Our weekly Top Five feature offers big stories or views from the past week with policy and legislative implications.
More Americans moving South, Governing, March 24, 2016
The Myrtle Beach area is among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation. What should keep policymakers up at night is how state and local governments will handle the spigot of in-migration that’s not about to stop.
Updated report highlights what’s needed in S.C. for self-sufficiency, The State, March 22, 2016
The United Way Association of South Carolina has unveiled an updated report, The Self-Sufficiency Standard for South Carolina 2016. It showcases how much income a family must earn to meet basic needs — an amount that exceeds the outdated federal poverty standard. For South Carolina policymakers, this new standard is what should be used in discussions about raising living standards because it reflects reality.
In states that upped minimum wage, wages grew more for low-wage workers, Economic Policy Institute, March 23, 2016
The headline is what you would expect — that low-wage workers, often caught in dead-end jobs, got higher wages in places that raised the minimum wage. The story, however, highlights how changing a policy — boosting the minimum wage (which S.C. does not have) — can help people grow economically, which may lift some out of poverty.
More traffic circles to be built in state, S.C. Radio Network, March 21, 2016
More traffic circles are being built across the state as statistics from the Department of Transportation indicate that existing roundabouts have reduced the number of accidents and injuries at intersections.
Clinton could win easier than Obama did, columnist says, Governing, March 23, 2016
Political analyst Louis Jacobson pored over the electoral college map to handicap the 2016 presidential contest and found that more states than you might think lean Democratic, which means Hillary Clinton might be the next president, regardless of the popular vote.
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