A relatively low number of new laws have been enacted in 2025, just under one hundred so far. How much damage could a few (like 100) laws do? How about asking, “How much damage is being done at the rate of one hundred or more new laws every year?”
How soon before we start recognizing the results? No personal freedom; no individual responsibility; unsustainable taxation, fees, hidden taxes, surcharges, etc. to support government bloat; no local control under the reality of total state control; a blanket of regulations that are impossible to find much less follow; discontent and confusion in juxtaposition with a (mostly) compliant population; brain-dead people blindly trying to follow all the state dictates—to name just a few outcomes.
Couldn’t happen here? Guess what? It’s mostly happened already. A look at just a few key areas provides a glimpse of a disturbing reality.
Just for fun, to start, let us look at one group of proposed bills, many of which were passed. These include about 40 resolutions or laws that the legislature considered to name or rename roads, bridges, pieces of highways or other local transportation-related facilities. Remember we pay these legislators for their time. They are supposed to be looking out for our well-being and addressing critical needs. Why are they spending taxpayer-funded time reading (likely not reading—let’s be honest) frivolous proposals, presenting, discussing, and voting on the names of myriads of roads and bridges? (As an aside, “frivolous proposals” also encompass hundreds of “resolutions” presented to the legislature every session—a discussion for another time.)
The real questions are two-fold. First, “Whatever happened to sensible local control?” Why are towns petitioning the state legislature for permission to name so many roads, bridges, or transportation facilities in their own communities? Coupled with transportation issues many of us encounter every day on local roads and bridges, a logical follow-up question arises. “What does the state Department of Transportation in this state actually do?”
For those of us who live in Summerville, the second question is certainly perplexing. Roads and traffic are terrible. There obviously has been little or no planning or intelligent forethought put into managing sensible growth, often resulting in inadequate and often unsafe infrastructure, particularly roadways, to support the traffic that has come with uncontrolled population growth.
If anything, our legislature would do well to spend some of its time actually discussing the problems our state faces instead of simply passing proposed bills (they didn’t even write and rarely read); who knows where they came from?), and brainstorming some rational solutions. The DOT in South Carolina might be described as an amorphous monster without a head or brain—with a lot of control over critical infrastructure that would be best worked out, whenever possible, by local counties and municipalities; local entities that could take into account the overall picture of the needs and factors involved in customized community planning and well-being.
Who knows what the DOT actually can or should do? This author has heard a community can’t even put up a traffic light on many local roads without the approval of the state DOT that supposedly is responsible for even traffic lights. Permission often takes times and sometimes a lot of effort.
The DOT has a lot of roads under its purview. Perhaps the DOT should receive less money from local towns and communities for its inefficient and costly control of local roadways. How about returning money and control to local governments so they can respond appropriately to and properly address their own issues?
This is a great example of one of the biggest problems in South Carolina. The State, in its “beneficence” and omniscience, has steadily taken from communities the ability to conduct their own affairs. Each year the legislature builds on the State’s power. It might seem silly to focus on such harmless issues like naming roads. But deeper threads of control and freedom and better decision-making that comes from local control and response to localized issues need to be considered. Government has far too much power. The State is simply not capable of making good rules for every situation.
Maybe the legislature could start with one little, harmless change. Stop requiring towns to petition for name changes in their own areas. Take a hard look at the DOT and its regulations and overreach of power. Simplify and reduce its scope, giving back to the people the ability to decide the best course of action regarding their own streets, bridges, and local transportation needs and options.
NOTE: The DOT does not deserve all the credit for the infrastructure mess that has been created in many areas, including in the Lowcountry. Some of its culpability may be simply guilt by association—as a piece of government. Big government serves primarily the wants of a select few who have learned how to benefit from State power and other personal benefits. The vast majority of the people just carry the cost and the consequences of incompetence. These observations are provided to perhaps start some productive thinking about how to address obvious problems that require sensible and responsible solutions.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not constitute legal or professional advice. ConservaTruth assumes no liability for any actions taken based on this content. Read more.
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