By FITSNews || We’ve got to hand it to S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell …
In a state where the average politician is 100 percent full of sh*t, he’s pushing the envelope well past the known bounds of B.S.
An expert at manipulating the procedural rules of the S.C. Senate to grow government at obscene levels (while hypocritically spouting fiscal conservative rhetoric every step of the way), McConnell’s latest “masterpiece of misdirection” involves the Senate’s proposed 50-cent per-pack tax hike on cigarettes.
Wait … that tax increase passed two weeks ago, didn’t it? This is old news, right?
Wrong …
This week, the S.C. Senate brought this ill-conceived idea back up for debate.
Why?
Let’s see … were state lawmakers finally going to include a corresponding income tax cut (or some other tax cut) to make this bill revenue neutral? No.
Were they finally going to adopt long-overdue structural reforms to our state’s inefficient, ineffective and duplicative health care delivery system? Yeah right.
Were they finally going to take steps to reform our state’s eligibility system? Or eliminate the rampant fraud and abuse that plague the current system? Of course not …
The cigarette tax hike – the revenue from which will be completely absorbed by Medicaid premium increases within the next few years – was brought back up for debate because S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford has threatened to veto the legislation, and McConnell and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman were lacking the votes needed to override his veto.
Not anymore, though.
As of Wednesday, McConnell and Leatherman have found the votes they need to override a Sanford veto.
How?
Easy … they “removed” two controversial pieces of pork barrel spending which had been added to this legislation – an annual $3 million appropriation to Sen. Hugh Leatherman’s home district (which will be spent however Leatherman chooses) and an annual $1 million appropriation to the Department of Agriculture to fund an expensive agricultural marketing campaign run by one of the state’s most liberal PR firms.
Again, these are recurring expenses – not one-time expenses – which means taxpayers are on the hook for the same amounts in future budgets.
With these pork projects attached, though, it became clear that the bill would have never survived a Sanford veto. In fact, as recently as last weekend McConnell himself said publicly that he would “never” vote for a cigarette tax hike that included funding for such obvious pork.
(Never mind the fact that he apparently has no problem raising a tax with no corresponding cut and no accompanying reform …)
But was the pork McConnell said he would “never” vote for actually removed?
Of course not.
In fact, not only is the money still being spent on the same wasteful projects, but lawmakers didn’t even bother to strip them out of the legislation – choosing instead to simply move their funding from the “Medicaid Trust Fund” to the “Tobacco Trust Fund.”
That’s right … the money for Leatherman’s boondoggle and the PR firm bailout is still in the bill, it still comes from the cigarette tax hike – and shifting it from Medicaid expenses will still cost the state $12 million in matching federal funds.
So what changed, exactly?
You tell us …
In fact, FITS asked McConnell’s Chief of Staff, John Hazzard, exactly how shifting the money around within the bill in any way altered the legislation? Not surprisingly, we received no response …
And yet amazingly – as a result of this phantom “removal” of pork barrel spending – McConnell flip-flopped and decided to vote for the 50-cent-per-pack tax hike along with thirteen other “Republican” Senators.
You can access the official tally here, but below are the names of the fourteen “Republican” Senators who supported the “amended” tax hike:
Thomas Alexander
Paul Campbell
Ray Cleary
Ronnie Cromer
Mike Fair
Wes Hayes
Jakie Knotts
Hugh Leatherman
Larry Martin
Shane Massey
Glenn McConnell
Billy O’Dell
Luke Rankin
Mike Rose
Of these fourteen, four Senators – Knotts, Massey, McConnell and Rose – flip-flopped from their initial cigarette tax vote two weeks ago.
Now, here are the eleven Senators who stood their ground and voted against the bill both times …
Lee Bright
Kevin Bryant
John Courson
Tom Davis
Larry Grooms
Shane Martin
Mick Mulvaney
Harvey Peeler
Greg Ryberg
Phil Shoopman
Danny Verdin
Props to these guys, obviously …
Here are a few thoughts, people …
First, and most importantly, in this economic climate government needs to be looking for ways to lower its total tax burden – not just swap one tax for another.
