Two weeks after angering state’s political establishment by opposing an incentive package for airplane manufacturer Boeing, the S.C. Policy Council unveiled a new report detailing how “unleashing capitalism” – not additional government – is the key to turning around South Carolina’s moribund economy.
“Sometimes the truth cannot be spun,” Policy Council President Ashley Landess said. “Sometimes the truth just has to be told.”
Indeed, the new report, entitled “Unleashing Capitalism,” tells some pretty cut-and-dried truths regarding the state of South Carolina’s economy.
For example, South Carolina’s anemic annual economic growth rate of 0.8% badly trails the rest of the nation over the past decade. In fact, it ranks as the 12th slowest such rate in the nation. Meanwhile, South Carolina currently ranks eleventh in the nation in terms of the size of its government relative to the state’s economy.
“Combined, all federal, state and local government spending in South Carolina amounts to 40.5 percent of the state economy,” the report notes. “For comparison, in the most free market state, Delaware, the government controls only 20.5 percent of the economy.”
It’s getting worse, too, as the report notes that South Carolina’s “government sector expanded by ten percent of the state economy since 1989.”
The conclusions – all of them meticulously documented – are inescapable.
Growth has slumped. Government has grown. And as a result, South Carolinians remain poorer than ever.
From these fundamental premises – which FITS has been shouting from the rooftops for years – “Unleashing Capitalism” proposes a wide range of fiscally conservative solutions, among them income tax cuts, regulatory reforms and a wide array of parental choice (including private school choice).
In some instances, the reforms are more specific than others … for example, “Unleashing Capitalism” extols the virtue of income tax cuts but doesn’t propose a specific percentage by which the income tax should be cut. Similarly, the report is unqualified in its support of parental choice, but it doesn’t specify whether it supports the implementation of universal or limited, means-tested plans.
Obviously, those are key questions which must be answered by policy makers.
Anyway, the report is technically not just a “report,” it’s an ongoing campaign … one that is going to be accompanied by television ads that are expected to resemble this launch video …
Not bad, not bad. Not to mention a shot across the bow at the same powers-that-be who are currently targeting the think tank.
Anyway, given the huge controversy that the Policy Council stoked over the Boeing deal, the kickoff event for “Unleashing Capitalism” – held Thursday night in downtown Columbia – was in and of itself a controversial event.
We’ll have a separate story on the drama that preceded – and followed from the event.
WEB EXTRAS
Unleashing Capitalism (website)
Unleashing Capitalism (full report)
Loading ...
By Liberty For Me November 13, 2009 at 10:36 am
SC could be a role model for the freemarket instead of the opposite.I think it is Ironic that the state that did not want to be controled by the Feds and lead the way to fight Big Brother is now one of the models of State control.Get a clue..Cut Taxes and give real incentives for growth.
By Liberty For Me November 13, 2009 at 10:44 am
Although this is an emotional not substanative video…I think it is awesome and really conveys the feeling of Liberty.I hope there is a movement for REAL HOPE AND CHANGE..the Freedom not SOCIALIST way
By BullPucky November 13, 2009 at 10:55 am
Your thought process is flawed. South Carolina doesn’t suffer because of too much government, it suffers from a work force view by outsiders to be lazy. One reason the government is so much of our state’s economy is because of the military presence. Take that away and the percentage drops.
And on school choice…education starts at the home. Private schools aren’t better because they have better teachers. Student do better there because of the involvement and expectation of the parents.
Education is about the involvement of the parents in the education of their children. Parents that don’t care end up with kids that don’t do well in school.
By Jack November 13, 2009 at 11:36 am
Bull Pucky,
You really should read the work before you criticize it’s findings. The states with lower government spending as a % of GDP have wealthier citizens as measured by per capita income. The states with higher per capita incomes also have fewer health problems and demonstrably higher high school graduation rates. In SC, the problem really is the State Legislature and it’s convoluted system of control by boards and commissions meant to provide cushy retirement incomes for former legislators, to the detriment of the citizens.
It’s time to take the power away from the legislature and return it to the people. The best way to implement that transfer of power is to pass the SC FairTax Act. By replacing the current personal income tax, among the highest effective tax rates in the country, the corporate income taxes, and the current exemption riddled sales tax with a uniform consumption tax on all new goods and services, we will make SC the most attractive location in the United States for existing and new businesses. The politicians will no longer be able to use the tax code to reward friends, punish enemies and garner campaign contributions. The resulting demand for workers will result in higher wages for all working South Carolinians. As in other states, as per capita income increases, so will academic performance of our children.
It’s time to demand performance from our representatives in Columbia or to find replacements for them next year.
By BullPucky November 13, 2009 at 12:45 pm
JackyJack,
How much background did you consider when you read the report? Do you believe everything you read? I think you’re not understanding all the facts. Some not included in the report.
I’ll agree that our government in SC doesn’t do the best job they could. Everything from those in Columbia to dimwits in Union stealing the tax payers blind.
By marvin November 13, 2009 at 1:18 pm
A big Amen to Unleashing Capitalism! Ain’t no arguing with the facts in the report about where we are as a state. Also true that government spending is higher than ever, economic development is more controlled by Columbia than ever and we are in worse shape than ever.
That video says it all and sometimes we need to remember the principles behind the ideas and facts — people can excel if they are allowed to, and it should be up to them, not politicians. What’s frustrating is that all these politicians say they agree with that. They don’t, though. All they care about is political victories for themselves. Not surprising, since they, too, are motivated by personal success. They just keep on getting it at our expense.
