Once upon a time, S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford was a wildly-popular maverick intent on revolutionizing state government – particularly how it spent your money.
This week, the scandal-scarred (and hugely unpopular) governor released a “$5.8 billion” state budget that tinkers around the edges of many of the problems he once sought to tackle head-on.
First of all, Sanford’s budget is not a $5.8 billion budget – that’s just the general funds it presumes to appropriate (of course we all know who does the actual misappropriating in this state).
To his credit, Sanford points out that the state’s total budget (including federal funds and largely undisclosed “other” funds) is projected to soar to $22.8 billion in FY 2010-11 – which would be a 50% increase from 2003. For more on that dirty little secret and other common misconceptions about the state budget, click here.
Anyway, what was once a potent PR document for supporters of long overdue spending reform (gubernatorial budgets have no actual power) has sadly become an exercise in under-achievement in addition to irrelevance.
Back in the early days of his administration, Sanford’s groundbreaking budgets were truly something to behold, even if lawmakers did ignore nearly all of their cost-saving suggestions. Today? They’ve devolved into annual snapshots of just how far Sanford has been willing to backpedal in order to achieve a political victory.
For example, Sanford claims to have found $255 million in savings in his latest budget, but he then argues in favor of “reinvesting” those savings into other government agencies. So in other words, these aren’t really “savings,” they’re just taxpayer dollars that the governor wants moved from one pot to another.
The governor’s budget also throws in the towel (again) on meaningful restructuring of the state’s bloated, inefficient system of higher education.
By recommending that taxpayers continue funding totally pointless schools like USC-Salkehatchie and USC-Union, Sanford is reversing his previous support for restructuring – basically saying that it’s okay for a state with a population of 4 million to have 33 state-supported colleges and universities (and nearly 80 campus locations).
Sanford does propose some higher ed realignment, but on this front (and so many other fronts) he appears more comfortable these days bowing to the powers that be than continuing to make the case for real spending cuts.
And real spending reform.
Sure, there are some good things in Sanford’s spending plan – like eliminating the corporate income tax, for example (a courtesy that should be extended to small businesses and individual taxpayers, by the way) – but these proposals are fewer and farther between than they have been in years past.
They are also nowhere near as seismic as the big-ticket tax cuts he proposed during his 2002 campaign, another sign of how dramatically Sanford has scaled back his expectations.
Will Sanford’s budget pass?
Of course not … but even if it did, it would do very little to fix the backward way we spend money in this state, to say nothing of reducing the exorbitant, ever-escalating amounts we’re spending.
WEB EXTRAS
By freddie guy January 8, 2010 at 10:53 am
Damn, I did not know that Mark Sanford was still our Governor.
Fred
By MILO January 8, 2010 at 10:55 am
Maria ass is about this wide boys!!
By Liberty For Me January 8, 2010 at 10:56 am
Even though he was up against a wall of a bureaucratic mess of a state government.He at least could have held to his supposed beliefs.Instead he is just a waste and disapointment of what could have been.
Down with RINOS and whatever name fake Liberterians are…I guess we need to make a new nicname…LINOS does not work
By Elmer January 8, 2010 at 11:10 am
He is going to have to do some serious household budgeting once his rich wife divorces his ass.
By Judy January 8, 2010 at 11:18 am
hopefully leaving for Argentina and the soul mate soon
By Darth January 8, 2010 at 11:27 am
Seems like Sanford’s trying to pick his battles here, so I’m left to guess it is a slow news day, since house and senate probably find it better to recycle the paper involved to Charmin and any file space for a .pdf file to odd .flvs, .wmvs, .movs, .jpgs and .gifs.
just sayin’
By Liberty For Me January 8, 2010 at 11:39 am
You know the Maria,Argentina and soulmate comments are now neither original or ammusing.Please stop because all it is now is annoying and childish.It truly shows the depth of your thinking.
By Groundball January 8, 2010 at 11:41 am
Should have been gone. Not that his successor would have been any better with his budget, but he is just drawing a paycheck with a free place to live and eat until the end of the year.
Ya’ll wanted him in place hoping for another “Republican” to be elected in the fall while blasting all other Repub hopefulls. Well this is what you wanted, don’t complain.
By Gillon January 8, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Your description of Sanford’s budget could also pretty much describe his seven years as governor: “an exercise in under-achievement in addition to irrelevance.”
By OhNoNotAgain January 8, 2010 at 12:26 pm
So it’s USC Union and Salkehatchie you’d like him to go after.
After continued attacks at these institutions, which is focused solely on the budget numbers and not what they actually offer and accomplish, attacking and losing, you guys still don’t get it.
These schools offer post-high school education to kids who sometimes have to walk to classes. Sure, there’s another college within 30 minutes drive, but they don’t/can’t drive.
These campuses are generally more affordable, and they give just as good a deal if not better. The ones who want more than a two-year degree generally go to one of the four-year campuses and hold their own.
But if they went directly to a four-year campus, they’d probably fail.
You don’t get it.
There are 33 colleges, you say?
Well, that’s still not one per county and every county in this state has some kid who deserves a crack at a college degree but can’t get it at a bigger school.
By Billy Bob January 8, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Your comment about USC Salk is about the stupidest thing you have ever written. It is vital to the two communities it serves, just as important as USC Columbia is to Columbia. I’ll bet you can’t even tell us where the campuses are without looking it up. Unlike Columbia which has the redundent Midlands Tec which is also state funded, Walterboro and Allendale have no other regional school within an hour’s drive.
By varga January 8, 2010 at 3:07 pm
A printed copy of the Governor’s budget will make a good door stop and that is about all it is worth. Sorry trees.
By ohara January 8, 2010 at 3:08 pm
How long did it take his staff to whip up this budget? 15 minutes? Why bother-it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. He needs to resign & hit the trail back to Argentina. We’re paying him to sit in the Governor’s mansion & do nothing. Nice gig-$100,000+ benefits to sit & run out the clock.
By Dr Manhattan January 8, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Sanfraud, Sorry- Ass- Narcissistic- Fucking- Outoftouch -Retarded -Dickhead S.A.N.F.O.R.D
By BC January 8, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Regardless of how many North Carolinians feel about Gov. Bev Predue, NC has netted more headquarter corporations relocating or expanding in the last 3 months of 2009. While SC has only scored 1 major manufacturer and that will be in Charleston. Had Gov. Sanford spent more time actually seeking economic development, instead of pleasure enrichment, the issue of job creation might be improving in the Palmetto state as well.
By Huhhh??? January 9, 2010 at 5:13 pm
If you want to close a USC campus, hit Sumter. There is TEC w/2 year degrees next door, Morris College, Troy & St Leo (thanks to Shaw AFB), USC main campus 45 miles away, FMU about 45 miles in another direction.
Those people at Salkehatchie are in a pretty educationally remote area of the state. Colleges need to be located to serve the needs of Some of our rural residents.
By beentook2 January 10, 2010 at 8:42 am
What a cockroach. He is either blind or stupid. Probably both. Every time he has a cabinet meeting he could look over at the 15 (that’s right 15 super sized cockroaches sucking away on the State’s tit) agency heads and with ease invite up to 5 of them to leave the room, the city, the county and the state. Along with them they could take their personal assistants, their administrative aides, their coffee makers, their toe nail cutters, their wipe my ass assistants and best of all the numerous ass kissing deputies and their fat ass staff. How many Chiefs does it take to lead the tribe. Sanford has so many Chiefs there ain’t no room for the Indians. If Sanford had been in charge of the “Indian” problem after the War of Northern Aggression, Geronimo’s descendants would still be in control everything West of the Mississippi.