly attract members by touting unions’ collective bargaining abilities to promote higher pay, improve benefits, and increase job security. But that’s not the case in the Palmetto State. Data shows that unionized government workers in South Carolina make 4% less than their non-union counterparts.
The advent of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has ignited a firestorm among parents, educators and policy makers. This paper attempts to cut through the haze with a much needed common sense conservative analysis. In it, we provide a thumbnail history of educational standards in America, how CCSS went wrong, and what South Carolina can do to maintain control of our standards and promote the rigorous accountability our students need to equip them for success in school and in life. A number of the solutions we list below are expanded upon in the document text
Under Obamacare, many of the health plans we were told we “could keep” are no longer available…and the plans replacing them are expensive and full of features we don’t want or need. In fact, our research shows that young South Carolinians and those living in rural areas are getting hit the hardest.
Does education spending equate to student success? Not according to the data. Check out our comparison of Florida and South Carolina and the results each state is getting from their very different habits in education spending.
Medicaid expansion puts the truly vulnerable at greater risk. Expansion was "paid for" by cutting $716 billion from seniors' Medicare. And in states that have expanded Medicaid, costs are growing faster than revenue, siphoning resources away from education, infrastructure and public safety. It is also driving UP use of emergency rooms as there are proportionally fewer Medicaid providers to go around. Our handy summary lays out 10 key reasons why Medicaid expansion is "fool's gold" - not “free money” - as proponents say.
“For every problem,” H.L. Mencken wrote, “there is a solution which is simple, clean and wrong.” Enter Obamacare and one of the main ways that it purports to reduce the number of uninsured: putting more people on Medicaid. S.C. legislators are being pressured to do just that. The House has rejected the idea, and Gov. Nikki Haley has vowed to veto it, but it’s not dead. And if they ultimately sign on to the idea, they’ll find they’ve made a costly mistake and created a long-term fiscal problem. Specifically, some in the Legislature want to expand Medicaid eligibility to more adults during the three years the federal government covers the expansion population.
Ideas have consequences. This may seem obvious to some, but at PPI, we believe this calls us to examine the principles and truths that form the foundation of our policy innovation. We strongly believe in the First Principles of our federalist system and are proud to be co-signers of this important - and practical - report. As conservatives, we say "no" to federal overreach to have the flexibility to say "yes" to the innovative thinking that can only bubble up from the state and local level. We are strong advocates for returning dollars and decisions to the people best equipped to know and grow their own communities. Competitive Federalism is the arena in which states will compete to save America.
Since the arrival of Steve Spurrier in Columbia, “Florida usually beats Carolina” has eventually become “the Gamecocks usually beat the Gators.” The reverse is true in K-12 education. In 1999, South Carolina students led Florida students in performance on a number of national educational tests, including NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But for 2003-2011, in combined Math and Reading NAEP scores, Florida was first with a 54 point improvement and South Carolina was last with a 44 point decline (page 7). Question: How did Florida leapfrog South Carolina in such a short period of time? Answer: transformation through comprehensive reform.
