The $700 Million Question
South Carolina politicians are having a rhetorical field day with the so-called “Stimulus Showdown,” an ongoing battle between Gov. Mark Sanford and most of the political establishment in Columbia and Washington D.C.
The dispute is over the disposition of $700 million in federal bureaucratic bailout funds that Sanford wants to use to pay down the state’s debt (as opposed to adding to the country’s debt).
All of the money will eventually be devoured by an insatiable government pit somewhere, of course, but that hasn’t stopped a protracted political chess match from playing out, one that involves Sanford, President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman, Superintendent Jim Rex and dozens of other state, local and federal officials.
Amazingly, even without the $700 million South Carolina’s budget will still be bigger than it was last year.
Think about that … in the worst revenue year in decades, our state is still growing government.
Of course Leatherman – who conferred with Clyburn on strategy yesterday – is already trying to spin you away from that reality.
In a letter sent to the governor, the diminutive socialist wrote that “we have heard estimates of between 1700 and 4000 teachers and school employees being fired.”
Really? Never mind that South Carolina’s public schools currently have nearly $790 million in carry-forward reserve funds stockpiled away.
Leatherman goes on to tell Sanford “we have heard that higher ed tuition could increase by double digits.”
Hmmmm …. never mind that college budgets are still going up in spite of reductions in their state appropriations.
Leatherman is doing what big government backers always do in times like these – he’s exaggerating the potential damage to the sacredest of sacred cows.
And he’s doing it to protect government pork, pure and simple.
Still, we’re not entirely sold on Sanford’s solution.
Debt repayment is fine, we guess, but why not give the cash directly to the taxpayers? They’re the ones on the hook for it, after all.
The bottom line is that whatever happens to this $700 million, we’re still talking about nonexistent money that’s either being printed in Washington or borrowed from China. It doesn’t exist, except in the astronomically higher taxes we’re going to have to pay in the future.
Government at all levels is on crack, people.
Even now, with all systems rebelling against its excesses, it can’t stop spending and it can’t stop careening toward total state control.
God help us. But more importantly, God help our kids.
Comments
By lou on March 27th, 2009 at 7:30 am
The Governor is playing with the lives of too many people.
We will be responsible as citizens of the United States for paying back the stimulus money whether we get it or not.
What gives with that?
Does Marky Mark think we ought to pay and not play?
By DJ on March 27th, 2009 at 8:03 am
I agree with Gov.Sanford on not taking the bailout money, but seriously…why now is he making all this noise about budgets? I mean really…how long has he been in office? And all of a sudden he is now raising a ruckus? I suppose trying to fix it now is better late than never, but makes you wonder what was going on in the last couple of years. All these ridiculous politicians crying about the money, what the heck did you do with the money that you were given originally?…seriously..a fifth grader can budget better. You want to stimulate the economy? Fix the fu!@%$#$@ing roads around here so I can buy a new car lol. Till then I will not spend any money like that in Columbia as long as I can help it.
By sclawyerIII on March 27th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Printing money to some extent is money that does not exist, but I’m not sure I see your point on the loans. It is money that very much exists and will be paid back over time. Like all good Americans our Government knows the value of leverage.
But it is very real money solidly secured by the power to tax.
By TommyB on March 27th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Is that picture from one of the Star Wars movies?
By Jack on March 27th, 2009 at 9:49 am
It’s time to help ourselves. We have to reverse the trend toward ever more powerful government, and the single largest transfer of power from the federal government to the people and the states is contained in HR 25, currently filed in the House of Representatives with over 50 co-sponsors. The FairTax Act eliminates congress’s ability to use the tax code to reward supporters and punish those it currently dislikes, even groups as small as 70 or so AIG employees. Who’s going to be their next target?
Enough rhetoric. It’s time for action. Join the SC FairTax supporters at the Township Auditorium on April 15. East Coast Party Band starts when the doors open at 4:30. Main event featuring Neal Boortz and Gov. Mike Huckabee and others starts at 5:30. Stop by the Capitol grounds and FairTax volunteers at the Carolina Cafe, corner of Pendleton and Sumter streets will help you find your Representatives offices to show your support for a SC FairTax Act.
