Quick … what’s more disgusting than forcing S.C. taxpayers to pick up the tab for a bunch of full-time lobbyists whose job consists of begging state lawmakers to spend additional taxpayer money?
That’s easy … sanctimoniously bashing the practice when you don’t have a leg to stand on …
Before we pull back the scab on one of South Carolina’s most hypocritical politicians, though, let’s first examine this shameful practice – which was once again brought to light by a story in Monday morning’s Charleston Post & Courier.
According to the Post & Courier report, South Carolina’s institutions of botched economic development … err, higher learning … are shelling out six-figure salaries for their full-time lobbyists. Sure, these “grip-and-grinners” don’t make as much as the leaders of these schools (yikes), but Clemson University’s top lobbyist, Angie Leidinger, for example, pulls down a whopping $181,800 a year.
The University of South Carolina’s top lobbyist, Shirley Mills, makes $114,433 a year – and she’s one of two six-figure lobbyists the school has on its payroll.
The highest-priced higher ed lobbyist of them all? That “honor” goes to “Bo” Faulkner of the Medical University of South Carolina, who pulls down an annual salary of $221,521.
All these hundreds of thousands of dollars, of course, go directly toward separating you from more of your tax dollars – which has become “Ritual de lo Habitual” at South Carolina’s publicly-funded colleges and universities.
As if that point wasn’t abundantly clear enough already, though, the article quotes a College of Charleston educrat describing taxpayer-funded lobbyists as being “like another type of fundraiser.”
Except these “donors” (the taxpayers) have no choice in the matter, obviously.
Anyway, we know from reports published by the S.C. Policy Council that taxpayer-funded lobbying soaks up as much as $3 million each year in direct costs to the taxpayers – and no doubt tens of millions of dollars more in money that’s spent as a result of all that lobbying.
Not surprisingly, this makes the practice the very definition of “low-hanging fruit” to would-be conservative politicians who are looking for an easy issue with which to position themselves as taxpayer watchdogs.
Among these opportunistic politicians is former S.C. Majority Leader Jimmy Merrill, who every year sponsors legislation that would outlaw the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying, which he says is a “vicious cycle.”
Yet aside from filing the bill (oh, and being quoted in articles like the most recent Post & Courier story), Merrill doesn’t actually lift a finger to get the legislation passed, which is probably why it never does (which, of course, has the added benefit of giving him another year to posture on the issue).
So … why is Merrill so reluctant to take on the lobbyists?
Perhaps it’s because he’s turned South Carolina’s state plane into a friggin’ lobbyist taxi service to booze-soaked “legislative conferences.” Seriously … it’s kind of tough to bash the same folks you’ve been flying around on the taxpayer dime.
Sadly, the smooth-talking Merrill is viewed by many as a genuine “conservative reformer” at the S.C. State House, which when you think about it is probably why there’s never any real reform in South Carolina politics.
After all, with “reformers” like these …
By Dan September 28, 2009 at 11:51 am
Right you are about Merrill. He has been bashing the lobbyist game for years and years and years. He is either hypocritical or terribly ineffective at representing the taxpayers.
Of course, Sanford could have jumped into this cesspool and cleaned it up if he wasn’t busy doing you know what with you know whom.
By Frequent Flyer September 28, 2009 at 4:10 pm
methinks he doth protest too much!
By Folksey September 28, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Isn’t Jim Merrill’s brother a lobbyist or atleast a governmental relation person? Oh the webs we weave?