By fitsnews – May 24, 2012
SC COMMERCE EMPLOYEES TREATED TO A DAY AT FUN PARK … ON YOUR DIME
Bureaucrats at S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s economic development agency were treated to a day at a Columbia, S.C. fun park earlier this month – one of several taxpayer-funded celebrations of “Bureaucrat Week” sponsored by the administration of this so-called fiscal conservative.
Amazing, isn’t it?
We thought “Tea Party” governors believed in fiscal responsibility and private sector job creation – but Haley clearly disagrees on both counts. Not only does she support paying millions of dollars to fund a bureaucracy that doles out billions of dollars in government “incentives,” but she also believes taxpayers should fund their trips to local amusement parks.
In fact, this month’s S.C. Commerce Department field trip to “Frankie’s Fun Park” is one of several taxpayer-subsidized bureaucrat appreciation efforts sponsored by the Haley administration.
Earlier this month, Haley’s S.C. Department of Workforce and Employment (SCDEW) sponsored a massive barbecue and pizza party in a downtown Columbia, S.C. park for its employees (and agency partners) – despite the fact that the agency owes the federal government more than $780 million and is currently facing allegations of widespread fraud.
While these flagrant examples of irresponsible government expenditures are troubling – they pale in comparison to the real costs being absorbed by South Carolina businesses and taxpayers.
While she campaigned as a champion of small business, virtually all of Haley’s big jobs announcements have involved millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded incentives– which of course limit job growth elsewhere by shifting the state’s tax burden. Compounding the problem? South Carolina has one of the worst records of any state when it comes to monitoring the effectiveness of these incentives.
Oh well, it’s comforting to know that the employees responsible for picking winners and losers in our economy (with our money) are able to spend taxpayer time enjoying some government-subsidized Go Kart rides, isn’t it?
“It’s a great day in South Carolina,” people …
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