By PHILLIP CEASE Want a top-salaried government job at a low-profile agency? Try working at the…
Barton Swaim
Barton Swaim is Communications Manager at the South Carolina Policy Council. Prior to joining us, Barton worked in the Communications Office of Governor Mark Sanford. He holds postgraduate degrees in English literature from Edinburgh University and the University of South Carolina. He writes a column on e-books for the Wall Street Journal, and writes frequently on other topics for The Weekly Standard, The New Criterion, and the Times Literary Supplement. He is married with three daughters.
You can contact Barton at barton@scpolicycouncil.org
Notes on a sketchy-looking takings bill Two years ago, The Nerve posted a powerful story…
By DEBBIE WISE Outlawing the practice of taking money from citizens for no good reason…
Thanks to a high court ruling, government entities can conveniently forget to say what’s on the…
‘We deem this bill to be constitutional,’ says bill about itself If you happen to be…
Our tax code is one great confusing jumble. There’s a reason for that. South Carolina’s…
Be it resolved: Everybody should learn a lot of good things Once in a while,…
You know, the one establishing independent investigation of lawmakers? Neither do we. Two and a…
Report invites us to reconsider whether public money should support ‘the arts’ In 2012, Gov. Nikki…
Gov. Haley signs ‘Workforce Development Council’ into law. Among our least favorite terms in state…
If you pay taxes, you’re buying a lot of lunches for a lot of public…
By RON AIKEN Of course, since lawmakers wrote the laws, it’s entirely legal. Influence is…
2 min read
Sometimes you have to pay for the privilege of thinking ahead. Recently we spoke to an…
5 min read
Disputes over schedules, fees threaten progress of rural arm of program If foul things roll…
Tortured proposal appears out of nowhere, House suddenly A-OK with it Yesterday the General Assembly…
As always, members elected the judges they liked best On Wednesday, a joint session of…
One tiny exemption seems to cover just about every public document you could ask for. South…
By ASHLEY LANDESS Some politicians want to make it a felony to ‘mislead’ them. No…
Roads are being repaired, all right. Just not the right ones. Perhaps owing to The…
Wait – is the American republic built on the honor system? Last week, a…
By RON AIKEN University boards starting to look like legislative family reunions. The practice of nepotism…
A year ago, we revealed the state was decreasing the road maintenance fund. Not much has…
By RON AIKEN Since Operation Lost Trust, no lawmakers have gone to jail It’s a…
“It’s eating all my time. And a good bit of my money, too” Last…
By RON AIKEN Talk about ‘dark money’ While lawmakers have touted the evils of so-called…
3 min read
By ASHLEY LANDESS If lawmakers won’t pass a loophole-free income disclosure bill, why not ask…
“You shouldn’t be knowing about it” If you keep up with state politics, you may…
By ASHLEY LANDESS At the South Carolina State House, corruption is legal and intimidation is…
A reader tells his story. You decide. Yesterday Ron Aiken surveyed a number of ways…
There’s nothing private about them, but somehow they’re not “public.” Exactly one year ago, The…
One senator’s telling response Recently we were forwarded an emailed response from Sen. Mike Fair…
Convoluted proposals aside, it’s not very different from lawmakers’ proxies policing lawmakers. On Tuesday, the…
From covering costs to gouging Here’s a question worth pondering: When should government charge a…
Remember, our judiciary is far from independent. As the ongoing battle between Attorney General Alan…