We have no idea what S.C. Public Service Commissioner David Wright was doing testifying before a U.S. Senate Energy Committee yesterday, but one of our lobbyist buddies up in Washington D.C. e-mailed us a pretty funny excerpt from his testimony.
Evidently, Wright was attempting to explain why South Carolina would be unable to implement a proposed Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and in doing so invoked the fact that South Carolinians are, well, pretty damn stupid …
Literacy levels are low in South Carolina, and pose a significant obstacle to our meeting the energy efficiency component of an RPS. Statistics indicate that South Carolina has high student dropout rates and the majority of residents have some degree of illiteracy.
South Carolina has the 4th highest percentage of adults at Level I or 2 in the country. More than half (56%) of our state’s residents fall within severe (Level 1) to moderate (Level 2) ranges of illiteracy (level 1 is the lowest literacy level. Adults in this category can perform simple tasks with text and documents, but display difficulty using certain reading, writing, and computational skills considered necessary for functioning in everyday life.
Adults at literacy level 2 can begin to compare and contrast but are unable to perform higher level reading and problem solving skills.) If people cannot read or write, they will have a difficult time comprehending information about energy efficiency and conservation.
He’s got a point.
Of course, a lot of South Carolinians have a hard time comprehending information in comic strips and cartoons, too.
But Wright’s bigger point is also good one … which is that the federal government needs to consider multiple factors before imposing a “one-size fits all” renewable energy mandate on fifty vastly different U.S. states.
Let’s face it, “one-size-fits-all” thinking is exactly why our state keeps producing so many stupid people.
By George February 11, 2009 at 7:09 am
Wright is one of the faceless, nameless government insiders that has made a good living buying and sell the rights and privileges of others (a practice known as growing government). He runs political campaigns on the side (often times from his PSC office…and does little to help the average illiterate South Carolinian.
By lou February 11, 2009 at 9:31 am
then these dumb people do drugs, right? That’s what the employment people said.
By Too dumb to vote? February 11, 2009 at 10:08 am
This points out how the stupidity of our population is partly responsible for continuing to keep electing people who do not have the taxpayer’s best interest at heart- the RINOs.
All these politicians have to say is they are Republican , and are God fearing Christians and our poorly educated morons pull the lever for them.
By Earl Capps February 11, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Lou – drug use is an issue that a number of rural employers have been dealing with. My company and others have found 10-20% of those we wanted to hire could not be hired because they tested positive for drug use, many of whom weren’t even employed – so how could they afford drugs?!?
To raise this as an issue might be legitimate for discussion, but it’s far from the only issue.
I see the education issue which Wright talked about present among my own company’s workforce – but a lot of it has nothing to do with the schools. We have a large part of our state’s population that does not think having an education and avoiding drug use matters. While there may be some things school choice can help with around the margins, I don’t believe you can radically change this culture overnight, maybe not even in a generation.
I’m at the point where I don’t know if there’s anything we can do, ever. But I’m sure tired of my hard-earned tax dollars going to subsidize this culture of failure that does little more than produce a new generation and programs them to accept and embrace a culture of failure.
When people who work for a living struggle to put food on the table and afford health insurance for their families, in part to pay the taxes that allows someone who chooses to live on skid row gets free groceries and free health care with no deductibles or co-pays, something is very wrong.
Call me intolerant and racist, but I’m tired of struggling to support my own – as well all the losers who couldn’t care less about their kids.
By Philip Branton February 11, 2009 at 4:44 pm
DAVID WRIGHT……………..!!!! You…Idiot !!!!!
Are you …HIGH ??? (Fist Poundz, Poundz, POUNDS!!!)
By the looks of your eyes…you’ve been weedin’ !!!!
I’ve not seen your name in print around this STATE educating ANYONE about ENERGY …….or yeti SQUAT !!!!!!
ENERGY…???? ENERGY ??? Geez !!!???
Where is your trash …DUMP ??? Mr “RIGHT” ???? We want to know !!!!!!
Mark Sanford needs to put you under STATE arrest !!! How did you get
…OUT ??????
Have you ever been to the TURBINE facility in Greenville????
Do you know that we have …WIND ?????? I highly suggest you take a walk OUTSIDE………!!!!!!
Maybe you have been smokin’ with Jim Rainey….our state ECONOMICS FORECASTER !!?!?!
By west_rhino February 11, 2009 at 8:53 pm
So, between the lines, Mark Sanford might be correct in the asssertation that some of the Obama largesse, leveraged upon our children, might not be reachable for SC? Oh dearie me, we is too illiterate to buy into the global warming/carbon offsets scam or even to be welcoming to the hoardes of gay tourists led to Bob Jones University by the few SC is So Gay campaign posters… maybe we’re just stupid enough to keep all the nuclear waste that Harry Reid’s state is supposed to be accepting in Yucca Mountain, though that might scare the Hollywood elite away from the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas(right OJ?)” appeal of Sodom west.
By Jabbo February 13, 2009 at 6:57 pm
This scenario fits the whole country. Look at the number of idiots that voted for Obama. Then Congress seats half of the crooks on Capitol Hill in Obama’s Cabinet. Americans cannot reason through a simple problem. All they know how to do is ask for something free.