STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 21.39 | SEPT. 30, 2022
BIG STORY: State treasurer used “digital bread” to buy bread in El Salvador
NEWS BRIEFS: Hurricane Ian to thrash the state today
LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Back to school
COMMENTARY, Brack: Hold onto your hats as political winds blow like crazy
SPOTLIGHT: South Carolina Farm Bureau
ANOTHER VIEW, Moore: Vote with urgency in November to thwart abortion attack
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: Open for business
State treasurer used “digital bread” to buy bread in El Salvador
By Herb Frazier | In the mountain town of Ataco in El Salvador, a female street vendor sold flatbread to S.C. State Treasurer Curtis Loftis Jr., but she did not accept U.S. dollars or another foreign currency. Instead, she wanted bitcoin.
Bitcoin was also the accepted legal tender at an upscale Salvadoran restaurant where Loftis and other South Carolinians dined in mid-September during a fact-finding visit to see how bitcoin, a digital currency, is functioning as the country’s national currency.
On Oct. 5-7, Loftis and others will discuss El Salvador’s economy and other emerging digital technology during the S.C. Blockchain Conference at the Indigo Inn in Mount Pleasant. Hester M. Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is also scheduled to attend the conference.
The conference, sponsored by the S.C. Emerging Technology Association (SCETA) based in Charleston, recently gained support from state lawmakers who authorized Loftis to spend $500,000 to study digital currency literacy. Information about digital currencies is expected to be added to the treasurer’s office website this month.
In an interview with Statehouse Report, Loftis said, “My job is not to be a proponent or an opponent of bitcoin or digital assets. My job is to look at them all and try to see how the state wants” to use the technology and then develop a financial literacy course for it.
Loftis said he found it interesting that many Salvadorans who don’t have bank accounts use bitcoin as part of their small businesses one year after the Central American country adopted bitcoin.
“After 100 years of modern banking, between 15% to 20% of the country uses bitcoin and 80% of the people do not have bank accounts,” the treasurer said. Bitcoin makes it easier and cheaper for Savadorans abroad to send money home to their relatives, he added.
Dennis Fassuliotis, SCETA’s president, said what he and others witnessed in El Salvador recently was useful in the organization’s effort to encourage more support and understanding for digital assets and emerging technologies in the Palmetto State.
“We heard multiple stories about how street vendors have embraced this technology and significantly grown their businesses as a result,” he said. “While there are a number of variables to consider, it’s exciting to ponder the prospects of how South Carolinians, especially those in our rural communities, might also benefit from using bitcoin.”
Bitcoin’s value changes daily. El Salvador’s decision to use it as legal tender along with the U.S. dollar, which replaced the country’s colòn currency in 2001, is not getting rave reviews internationally. The Conversation, an online forum on global affairs, calls the decision a failure.
Loftis was among five South Carolinians who met with the country’s finance minister and other government officials.
“They knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and they knew there were going to be missteps,” he said. “I feel confident they are going to do a fine job with it. Whether that is what (South Carolina) wants to do I don’t know. What I’ve learned in El Salvador is that what the [critics] have been writing from New York, London and Paris did not match what I saw in El Salvador.”
Loftis traveled to El Salvador with a group of business leaders, rural health officials and individuals interested in the expansion of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. They saw a 10-week financial literacy program that included lessons on how to use bitcoin for daily transactions. Loftis stressed he didn’t use state or SCETA funds to pay for his trip to El Salvador.
During the October blockchain conference, presenters will discuss bitcoin as well as business and governmental uses of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is a computer-based, ongoing permanent ledger that records transactions and ensures each one is authentic. A digital asset is anything that has a value that can be stored on the blockchain as unique digital data such as a book, music, videos and photographs.
SCETA is the first nonprofit organization in the state to promote blockchain technology, digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The blockchain technology uses bitcoin or another digital currency for transactions, including paying local taxes or making international transactions to save money and time.
Blockchain technology is said to have near unlimited uses. It can store and verify a transaction and prevent the counterfeiting of items such as pictures, car parts and clothing by placing a chip or digital token in the product.
Everyday uses for the blockchain could include storing and transferring drivers’ license information between two state governments to eliminate the need to apply for a new license in another state. The blockchain also can instantaneously move money to an individual or company without using a bank, avoiding fees and transaction limits.
Herb Frazier is special projects editor at the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Hurricane Ian to thrash South Carolina today
Staff reports | Blustery and powerful, Ian is a reincarnated hurricane after it slashed through Florida Wednesday and hit the open water of the Atlantic Ocean Thursday. The storm is expected to smash into the middle of South Carolina’s 187-mile coastline sometime this afternoon. It’s then predicted to head north through the Pee Dee.
But all of the huffing and puffing that will blow through the Palmetto State will start long before that as outer bands of the storm wrap the coast in curtains of rain and strong winds of 85 mph, half the strength of what hit Florida Wednesday. As of 5 a.m. Friday, the center of this Category 1 hurricane was 140 miles south-southeast of Charleston.