This report/video are encouraging. I hope the Policy Council can take it further than just a few of us who live/work/blog in Columbia. The people in this state do not support the crap those guys are doing in the Statehouse. But will they do what it takes to change the system? Time will tell…..
By Crooner November 13, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Reckon our right to work law has anything to do with our per capita income?
By Pause for Thought November 13, 2009 at 2:10 pm
The only capitalism that was unleashed here is the flow of money from idealistic SCPC donors to media consultants and public relations firms! It sure looks spiffy though.
By Liberty For Me November 13, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Hey Crooner….I dont know,lets ask the people of Detroit.Get a clue man
By baker November 13, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I’ve always thought the Policy Council to be fairly simple-minded and shallow, and this report does nothing to change my impression.
Comparing SC vs. other states in terms of government spending as a proportion of the overall economy proves nothing. There may be correlations to point to, but it causality is another things altogether.
Maybe I’ve missed something, but does the Policy Council indicate that government spending is less per person in Delaware than it is in SC? That MIGHT suggest a causal relationship, though a poorer population may demand more in the way of government spending for a whole host of reasons. The deal is that Delaware and other states may spend every bit as much as South Carolina on infrastructure, teacher salaries, human services, and the like. There may be a range of other factors that help their economies to thrive (compared to our state, at least).
The video was pretty interesting….lightweight, but interesting, I think:
**Shots of mostly broken down communities and poor black people at the start.
**Shots of mostly white well-off people at the end — with an interesting collection of video shot in music stores. I dig music! Is the Policy Council saying artists should lead the way? I wasn’t sure.
Anyway, school choice — yeah, giving people government money (in the form of vouchers or taxpayer rebates) to send their kids to private school — that’s a winner, in the view of the Policy Council. Question: If those happy well-to-do white people at the end of the movie happen to have their kids in private school, I wonder how many of those private schools will accept the kids of the poor black people shown in the first part of the movie? Does Ashley Landess have any data on that?
By Mike Honcho November 13, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Wow, a study? A whole study that restates all that has been stated before? Without specifics?
Repackaging the old song with a fluffy video extolling the virtues of capitalism rings a little hollow.
You people do know that when the Berlin Wall fell, we were the capitalist juggernaut that did it, right? We’re not educating former Soviet workers here.
Much ado about nothing.
By marvin November 13, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Baker: Cause and effect – government spending is more, private sector economy performs less. That is as clear as it can get. Delaware may well spend the same amount per person on infrastructure, but they are NOT spending more (or even at all) on many of the things SC is. Infrastructure is a reasonable thing for government to do. Redistributing wealth in the form of doling out dollars to private businesses and charities, plane trips to other countries to pay them to come to our state, billboards advertising different government agencies/industries, giant empty buildings, football stadiums, farmers’ markets, state-funded utility companies, competitive grants — you get the idea — are not reasonable or necessary, especially when legitimate needs are ignored.
Why do we do that here to a greater degree? Because our legislators run the state, and so they can.
You usually make some decent arguments, but the weak slam at the end detracted from them in this case. You can do better. Leave the bitchy-boy empty blather to BIN.
By Black Economic Empowerment November 14, 2009 at 2:03 am
Actually, they are for the welfare state, one where the welfare is the sole preserve of the rich. Black Economic Empowerment
By baker November 14, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I hear you Marvin, but this:
“Baker: Cause and effect – government spending is more, private sector economy performs less. That is as clear as it can get”……Well, I just happen to think you’re wrong. Correlation and causality are two different things. We learn that in junior high or high school. And I don’t mean that as a snotty remark — just being straightforward.
This isn’t to say I think the GOP-dominated SC Legislature always spends money wisely. Good grief, I’m not here to defend that bunch. But this cause-and-effect stuff is awfully difficult to pin down, in my opinion.
Regarding the big push for private school choice by the Policy Council, SCRG, and Will Folks, does Delaware have a private school choice program at all — or one resembling the ideas proposed by the right in South Carolina?
By CNSYD November 15, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Liberty for me, if possible open your eyes. The problems in Detroit were caused by those who got elected to be in charge. That is the only “system” problem. Move out to the suburbs of Detroit where the “complexion” changes and see if you find the same problems.
By Questions November 16, 2009 at 9:17 am
Isn’t unfettered, unregulated capitalism what drove the economy into the ditch we’re in? You sure you want more of that?
By Huhhh??? November 16, 2009 at 7:17 pm
SCPC (or the people funding them) is dumb.
Or, thinks all of us are.
It’s not the government running after businesses trying to throw money at them, it’s the businesses that won’t come until they get kickbacks/bribes in the form of “incentives” to do so. (After all, in the average politician’s mind, THEY are the ones who should be getting the bribes, not handing them out.)
What they are after is good ole corporate welfare. SCPC thinks we should bow down to these almighty business people, right? Aspire to be them?
The only way I see to stop this crap is to nationalize businesses, but I don’t particularly believe in that. But, if you did, you could keep them in the US and put them where the work was needed.
What does SCPC think should be done to recruit jobs? ALL they ever do is bad mouth workers, bad mouth government, bad mouth education, bad mouth everything and that doesn’t seem to actually contribute much. They are the most negative bunch in the state. They don’t have to stay here.