CHIPPING AWAY. Road crews are tearing down the ribbon of forest separating the east and west lanes of Interstate 26 between I-95 and Summerville. The state Department of Transportation has said the trees need to go because of the danger posed by motorists who run off the road and die or get seriously hurt after slamming into trees. But many citizens have questioned the degradation, saying it’s bad for the environment — and makes a dull road even duller. Photo by Andy Brack.
STATEHOUSE REPORT | Issue 14.19 | MAY 8, 2015
NEWSStudy will provide new tool in war on poverty
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher
MAY 8, 2015 | A major study now underway is expected to show how hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians who live above the government-defined federal poverty level are struggling to make ends meet.
The study, funded by the United Way Association of South Carolina and affiliated groups, will showcase a new “self-sufficiency standard” for the Palmetto State. Advocates of the standard say it’s much better than federal poverty guidelines to gauge the real financial stability of families. In South Carolina, 837,000 residents lived at or below the federal poverty level in 2013, according to Census data.
“The research will be conducted by the University of Washington and will produce a measurement that would establish the minimum income [that] working families need to meet their basic necessities,” said Anita Garrett, who is coordinating the project for the state United Way. “Local United Way agencies, along with an array of diverse stakeholders, are excited about what this will mean for South Carolina as we all work to combat poverty and address income instability.”
Results in other states, 37 of which have a self-sufficiency standard of data, show that thousands of more families struggle than those who fall below the federal poverty level, which is a formula essentially based on the cost of food. The new standard, however, will factor in the burden of other costs — transportation, health care, affordable housing, child care and taxes — to give a more realistic picture of the income families need to sustain themselves.
In Mississippi, for example, federal poverty data from 2007 identifies 18 percent of households — some 131,000 families — as living below the federal poverty level. But the updated self-sufficiency standard for Mississippi reflects that 32 percent of households — another 105,628 families — struggle to make ends meet.
The story is similar in Georgia, according to a 2008 report on the self-sufficiency standard. It showed that a single adult with two children would earn $13,624 a year in a minimum-wage job ($6.55 per hour in 2008), but would really need to earn $14.49 per hour ($30,611) to be self-sufficient and not struggle. In 2008 in Georgia, the federal poverty level for a family of three was $17,600.
To date, all states in the South, except South Carolina and Arkansas, have done a study to determine self-sufficiency standards. If the new South Carolina study shows results similar to Mississippi — with about a third of people struggling — the real number of people struggling in the Palmetto State may be 1.4 million.
New standard will have policy implications
Garrett said the federal poverty level, designed more than four decades ago, was outdated and inadequate. The new standard will “measure income inadequacy using the most up-to-date methodology and data available.”
In essence, the new standard will offer what it really means to live at a basic level in South Carolina without struggling. It should have a major impact to bring the debate on poverty in South Carolina into the 21st Century, proponents say.
“This tool has been used by government entities, advocates, philanthropic institutions and service providers in more than 37 states to assess and enhance policies to evaluate program improvement, to establish funding priorities and to develop public education tools,” Garrett said.
Charleston lawyer Charles Patrick, a recent chairman of the Trident United Way and current chair of its policy committee, said the new standard would help the state.
“If we are going to advocate for public policy initiatives, such as a state earned income tax credit, that will allow for working families to become self sufficient, we need to know how much income it really takes for a family to meet its basic needs,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we have previously been forced to rely on the outdated and unrealistic federal poverty standard, which assumes that a family of four, no matter the composition of that family (two adults and two teenagers versus a single mother and three small children) can live on the same amount of money in any area of the country (downtown Charleston versus a rural county in Utah).”
Patrick said it just makes sense to have better information.
“In order to determine how to lift families out of poverty, we need to know how much money it will really take to do so. The self-sufficiency standard tells us what it actually takes whereas the federal poverty level deceives us into believing that well intentioned efforts are sufficient when they are, in fact, woefully inadequate. In order for us to lift families out of poverty, it only makes sense to know what it will take to do that.”
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher
MAY 8, 2015 | Only one in 10 state legislators apparently is conservative enough for Gov. Nikki Haley, who last week reignited a feud with the General Assembly by singling out just 17 state lawmakers for voting with her on three issues — pay raises, gas taxes and bonded indebtedness.
We’re not quite sure how Haley is the queen of figuring out who is conservative enough, but you’ve got to wonder a little about her leadership skills after winning a second term if only 17 legislators out of 170 are backing what she thinks is important.
“Her strategy of calling people out is a unique strategy — one I’m not familiar with in terms of what she hopes to gain, other than rankle people whose votes she needs on other things,” one veteran Republican insider said. “It’s clearly a strategy, but to what end?”
Whatever Haley was doing, it didn’t sit well with a lot of the 105 Republicans in the legislature, such as Spartanburg Sen. Lee Bright, who many view as more conservative than Attila the Hun.
