While the South Carolina economy is far from healthy (click here and here), its tax collections have picked up a bit from the nadir of the “Great Recession.”
That’s why there was a $120 million surplus in the 2010-11 budget, $1.3 billion in new money appropriated in the current (2011-12) budget and an estimated $1 billion in new money available to spend in the coming fiscal year. In fact, the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors (SCBEA) announced this week that revenues were continuing to show improvement over the previous year – meaning that there will likely be even more money available for S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and her “Republican” allies to spend next year.
Will South Carolina taxpayers see a dime of that new money? As we’ve noted previously … absolutely not.
Sadly, there’s currently no mechanism in place to send surplus money back to the taxpayers. As a result, these surpluses are spent elsewhere in government – along with the so-called “savings” realized by state agencies.
Trying to turn this equation around? S.C. Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), who has been pushing for a “Taxpayer Rebate Fund” that would create precisely such a mechanism.
Davis introduced his bill a year ago – but it was defeated in the S.C. Senate by a six-vote margin. Specifically, “Republican” State Senators Thomas Alexander, Paul Campbell, Wes Hayes, Hugh Leatherman, Larry Martin and Billy O’Dell all voted against it.
Also, Haley never took a position on the legislation.
“Faced with a choice of whether to spend savings and surpluses on additional government or to invest those resources into our economy in the form of tax relief/ rebates – our “Republican” leaders have consistently opted to spend, spend, spend,” we wrote recently.
That includes an ever-escalating investment in our worst-in-the-nation public education system, as well as a skyrocketing government investment in “economic development” that continues to shift the state’s tax burden onto small businesses and individual taxpayers.
This approach cannot continue if our state expects to be competitive moving forward.
Sure, we can continue our current approach of cutting checks to companies in an effort to lure them to locate here – but again all this approach does is undermine the ability of our small businesses to compete. Remember, of the roughly 70,000 full-time employers currently doing business in South Carolina, 97.5 percent of them are small businesses. There are also more than 100,000 full-time self-employed South Carolinians.
Where is their “incentive?”
In addition to the establishment of a taxpayer rebate fund, lawmakers should freeze government spending for the next three fiscal years while they conduct an extended review of state government for the purposes of determining which agencies should be cut, privatized or eliminated.
On top of that, they should cap annual spending increases thereafter at a rate no greater than the growth of the state’s population or the annualized rate of inflation, whichever figure is lower.
Our state cannot afford to keep passing record-setting budgets while starving our primary economic engines (small businesses/ individual taxpayers) of the oxygen they need.
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By lol December 16, 2011 at 2:31 pm
You’re right, there is no incentive to cut anything. The dirtly pols are gonna run the train right off the track.
The question is whether it will be DC first and the states naturally following or the other way around.
By BigT December 16, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Wow: FITS has BASHED Haley constantly, yet her policies seem to be much better than Obama’s..and/or Sheheen’s….
SC is growing economically…while Obama destroys the country…That one’s kinda hard for FITS to spin…
Tough break…your luck is about as good as Obama’s…
Everything you touch seems to turn to $#!^…just like Obama….
When you fancy yourself a “commentator” on politics…not good to be such a big dumbass as often as reality proves FITS to be…
By Cid December 16, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Since a lockstep Republican like you and others of your ilk VOTED for Nikki Haley(then hypocritically acts as if you never supported her)
And she was elected
How can you state that Sheheens “policies” didn’t work?
By Scooter December 17, 2011 at 8:09 am
if i may borrow a line from stimulus…
you are a BIG stupid mother f!!
By SCMinority December 19, 2011 at 9:01 am
So SC economy is improving because of who? You should look around the country and see the number of state economies that are improving. National Holiday shopping numbers are back up. Did the stimulus work? (Actually we all know it did…even you Mr. T) SC Lawmakers made tough choices the past several years to help get through the storm of 07-08/09. Its hard to argue the federal help/BO didn’t help us become more stable. $50 state tax rebate (Fits how much would a rebate look like per person?) doesn’t get me as far as having good/safe schools in my neighborhood and cops on the streets or roads that don’t f’up my car tires. Its time to sure-up our core functions of gov. again and then lets talk about cleaning up tax breaks and see where we are. Fits, Are you saying taxes are high in SC?
Mr. T, you a fool.
By its time December 16, 2011 at 4:18 pm
How can you have a surplus when you have not funded the required amount for education, roads, bridges, retirement or workers comp.
That sounds like more of the radical rights’ mantra that says that cutting taxes for the rich result in prosperity for the poor.
Hows that working for SC?
By hhuuhh?? December 16, 2011 at 5:01 pm
AMEN.
There literally are children dying because Lillian Koller at DSS says that the number of cases a child protective services worker can handle is about twice what is recommended by people who know better than that political hack.
But, hey, they are just little redneck and black chillun.
Now, THAT would be an intersting FOIA…reports from the SLED Child Fatalities Review Board. I know it exists, but can’t find any information online about their investigations last time I looked.
Talk about inbred: DSS is a Cabinet agency; Foster Care Review Board is in Office of the Governor; Guardian ad Litem program is in Office of the Governor; SLED chief is gubernatorial appointee. A system invented to insure the protection of children never improves in this state, just that its deadly errors are easily covered up.
By Dm10ae December 17, 2011 at 4:41 am
Need to oust these in office.