- For more of what’s to come, view the latest Lowcountry forecast.
- For cancellations and local updates, check out our latest storm news, which is updated throughout the day.
In other headlines:
S.C. abortion law not expected to get stricter. Republicans in the S.C. General Assembly couldn’t agree on a total ban on abortion during a special session, which means the procedure likely won’t get more restrictive – at least this year. On Tuesday, the House passed a strict ban that was in conflict with an earlier bill passed by the state Senate, which means the measure likely won’t be taken up this year. Currently, abortion is legal up to 20 weeks as a 6-week ban triggered by the June overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court is being challenged in state courts.
Domestic violence increased during pandemic, advocates say. Advocates say the pandemic increased the severity and cases of domestic violence as victims were forced to stay indoors with their abusers. Many feel it might grow again as Hurricane Ian approaches and locks everyone indoors.
S.C. has 4,516 new Covid cases, 5 deaths. South Carolina had 1,827 fewer cases of Covid-19 between Sept.18-24 than the previous reporting period (Sept. 11-17), state officials reported Sept. 27. Five people died from the virus between Sept.18-24.
Studies show pandemic led to more income inequality in Charleston area. The Charleston area was ranked third nationally for metropolitan areas in the United States that saw income equality worsen the most between 2019-2020, according to a new study from MagnifyMoney.
Biden adjusts student loan forgiveness amid multiple lawsuits. The Biden administration has cut back its eligibility for those who can receive student loan forgiveness. Borrowers whose federal student loans are guaranteed by the government but held by private lenders will now be excluded, affecting nearly 770,000 people.
Interior secretary in S.C. to promote telling America’s stories. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn to talk about a National Park Service program that will help tell stories about the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that included a Summerton school.
USC to expand telehealth services in rural areas. The Medical University of South Carolina recently received a $1.5 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant will be used to help the healthcare provider expand its telehealth services in rural communities in the state.
Back to school
Cartoonist Robert Ariail often interprets things a little differently, but always has an interesting take on what’s going on in South Carolina. Love the cartoon? Hate it? What do you think: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Hold onto your hats as political winds blow like crazy
By Andy Brack | Hurricane Ian won’t be able to push away the ill winds and hot air of politics spinning out of control.
We are in the midst of what GOP Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, calls the political silly season: “That’s the time just before an election when undeliverable promises and wild accusations become the order of the day,” he recently wrote in an email to constituents.
“That’s not new. What is different about this silly season, and those in recent elections, is the angry political tribalism being fueled by political campaigns, national media, talk show hosts, pundits and citizens whose keyboard bravery is sometimes spouting vitriol on social media.”
Taylor points to the need for more compromise at state and national levels as one solution. He’s right, but people in politics – as well as spectators watching at home – need to chill out some and remember how we should treat each other with decency and respect. We can disagree. We don’t need to be nasty and mean. We don’t need to constantly ramp everything up to the next level. America doesn’t need to super-size its political interactions.
With all of this being said, politicians, pundits, prognosticators and armchair quarterbacks should refrain from charges, countercharges, wild allegations and nasty, backroom stuff. We need to throw out the “winning at all costs” attitude that has infected politics since the days of South Carolina’s own Lee Atwater.
Still, we need a healthy dose of reality to try to figure out what’s going on to make better sense of our world. Let’s break it down.
In Washington, President Joe Biden is trying to hold on for dear life as people nag him about whether he’s going to run for office again – even before the results of the midterm elections are known. If Democrats are thrashed in the midterms, he probably won’t. If they survive and control at least one chamber of Congress – and no one steps up to keep former President Donald Trump from running again – Biden probably will run again.
In Congress, it looks like Democrats may keep control of the U.S. Senate thanks to poor candidate choices in key races by Republicans. But control of the U.S. House is up for grabs with the likely outcome being that the GOP narrowly takes back the chamber, in part because GOP-controlled state legislatures in important states were able to gerrymander to favor their Republican candidates.
But the national gnashing over the Jan. 6 insurrection, the peccadillos of Trump and the overturning of abortion protections may lead some voters to switch allegiances and others to get out to vote in droves. Two things make predictions difficult here:
Traditional Republicans. There’s a clear split between MAGA Trump Republicans and old-school, fiscally conservative Ronald Reagan Republicans who seem to be embarrassed by what’s going on in the party now. In places like MAGA-red Wyoming, remember that U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, who has been battling for the rule of law and taking on Trumpsters, got 29 percent of the vote in her failed primary election bid. If that represents a traditional GOP base, these frustrated voters could peel off and help Democrats keep some control at national and state levels. Or they just won’t vote, which might have the same impact.
Abortion-energized voters. Women across America are irked that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. They’re poised to vote in droves. If they do, they could change outcomes all over in ways that make it difficult for pollsters and pundits to predict. They’re a stalking horse and may have the keys to the country’s future – if they engage.
