The University of South Carolina is boldly proclaiming that it will keep paying for S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell’s hydrogen fuel cell dreams – a whopping $40 million state investment (so far, at least) that has produced absolutely squat in the way of jobs and capital investment.
Sure, the taxpayer-funded flunkies at fuel cell central – at Speaker Harrell’s behest – spit out some bogus “job creation” numbers recently to justify the ongoing annual taxpayer investment, but the fact is that both the “hydrogen economy of the future” and its supporting Innovista campus are unmitigated taxpayer disasters.
“The Speaker’s office asked for some number on the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Cluster — jobs and investment — over the past five years,” reads a recent email from SC Hydrogen Fuel Cell Alliance Director Shannon Baxter-Clemmons. “All of the SCHFCA Board organizations, plus some others, were contacted for those numbers.”
Really? Of course the Speaker “asked for some numbers.”
Harrell has staked his political career on this government-driven economic development nonsense, and the fact that the administration of Barack Obama (which spends money on friggin’ everything) no longer views hydrogen fuel cells as a viable technology has Harrell scrambling to cover his bets … or rather, the bets he made with our money.
The bogusness of Harrell’s spin was laid bare in a masterful position paper published earlier this month by Kevin Dietrich over at the S.C. Policy Council.
One by one, Dietrich refutes Harrell’s claims of what this public-private partnership has actually produced.
For example, Harrell says this massive investment (which includes tens of millions in additional funding from both federal and local government sources) has created 229 jobs.
Wait, 229 jobs? That’s it? That’s certainly a far cry from the “thousands of high-paying jobs” we were promised as recently as two years ago.
Of course, even this embarrassingly-low figure only works if you count lobbyists, PR staff and professors, Dietrich says – all of whom are paid for with taxpayer salaries.
There’s also the claim that the state’s investment is producing a “10-to-1″ return, which is a joke. In fact, of the $115 million in “non-state” investment Harrell boasts of, only $5 million of it comes from “private” money.
The rest comes from the feds, local governments and the University.
In spite of this abject failure, Harrell – along with USC President Harris Pastides and Columbia S.C. Mayor Bob Coble – is still looking to funnel as much taxpayer money as possible into Innovista, which right now consists of a bunch of mostly-empty bureaucratic office buildings.
We’ll have an update on these hydro-scammers latest creative accounting soon, so stay tuned …
By w July 23, 2009 at 9:19 am
Way to go Mr. Speaker.
Really smart guy there. No seriously…..brilliant.
Spend millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars, in a recession no less, whilst we fire teachers and healthcare workers, on some unproven technology that if proven effective wouldnt be available to the public until 2025, and even then, only to the uber rich like Harrell and his other whites only country club friends.
By PatrickS July 23, 2009 at 4:17 pm
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This piece is exactly what the website says it should be: Unfair. Imbalanced.
South Carolina is in a leadership position for an emerging technology sector and is making the smart, consistent play to fund research and innovation to bring companies, jobs and revenue to the state. Look at how much California’s been able to do. SC can do similar things on the East Coast.
The only sure waste of money would be to stop the investment now. Harrell and others are on the right path.
By fitsnews July 23, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Patrick-
Ever heard the song “Head Like A Hole?”
We think Trent Reznor had you in mind when he wrote it …
-FITS
By Myles Keogh July 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm
As a Carolina alum I will be the first to tell you this is an absolute disgrace!! But have no fear – Former Carolina President Sorensen, current President Harry Pesticides and the geriatric members who make up the university’s board of trustees will never be held accountable for this debacle and every other lame brain decision they have made that has adversely my alma mater. Members like Herbert Adams, Mungo, Floyd, etc never had their feet held to the fire for their lack of oversight when the perverted Holderman was running Carolina into the ground. They know they won’t be held responsible for this catostrophe of the tax payers money.
The hiring of President Pesticides was political and financial cover by the BOT. Pesticides was Sorenson’s point man on the financial boon doggle. To cover their own ineptitude the BOT hired Sorenson’s boy to continue with this farce. The BOT refused to even consider Andy Card because they knew that as president he would have reviewed the current debacle and cut it off. The BOT would not have that because that would expose them.
President Pesticides needs to be fired immediatley and the current BOT should all be serving their last term on the Board. Until these fossils are removed and term limits are put in place this same kind of BS will continue at Carolina.
By King Cotton July 24, 2009 at 9:05 am
PatrickS – might this be your organization? http://www.hydrogenassociation.org/about/staff.asp
If so, and I see a certain “PatrickS” listed as director of technology and communications, then it’s not surprising you’re backing Bobby Harrell.
By Tim July 24, 2009 at 11:18 am
My favorite movie ever about city politics: COLONEL EFFINGHAM’S RAID
By PatrickS July 24, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Hi King Cotton, whoever you are. Yes, my name is Patrick Serfass and I’m Vice President of the National Hydrogen Association. If you’d like to talk technology and facts, let me know.
We’re not backing Bobby Harrell as a person, we’re backing the technology in which South Carolina has been smartly investing. If you learn as much as we know about what it takes to build an emerging technology sector in a state like South Carolina, including the time and investment it takes AND you understand what hydrogen and fuel cell technologies can do, you’d understand why so many leaders and companies think this is a good idea for SC.
I understand that we are in a tough economic climate and SC especially so. However, good plans have near-term tactics and long-term strategies and hydrogen and fuel cell research is a smart long-term strategy that has HUGE potential benefits for SC. Many people can’t see that because they may have lost their jobs or are experiencing cost cutting, but you can’t loose sight of the long-term goals while addressing the near-term issues. Hydrogen and fuel cells can really help if you let the leaders continue the good work they’re doing. The technology is policy-blind. It works.
By Myles Keogh July 24, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Drilling offshore, more coal fired plants and nuclear power would help more!
By King Cotton July 24, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Patrick, while I admire your enthusiasm for hydrogen, I think it’s also important to look at the facts here in South Carolina: More than $40 million in tax dollars invested for some 200-plus jobs. That’s hardly the type of return our state can afford.
Quite simply, it comes down to a matter of priorities. There’s only so much money available and it’s better utilized in core services such as education and law enforcement. Government does not have a very good track record when it comes to investing in technology and economic development; private enterprise tends to do a much better job because it has more at stake in terms of profits and losses.
If hydrogen is the wave of the future, I’d imagine a private business will jump at the opportunity to harness the technology and make a tidy profit. That’s the magic of the free market system. But because government investments don’t have to reap a return, government tends to throw good money after bad with no eye on the end result.