By FITSNews || When we put baby quotes around a word … like “Republicans,” for example … we’re usually implying that the word should be taken with a grain of salt. When we put a word in italics, we’re implying emphasis. As in we really really like something.
That’s why we’re a bit confused as to S.C. Sen. Kevin Bryant’s use of italics in a recent post on his blog.
Don’t get us wrong, Bryant is supporting something that we have advocated for very strongly – government transparency. He’s also insisting on it as it relates to South Carolina’s notoriously non-transparent colleges and universities, which are blowing tax dollars hand over fist lately on all sorts of hair brained “economic development” ventures – with zero oversight or accountability.
Anyway, from Bryant’s blog …
H. 3365 and H. 3841 are bills giving Higher Ed and the Technical Colleges more flexibility in their purchases. Currently, these institutions must crawl and beg permission from the antiquated Budget and Control Board for approval for many major expenditures.
I’ll support these bills as long as we can get some transparency. As you’ve heard me express before, I’m for flexibility as long as it is coupled with transparency. Well, I offered an amendment today that requires these institutions to post on their website a transaction register that includes a complete record of all funds exempted from the requirement …
… there is a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Rose that will require full transparency for all of higher ed’s budgets, but its in committee. So here’s an opportunity to start with a small slice of the budget to prepare for what’s coming.
I’m getting some resistance on this amendment, so the fate of these bills are in question.
I can be very rigid when it comes to flexibility without transparency!
Ummmm … rigid? In italics?
Dude, that’s TMI … although if you believe the rumors then Sic Willie might not mind …
By Reality March 10, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Common sense tells me Senator Bryant’s amendment sounds good in theory but in reality is MORE bureaucratic red tape and would require MORE state resources in order to report every single penny transaction that goes through a university.