Spartanburg HBA Table Top Night open to HBA of Greenville members

The HBA of Greater Spartanburg has invited members of the HBA of Greenville to participate in their Table Top Night.

What: Spartanburg Table Top Night

When: Monday, August 22

5:15 p.m. preview for Builders Only

6 p.m. for all attendees

Where: Summit Pointe Conference & Events Center

Cost: Free to licensed South Carolina Builders, Associate members and guests are $20

Sponsors: ProBuild and STOCK Building Supply

The event features 50 vendor tables showcasing their latest products. There will be plenty of door prizes, and one lucky builder will walk away with $250 in CASH just for attending! Dinner and a cash bar will be provided.

Deadline to RSVP is August 18. Call 864-583-5471 to make your reservation.

Garden&Gun: Sweet Greenville, the hippest little city in South Carolina

Garden&Gun features a city portrait of Greenville in its August/September issue. By Ashley Warlick, the article calls Greenville "the hippest little city in South Carolina." The portrait also features vignets on where to eat and drink.

Read the portrait of Greenville in Garden&Gun by clicking here.

Foreclosures in the Upstate drop nearly 21 percent

Foreclosures in the Greenville MSA (Greenville-Mauldin-Easley) dropped 20.8 percent in July compared to the same month in 2010.

Read the entire report in the Greenville News by clicking here.

South Carolina ranked 3 for economic potential by magazine

Business Facilities magazine ranked South Carolina third in the nation for economic growth potential, and fifth for overall business climate. Virginia and Louisiana topped the list.

Read the entire report at GSA Business by clicking here.

ROAR: South Carolina's tax code is interfering with job creation

On Tuesday, economists from states all across the country gathered at Coastal Carolina University in Conway to discuss the effects of South Carolina's archaic and counterproductive tax code at their annual economic growth summit. "Unemployed workers can add the South Carolina tax code to the list of reasons that they cannot find work..." begins the August 9 article by Adva Saldinger in the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

Read the article in the Sun News by clicking here.

Saldinger reports that, according to the economists, South Carolina's tax system is actually preventing new business creation and company expansion. In fact, the tax code is preventing job creation across the South Carolina. Economists pointed to the numerous special tax exemptions on the books and the need for comprehensive tax reform. According to ROAR, a group advocating for comprehensive tax reform, South Carolina exempts more sales tax than it collects.

Dr. Russell Sobel, an economics professor at West Virginia University, said, "When the government gives out too much stuff there's too many people at the table." Dr. Rob Salvino, Coastal Carolina, further argued that many companies either leave or never come to South Carolina "because they are not at the level to manipulate that process."

According to ROAR, our state is not broke, our tax system is.

You can read more about ROAR's take on our state's tax system by clicking here.

ROAR's Dr. Michael W. Fanning has spoken recently in Greenville.

Are ugly homes pulling down the housing market?

A column by Daniel Indiviglio in the Atlantic suggests that part of the reason why the inventory of homes in some markets are not coming down is not as much about foreclosures and short sales as it is about much of the inventory is distressed, and it shows.

Maybe Americans aren't avoiding buying homes right now -- maybe they're just avoiding buying ugly homes. The housing market may be splitting into two sub-sectors: well-kept, good-looking homes and run-down, torn-up homes. Could the latter group be preventing the housing market from stabilizing?

Read the entire column by Daniel Indiviglio in the Atlantic by clicking here.

Greenville ranked top micro city

FDI Intelligence ranked Greenville number one among the top 10 micro cities of the future. The assessment was based on six measures, including human resources and quality of life. Micro cities have less than 100,000 residents.

Read the report at GSA Business by clicking here.