By mackone on March 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I am afraid that this is turning out to be one of those lose, lose situations. That is what I hope is a more palatable way of saying damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Are we not capable of having dialogue between members and so called leaders of Government without resorting to over the top accusations and innuendo? I think that the Education supporters need to come up with something better than do it for the kids. For that matter, so should the Health Dept., Dept. of Public Safety, the Recreation Dept. and all of the Departments that serve our younger citizens of South Carolina. Departments that truthfully are very important to our children, but also need to understand that based on the income of most South Carolinians, the revenue they are depending on is not infinite. It has limits and I am concerned that most of these Agencies have not learned that lesson. Live with what the tax payer, who by the way is ultimately your employer, can afford. I have too many acquaintances in Government who scramble like the dickens to spend all of their allotted funds before the end of the fiscal year so the budget writers won’t be tempted to give them less money the following year. Maybe we should start some kind of program that rewards stewardship of taxpayer money. Nah, that makes too much sense.
All I have been hearing is we need more money, take the Government Stimulus, everybody else is taking it.
This is why this is a no win situation; I have to agree with you in that I am struggling with this issue myself. But, I am old enough to remember a past Governor standing before the state saying “by increasing our sales tax just this additional one cent will secure our education funding for the foreseeable future”. (I believe he was the first Secretary of Education of a Presidents Cabinet, not to mention any names of course.) That worked fine until our, can’t keep their hands of money, legislature decided to move it to the General Fund. Or how about the Tobacco Settlement, we wanted that money in our hot little hand immediately so we took a lump sum and squandered it. Have we forgotten the flap over School buses? Talk about burning a hole in your pocket. You can almost equate putting money in front of a politician to holding a weight watchers meeting in a bakery. Sorry, that’s not fair to people who are really trying to resist and improve their lives. I guess the main difference between the two would be, it is their lives they are concerned with.
When I was a young man I always felt that we needed to elect young people to office with short term limits so that they would have to live with their own decisions. Things like, rising taxes, declaring war, inflation, sending kids through college, buying a home, providing for family, and the things that life consist of.
As to Governor Sanford, there are some things that are worth fighting for and I for one applaud his efforts of trying to hold up some kind of ideals that future generations could learn from, but I am afraid that too many members of the State Legislature did not learn that lesson.
What was that line in the Tom Cruise movie? “SHOW ME THE MONEY”! Our new state motto!
By Not Sayin', Just Sayin' on March 27th, 2009 at 11:31 am
The money is going to be spent by someone. We are going to pay it back. Why not just take the damn money. Oh, because it disturbs the philosophy of our dreamy, plantation-born governor.
By Gillon on March 27th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
You say “…our state is still growing government.” Well, yes, duh. If you check you might notice that SC is the 10th fastest growing state in the US. It would seem simple logic that this increasing number of people might require more schools, more law enforcement agents, more highways, etc. etc. You also say that “…college budgets are going up.” Well, yes, duh, again, you reckon that there possibly might be more students going to college than last year with the growing population? Plus, would you think that maybe you might have to factor in inflation? Government and colleges aren’t immune from it. It’s always a good idea to think things through before you go on another big government rant.
By Marvin on March 28th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Not Sayin’ and Gillon: We shouldn’t take the “damn money” because it will put our state on the hook for a billion dollar tax increase in two years to pay for the schools and cops. Cut the spending now. Also, our student population has not been increasing much at all statewide — there may be an increase in retirees, but they don’t need schools, K-12 or universities. College budgets are going up because they are building expensive “labs” for all their “technology” that no one is renting, and investing public money in Harrell, Leatherman and McConnell’s pyramid scheme. Not to mention the TERI program, which is a billion dollars mistake that costs us today and will for a long time after.
We are not growing government to educate children and enforce the law, Gillon. Look at where the billion dollar surplus went –not to fix roads or build more prisons. It went to slush funds that the Speaker used to buy his votes. That’s why we grew government, and everyone inside the Statehouse knows it.
By Mike Honcho on March 28th, 2009 at 8:52 am
DJ –
Did you ask why Sanford has raised all this ‘rackus about the budget?’
Seriously? Either you’ve come from another planet or you just discovered the internet.
FITS – Tax cuts would be better. Since the Littlest Spender hates tax cuts during good times he ain’t gonna like’em now.
Trackbacks