He told The Greenville News that he didn’t need Haley to be the arbiter of conservative credentials: “She has been playing footsie with the moderates ever since she became governor. She’s continuing to do it, and we’re not going to assist her in it.”
So perhaps by dividing the world into Haley supporters and Haley opponents, as the governor did last week at the state Republican convention, the hyper-ambitious governor might be signaling something about her political future. Some possibilities:
- Vice president. Maybe Haley is hoping to be the next Sarah Palin, a vice presidential candidate for the 2016 nominee. But most agree that her background, such as the rebuffed ethics inquiry on activities while a member of the S.C. House. precludes serious consideration for the nation’s number two spot. Additionally, South Carolina is such a reliably red state that Haley wouldn’t bring anything to the ticket.
- Cabinet officer or ambassador. If a Republican becomes president in 2016, some say Haley might get a nod for a top administration post, although others say her background might get in the way of serving on the cabinet. They admit, however, she could get a major ambassadorship, such as to India.
- U.S. Senate. A couple of scenarios are possible. First, she could run for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, whom she appointed in 2013 after Jim DeMint stepped down. While Scott won the seat in November, it is up for consideration again in 2016. Second, what happens if U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is up again in 2020, gets a big cabinet position in the next administration? That could set off a chain reaction in which Haley could resign and then be appointed to finish out Graham’s term — which would give her the national platform she so desperately seems to crave. Stranger things have happened.
- National platform. Haley, who is not independently wealthy, might need to earn a paycheck when she’s done being governor, which could translate into serving on a couple of big corporate boards or becoming a television personality for a conservative group. Or she could head up an industry group like the later Gov. Carroll Campbell did when he ran a national insurance trade association after finishing his gubernatorial service.
College of Charleston political science professor Gibbs Knotts says it’s a challenge to figure out Haley’s end game.
“She has a potentially long career ahead of her after the end of her current term,” he said. “I could certainly see her being appointed to a cabinet position or being named an ambassador. This makes sense. Though she might run for Congress or U.S. Senate, I would be surprised.
“For some, it is a difficult transition to move from a chief executive position back to a legislative position. The skills of executives and legislators are not always compatible. I would also not be too surprised if she transitions to a private sector role or takes some other type of leadership position outside. Governor James Edwards had a long and distinguished career as president of MUSC after leaving the governor’s mansion.”
ADDENDUM: ON HALEY’S GOP CONSERVATIVE LIST
- Sen. Sean Bennett, Summerville
- Sen. Chip Campsen, Charleston
- Sen. Tom Davis, Beaufort
- Sen. Mike Fair, Greenville
- Sen. Larry Martin, Pickens
- Sen. Shane Massey, Edgefield
- Sen. Harvey Peeler Gaffney
- Sen. Paul Thurmond, Charleston
- Sen. Ross Turner, Greenville
- Sen. Danny Verdin, Laurens
- Sen. Tom Young, Aiken
- Rep. Reps. Todd Atwater, Lexington
- Rep. Eric Bedingfield, Belton
- Rep. Dan Hamilton, Greenville
- Rep. Chip Huggins, Columbia
- Rep. Rick Quinn, Lexington County
- Rep. Tommy Stringer, Greenville
S.C. Association of Counties
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Statehouse Report to you at no cost. This week’s featured underwriter is the South Carolina Association of Counties.
The SCAC was chartered on June 22, 1967, and is the only organization dedicated to statewide representation of county government in South Carolina. Membership includes all 46 counties, which are represented by elected and appointed county officials who are dedicated to improving county government. SCAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that operates with a full-time staff in its Columbia offices. It is governed by a 29-member Board of Directors composed of county officials from across South Carolina.
The Association strives to “Build Stronger Counties for Tomorrow” by working with member counties in the fields of research, information exchange, educational promotion and legislative reporting.
Fighting ourselves
“As I told somebody, why do we as a party need to worry about the Democrats because we are tearing each other down. We don’t need them to do it because we are accomplishing that on our own. To me, that is not how we’re going to win in 2016.”
– S.C. Rep. Phyllis Henderson, R-Greer, in The Greenville News on how Gov. Nikki Haley made a list that criticized GOP legislators. More.
NUMBER47,000
Pounds of liquified (err, scrambled) eggs that spilled this week when a truck overturned on its way to a Mauldin mayonnaise plan. Yes, we know it’s not a number related to politics or policy, but this was just too odd to pass up. More.
Thumbs up
Colbert. Hats off for Charleston’s famous son, Stephen Colbert, for donating more than $800,000 to teacher charities across South Carolina. Generousness is next to truthiness?
Giving Day. Back slaps all around to thousands of South Carolinians for participating in Giving Day throughout the state on Tuesday as millions of dollars were raised for state charities.