Second, any increase in the cigarette tax hike has to be accompanied by long-overdue reform to the way we approach, fund and deliver health care in South Carolina, otherwise we’re just burning money on duplicated services and annual premium increases.
Third, this state has a history of squandering cigarette-related revenue. Just look at the way state leaders (led by Leatherman) mismanaged our cigarette settlement money. Once again, our lawmakers are playing games with our money.
Fourth, if this law passes, cigarette taxes in North Carolina (45 cents) and Georgia (37 cents) would be substantially lower than the new 57-cent state tax that Senators are proposing. That’s going to have a devastating impact on South Carolina border counties, which is why we’re particularly discouraged that Sen. Shane Massey flip-flopped on his vote.
Finally, the way that the Senate went about gaining its “veto-proof majority” highlights everything that’s wrong with the way state government conducts its business. It’s a classic example of lawmakers flat out lying to their constituents, which is one reason why South Carolina – the most “Republican” state in the nation – has such a disproportionately large government sector.
Oh … on a personal note, we’d like to thank S.C. Senate “Majority” Leader Harvey Peeler for sticking with the fiscal conservatives on this vote.
We’d like to express our disappointment in Senators Massey and Rose – who are usually reliable fiscal conservatives – for flip-flopping on this legislation.
UPDATE: Yes … as this picture suggests, our “Republican In Name Only” Senators like to dress up as Confederate Generals in their ample free time. In addition to McConnell in the foreground, that’s S.C. Senator David Thomas (RINO – Greenville) in the background.
UPDATE II: Shame on Yvonne Wenger of the Charleston Post and Courier for going along with this scam and printing McConnell’s fiction that the Senate “stripped out” these pork items. We often accuse the MSM of misleading people, but in this case Wenger and the Post and Courier are flat out lying.
UPDATE III: For those of you who are interested in seeing how your House member voted on a separate 30-cent-per-pack cigarette tax hike, click here.
WEB EXTRA
Final Cigarette Tax Vote
By WorkingTommyC April 16, 2010 at 11:22 am
Jake Knott$$ flip-flopped??
I wonder why?
By Skidmarks April 16, 2010 at 12:16 pm
The photo explains why we lost.
By CNSYD April 16, 2010 at 12:28 pm
So FITS you are dusting off the old campaign trick used against Beasley about the lottery to justify keeping cigarette prices low in SC. Cancer will be cheaper in NC and GA. What a deal.
By Seymour Glass April 16, 2010 at 1:35 pm
First off, the $4 million is coming from Tobacco Settlement Money, not the cigarette tax increase. Two similar, yet different pots of money.
FITS, you are right on many fronts, but still, you are better than the tired Republican rhetoric. Yes, lower taxes are better for everyone… but only specific taxes. The fact of the matter is that SC killed one of the few stable revenue sources when Leatherman forced the grocery tax elimination. $300-400 million was taken away, and there was no tax increase to “swap” with it. That year, poor people were given a $70 income tax break (or elimination), and from then forward they no longer had to pay tax on foodstuffs. Essentially, if you are poor and live in SC, then you contribute nothing to the economy of the state, while simultaneously receiving tax-free income (or free income, depending upon your employment status), tax-free groceries (or free groceries, depending upon your status), and free healthcare, depending upon your parental/marital status.
Where, you’re wondering, am I going with this? The point to this is that it is statistically proven that most smokers are low income earners. Most of these low income persons probably don’t qualify for Medicaid, but their children likely do. So, why shouldn’t we tax them at a level that corresponds, to some extent, to their burden on the system? We haven’t raised the tax in 33 years, so why shouldn’t we go above our neighboring states who have both increased the tax in the past decade, and are likely to do so again in the next year or two. And the argument that we will lose revenue to them is unfounded. Both GA and NC showed no significant, proportional decline in the years following their increases. Let these people pay for their habits that cost each and everyone of us. Fix the Medicaid delivery system, yes, but that has to be done separately. And I won’t even delve into the ripoff that is Medicaid Managed Care.
