By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Dear Santa,
South Carolina is a poor state with a lot of challenges. This holiday, please give state officials the courage to deal with these needs and pet peeves:
Boo to tail-gaters. Too many people follow too closely at high rates of speed on regular roads and Interstates. It’s no wonder that more than 900 people have been killed on South Carolina highways so far this year. Risky drivers who zoom along one or two car lengths behind you (when you’re driving 70 miles per hour) are nothing but a menace to society.
Budget should reflect values. Budgets are moral documents. They should reflect authentic Palmetto State values, not partisan pandering. Let’s focus on doing things with state tax dollars that mean a lot to all people – better schools, better health care and strategies to reduce poverty. Let’s also have responsible tax reform that eliminates billions of dollars of special interest sales tax exemptions and then pumps revenues into our needs or cuts sales tax rates to make us more competitive.
Boost public schools. State legislators need to follow state law and fund schools fully – and then do even more to make up for past thievery. We cannot afford to continue to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools if we want our children to participate fully in the global economy. To do less for public education is to continue a plantation-inspired economic culture.
Produce more local agriculture. South Carolinians spend $2 billion a year on food. Ninety percent of that spending goes out of state, which is kind of ridiculous in a state blessed with rich, arable land. State officials need to figure out more ways for family farmers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for local markets and groceries so we can keep more agriculture money in the Palmetto State. Live local, buy local.
No to offshore exploration. Don’t let state legislators get hoodwinked into believing there is a safe way to explore for oil or natural gas off the South Carolina coast. Imagine if we had a Deepwater Horizon-type tragedy. It would cripple the state’s $20 billion annual tourism industry.
Independence on redistricting. South Carolina’s legislative leaders should take the politics out of redistricting by ending gerrymandering through appointment of an independent commission to redraw legislative and congressional lines. If more election districts were competitive, we’d have a resurgence in public servants working for the common good, not to promote partisan political platforms..
Deal with chronic underinvestment in infrastructure. State lawmakers finally approved an increase to the gas tax in 2017, a move that will shore up roads and bridges over coming years. (If they wanted to make the policy better, they could also index the increase to inflation so that they don’t have to have more arguments in future years.) Now lawmakers need to make sure other state infrastructure is up to snuff. They need to pass a bond bill to upgrade neglected college facilities. They need to invest in light rail to improve transportation in metro areas. They need better bus networks to make transportation better in rural areas. And with the $9 billion debacle of a nuclear facility this year, there needs to be a good look at investing in the energy grid, including expansion of renewable energy resources.
Meet early to develop priorities. Every year for more than a decade, we’ve urged state lawmakers to develop a set of common priorities – Palmetto Priorities – to guide the decision-making process. Instead of taking such a forward-looking strategic approach, they generally show up each January with two goals – to pass the annual budget and to grease whatever hot button issues are squeaking the wheels of government. Let’s be smarter about legislating by prioritizing the state’s needs. Our Palmetto Priorities include everything from developing a broad-based anti-poverty agenda and infusing more resources into small business development to optimizing preventive health care and adopting a real state energy policy.
Santa, in the year that is ahead, please give packages of courage to state lawmakers – Republicans, Democrats and independents – to inspire them to think and act more strategically for all of South Carolina. If they can do that, we’ll all have a great holiday in 2018.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!