Another Bad Fiscal Report Card

South Carolina is facing a deeper financial hole than most states due to its poor spending habits, according to a report released this week by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO).

The report also found that South Carolina is filling full-time government positions at a faster clip than any other state in the nation.

On the spending front, the report shows that South Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly grew the state budget by 8.9% last year, compared to a national average growth rate of 5.3%.

That excess is now coming back to haunt lawmakers, as our state’s budget is falling off the cliff at a much faster rate than other states.

At the time the NASBO report was being researched, South Carolina’s budget reductions for the current year totaled 4.4%, compared to the national average of -0.1%.

Obviously, that situation has only deteriorated in recent weeks.

Of course – as was noted earlier this week – things aren’t quite as bad (yet) as some are suggesting, with government growth still up from four years ago when the latest legislative spending orgy began.

Perhaps most troubling in this report, though, is the number of full-time government positions filled in the current fiscal year.

South Carolina shows a dramatic 11.52% increase in filled full-time positions in the current budget cycle, easily the highest percentage increase in the nation.

Nationally, the number of full-time positions filled increased by less than a percent.

Yet rather than cut some of that veritable forest of dead wood, state agencies large and small are furloughing employees by the thousands to avoid having to eliminate positions.

You can access NASBO by clicking here, and reveiw the “Fall 2008 FIscal Survey of the States” by clicking here.

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