Just try to stick to what you know… and not get too far into the details. They aren’t your strong suit. Keep it up and people will only visit the site for Spitzer’s girl.
By CNSYD April 16, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Seymour Glass, I differ with you on one aspect of low income folks. They more than likely rent and do not own housing, therefore a portion of their rent comes to government in the form of property taxes. That is not noticed by the renter but you can bet your ass the landlord passes on that expense to the renter. So they do not get off not pating taxes, it is just not obvious to them. So low income people DO contribute to the economy of SC in the form of rent that goes to landlords and a portion of which ends up paying the landlord’s property taxes.
By Seymour Glass April 16, 2010 at 3:12 pm
@ CSNYD,
Excuse the hyperbole when I wrote they contribute “nothing”. You are right in that they indirectly pay for property taxes… 6% property taxes on low rent apartments. And they pay sales tax on burgers from Burger King. Very few can live in this country and get away with paying absolutely no taxes. While I’m at it… let us not forget about the thousands that live in federally subsidized housing.
By Caution April 16, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Seymour Glass, I have to agree with you. You are spot on with your arguement.
By Quiet Voice of Reason April 16, 2010 at 9:37 pm
No comments on the millions going to Leatherman’s district? Is it just that we can’t be surprised by that anymore? Heck, drive through Florence county — all you see is money being spent on nothing. Francis Marion has now called itself the 4th research university and they are building more than any other school. Florence-Darlington Tech has a new amazing building that is used about once a month for events.
Gee….. and yet all the comments are about people who use Medicaid? Maybe we’ve lost our ability to be appalled by McConnell, Leatherman, and crew after all. They make Wall Street look like child’s play.
By beentook2 April 17, 2010 at 7:39 am
Isn’t this the same picture that Carolina and Clemson have been using on their promotional literature that they send to football recruits?
When I saw it first the caption read,
Damn you Thomas, that better be your rifle poking me in the ass. If I have told you once I have told you a thousand times, no butt fucking on the battlefield.
By Very easy to decipher April 17, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Lee Bright – Crazy
Kevin Bryant – won’t affect him
John Courson – may affect him
Tom Davis – may affect him
Larry Grooms – won’t affect him (population growth will)
Shane Martin – may affect him
Mick Mulvaney – running for congress
Harvey Peeler – won’t affect him (needs votes as majority leader)
Greg Ryberg – still resides in Sullivans Island, won’t run again
Phil Shoopman – scariest man in the Senate in scariest district in state
Danny Verdin – won’t affect him
By madcock April 18, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Looking at the photo of McConnell in Confedarate garb, I could only wonder how an actual soldier in the Army of South Carolina in say, 1863, would have reacted to a gay Republican who wears make-up standing beside him in a gray uniform. LOL!
My guess is he would have been a victim of friendly fire in about five minutes.
By Crooner April 19, 2010 at 11:58 am
While everyone should have a hobby, I always get a kick out of these old, overweight pretenders parading around like they’re fighting fit. Most of them are well past the average life expectancy of the time they portray.
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By Hardee Boie September 14, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Once again McConnel and Leatherman, along with Luke Rankin and a number of other “so-called Republicans” have proven they are still full of “sh-t”. It reminds me of the Paul Simon song, “Still Crazy After All These Years”. Of course, the new title is “Still Full Of Sh-t After All These Years”.
These people should be voted “out” or “kicked out” for not following Republican rules and regulations. They are a shame and disgrace to this State!
By John September 15, 2010 at 7:44 pm
That uniform is blue. Not Grey. It is a UNION uniform. Dolts.
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By Billy Yank September 15, 2010 at 10:32 pm
No…that is a confederate officers uniform. Union officers wore their rank on the shoulder in small retangle shoulder boards, while rebels wore it on the collar! The tassles look like something out of the GWTW costume department…but sadly they are historically correct!
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By GW1976 September 30, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Lower taxes are, indeed, better for the government, businesses, and… everybody! Only **** for brains liberals think that lower taxes are a bad thing.