Inglis. Congratulations to former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, a dyed-in-the-wool believer in the dangers of climate change, for winning the JFK Profile in Courage award. More.
In the middle
License plate. The state is phasing in a new, clearer license plate for specialty tags that will be easier for people to identify tag numbers at night. But it sure does look a lot more boring. More.
Thumbs down
State Senate. Boos and hisses to the state Senate on a new plan for private school vouchers. Using tax dollars for private schools is wrong, no matter which way you try to create it. More.
S.C. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. Thumbs down for wrongly charging the federal government for room and board for some patients with intellectual disabilities. Wrongful use of the federal money means the state owes $1.6 million. More.
Tough place for working mothers. The state ranks second from the bottom overall for working mothers with low rankings on child care quality, number of women executives and work-life balance. More.
State regulators. Thumbs down on state regulators for signing off on seismic testing for oil and gas off the coast. More.
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIADr. Benjamin Mays
Civil rights activist, writer and college president Benjamin Elijah Mays was born on August 1, 1894, in rural South Carolina near Rambo in Edgefield County (now Epworth in Greenwood County). He was the youngest of eight children born to Hezekiah Mays and Louvenia Carter, former slaves turned tenant farmers. Growing up in the rural South at a time when African Americans were disfranchised by law, Mays experienced a climate of hate where lynchings and race riots were common. In fact, Mays’s first memory was the 1898 Phoenix Riot, in which his cousin was murdered by whites.
Early in life Mays developed an “insatiable desire” for education, but racial inequality and prejudice had severely handicapped his educational career. Struggling against his limited educational background, his family’s poverty, and his father’s insistence that he remain on the farm, Mays enrolled at the high school of the black South Carolina State College. Four years later, in 1916, Mays graduated at the top of his class and became engaged to fellow student Ellen Harvin.
Mays looked to continue his education at a northern college. Rejected because of his race from his top choice, Holderness School in New Hampshire, Mays enrolled at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he graduated with honors in 1920. Following graduation, Mays briefly returned home to South Carolina to marry Harvin, who had been teaching home economics at Morris College in Sumter. The couple moved to Chicago, where Mays enrolled at the University of Chicago to study divinity. After three semesters at Chicago and as a result of a personal invitation from John Hope, president of Morehouse, Mays took a teaching position at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he taught algebra and mathematics from 1921 through 1924 and served for a year as acting dean. During his tenure at Morehouse, Mays, who was ordained in 1921, served as the pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church, which allowed him to grow in his spiritual faith and deal with the loss of his wife Ellen, who died in 1923.
Following the death of his wife, Mays left Morehouse to continue his graduate work at the University of Chicago, where he earned an M.A. in 1925. Although he considered pursuing his Ph.D., Mays instead returned to South Carolina State to teach English. There he met Sadie Gray, who became his second wife in 1926. After marrying, the couple moved to Florida to work with the National Urban League to improve housing, employment, and health conditions of African Americans. A few years later, in 1928, expecting to be fired for challenging segregation, they resigned from their jobs and moved to Atlanta, where Benjamin took a position with the national Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and worked to integrate that organization in the North and the South. In 1930 Mays left the YMCA to conduct a study of black churches with fellow minister Joseph W. Nicholson. The study, which focused on 609 urban congregations and 185 rural congregations, was published in 1933 as The Negro’s Church. In 1931 Mays returned to the University of Chicago School of Religion to finish his Ph.D., which he received in 1935. In 1934, as Mays was finishing his Ph.D., he accepted appointment as dean of the School of Religion at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In this position Mays traveled overseas to visit world leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi of India.
After six years at Howard, in 1940 Mays accepted an offer to become president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. For the next twenty-seven years Mays worked tirelessly at Morehouse, collecting $15 million in donations, overseeing the construction of eighteen buildings, and conducting well-attended Tuesday morning chapel talks with students. Mays unrelentingly preached engagement, responsibility, and stewardship to his Morehouse students. His inspiring leadership made Morehouse one of the most prestigious black universities in America, which graduated a disproportionately high number of future Ph.D.’s, college presidents, and civil rights leaders. Several of his gifted students, including Julian Bond and Maynard Jackson, went on to become leaders of the national civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, leading one writer to describe Mays as “Schoolmaster of the Movement.” One student whom Mays particularly impressed was Martin Luther King, Jr., who often stayed late with Mays to discuss theology. King and Mays became lifelong friends. In 1968 Mays delivered the eulogy at King’s funeral.
In 1967 Mays retired as president of Morehouse College and took the position of chairman of the school board in Atlanta, where he worked to correct racial inequalities in the school system. In 1970 Mays finished his autobiography, Born to Rebel, which has stood as an invaluable contribution to the study of American race relations. The life of Benjamin E. Mays has been celebrated and respected. He was awarded forty-nine honorary degrees and was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1984. He died on March 28, 1984, in Atlanta.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!