In South Carolina because of redistricting, the House will remain in Republican control. There’s virtually no path that lukewarm Democrats will retake the chamber. The state Senate isn’t up for grabs for two years. The only elections of consequence seem to be statewide races for governor and state superintendent. Traditional wisdom would hold that the GOP is favored, but in this silly season – who knows?
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
South Carolina Farm Bureau
tatehouse Report is provided for free to thousands of subscribers thanks to the generosity of our underwriters. Today we shine a spotlight on our newest underwriter, S.C. Farm Bureau. It is a grassroots, non-profit organization that celebrates and supports family farmers, locally-grown food and rural lands through legislative advocacy, education and community outreach.
S.C. Farm Bureau’s alliance of nearly 100,000 members includes everyone from foodies and fishermen to lawyers, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and of course, farmers. By connecting farmers to the larger community, the organization cultivates understanding about agriculture’s importance to our local economies. The S.C. Farm Bureau explains its mission: “We deepen our collective knowledge of who, where and how food grows. We empower people to make informed choices. We grow mutually-beneficial relationships. And, we ensure the future of the family farms, locally-grown food and the rural South Carolina lands we love.”
- To learn more about S.C. Farm Bureau’s programs, click here.
- To view media and publications, click here
- For policy and legislation, click here.
Vote with urgency in November to thwart abortion attack
By S.C. Rep. J.A. Moore, exclusive to Statehouse Report | The debate surrounding abortion that has been taking place at the Statehouse is an absolute disgrace to the women of South Carolina. Our state took a major step backwards in August when House Republicans voted to pass a near-total ban on abortion. This week, House Republicans confirmed their attack on women by insisting on their version of a ban over a slightly weaker Senate proposal.
Because of a rogue U.S. Supreme Court, far-right conservatives are waging a war on women in our state and across our country. Let me be completely clear: they will not win.
They will not win because women will turn out to vote at levels never seen before in this year’s election to vote these Republicans out.
They will not win because this ban is cruel and extreme. Under this ban, almost no exceptions are provided for. South Carolinians will not stand for that.
They will not win because this ban will lead to more deaths. Doctors will have a harder time providing adequate care to pregnant women in fear of breaking the law. Women will die if this ban becomes law.
In their misguided crusade to protect “life,” Republicans have turned a blind eye to the severe impact a total ban on abortion would cause.
They are not pro-life. If they were pro-life, they would expand Medicaid to all South Carolinians. If they were pro-life, they would ensure safe drinking water for all. If they were pro-life, they would fully fund education. But they are not pro-life, are they?
No, they are pro-birth. They assume the moral high ground on this issue and shroud themselves in self-righteousness, completely ignoring the suffering and pain a ban like this would cause. There is nothing moral about that. Because they’ve never experienced that pain and suffering, they dismiss it.
I heard one of my Republican colleagues who opposed an exception for rape and incest state that in the hypothetical scenario of a 12-year-old girl who was raped by her father and became pregnant, she “had a choice” to go to a pharmacy and purchase a Plan B contraceptive. He was asked how the child would get to the pharmacy. Did he think the rapist father would drive her?
He replied: “The ambulance,” as if it’s that simple.
Their extreme agenda is indifferent to human suffering and is out-of-touch with South Carolina. Voters will have the final say in November. We need to vote with urgency this year, because if Republicans go through with this abortion ban unpunished, they will be emboldened to expand their attack on civil rights.
S.C. Rep. J.A. Moore, D-North Charleston, represents voters in Berkeley and Charleston counties. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Send us your thoughts
Have a comment? Send your letters or comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com. Make sure to provide your contact details (name, hometown and phone number for verification. Letters are limited to 150 words.
Open for business
Here’s an older picture of a place in South Carolina that’s open for business. Where is it? Send your guess – and your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Last week’s image of “A partial Rainbow Row,” pulled in more than a dozen photo bandits guessing the correct location as North Main Street in Saluda, S.C.
Congrats to: Jay Altman of Columbia; Will Williams of Aiken; David Lupo of Mount Pleasant; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Madelyne Adams of Charleston; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Elliott Brack of Norcross, Ga.; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Will Bradley of Las Vegas, Nevada; Pat Keadle of Wagener; and Bill Segars of Hartsville.
Peel shared how Saluda had some close ties to his Texas hometown: “Approximately 40 miles west of Columbia, the town of Saluda, is situated among low, gradually sloping hills and bordered by the Saluda River, after which the town was named. The town is the county seat and sits squarely in the center of Saluda County. Two famous heroes of the Alamo, William Barrett Travis (1807–1836) and James Butler Bonham (1807–1836), were natives of Saluda, and both of them died on March 6, 1836 in the Battle of the Alamo as they defended the Alamo Mission against the bloody, 13-day siege by Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna.”
>> Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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