The Nerve

Lawmakers are against wasteful spending – in the counties By HANNAH HILL In a House Ways and Means subcommittee meeting this week, state lawmakers expressed great concern about the responsibility of county spending practices. Let’s be clear: County spending habits are technically no concern of the state, from a jurisdictional perspective. However, the law requires […]

Fixing South Carolina’s pension system requires realism By BRYCE FIEDLER The Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) – the agency responsible for administering the state’s retirement plans – recently released its annual report assessing the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS). In a huge upswing from previous years, the state’s pension investments performed very well during FY16-17, […]

Lawmakers want to even the playing field between themselves and the people By HANNAH HILL “…When we have to go back to the ratepayers and explain what we’ve done and things like that, you know the first thing they’re gonna say is ‘Well, why’s it three/two? Why can’t we be at the same table?’” – […]

Why Can’t the Governor Pick His Own Advisers? By BRYCE FIEDLER As it turns out, the now suspended V.C. Summer project isn’t the only nuclear concern in South Carolina. The Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council (NAC) met on October 11th to discuss the troubles facing a poorly managed plutonium fuel construction operation at the Savannah River […]

In the nukes debacle, Santee Cooper seemed alone and sleepy By BRYCE FIEDLER Chairman Russel Ott appeared frustrated sitting across from outgoing Santee Cooper CEO Lonnie Carter during Tuesday’s House Utility Ratepayer Protection committee hearing. “So you don’t know why the board’s not here?” asked Ott. “I didn’t know they were invited. I don’t think […]

Problems stem from lack of accountability By BRYCE FIEDLER Every government body deals with its share of problems. In an ideal world, proper oversight systems are in place so that when those issues arise, the right people can be held accountable. But what happens when a government department answers to virtually no one? Look no […]

This is economic development at its finest. By BRYCE FIEDLER Since it secured the Volvo manufacturing plant back in July of 2015, the state has been celebrating its achievement with promises of stellar economic growth and thousands of jobs for the Berkeley County area. A spokesman for Berkeley County was asked if taxpayers would be […]

Good governance is the expectation by BRYCE FIEDLER There are two important lessons we can learn from Hurricane Irma: One, that we as a community possess remarkable resolve when faced with adversity; and two, that we offer too much praise to government leaders who are simply doing their job. We have the misguided tendency to […]

The SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) is spending money to find out how much the state made off the eclipse. According to PRT’s newsletter, museums, state parks, etc. were sold out or nearly sold out due to this “rare celestial event.” It goes on to say: “Because this type of anecdotal evidence […]

Legislators: stop fussing with education By HANNAH HILL $12,007: That’s how much South Carolina spent on average per K-12 pupil in fiscal year 2014-15. Earlier this week the Education Oversight Committee’s Melanie Barton and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office’s Frank Rainwater explained to lawmakers how those dollars are collected and divvied up among South […]