|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
So-called “Republicans” in South Carolina love to brag on the campaign trail about how “conservative” they are, but the truth is they are far more fiscally liberal than the Democrats who preceded them in office. Just this week, in fact, a member of the conservative S.C. Freedom Caucus called out the GOP establishment for its worsening addiction to wasteful spending.
Republicans assumed total control of state government in 2003 – and have benefited from expanding supermajorities in recent years. Unfortunately, GOP leaders continue to govern in a manner wholly inconsistent with the limited government, lower tax principles they proclaim to embrace. Over the past two decades, they’ve blown tens of billions of dollars on political pork, corporate cronyism, socialized energy and all manner of bureaucratic excess, incompetence and woke indoctrination.
What sort of result has this misappropriation of resources produced for the Palmetto State?
Glad you asked…
***
Each month, FITSNews provides updates on the status of South Carolina’s employment economy – which continues to rank among the very worst in the nation. Per the most recent data, South Carolina’s labor participation rate – a.k.a. the size of its workforce – was tied with Alabama and New Mexico for third-lowest rate in the entire nation at 57.6%. Only West Virginia (55%) and Mississippi (54.7%) fared worse on this key indicator.
Nationally, labor participation stood at 62.6% last month, per the latest data.
Unemployment is also rising sharply in South Carolina, up nearly two percentage points from record lows achieved last year. Based on this uptick, it once again exceeds the national average.
Given this atrocious employment data, it’s no surprise the Palmetto State ranks near the bottom of the barrel in another key economic indicator – income levels. According to the latest figures, per capita personal income in South Carolina clocked in at a modest $57,332 last year – well below the national average of $69,815.
That figure also trailed neighboring North Carolina ($61,839) and Georgia ($59,882) – states which have much lower tax rates than South Carolina – as well as Tennessee ($62,229) and Florida ($68,703), two regional rivals which do not assess an income tax at the state level.
Only five states – Kentucky, New Mexico, Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi – have lower income levels than South Carolina.
***
***
Clearly, South Carolina needs to rethink its approach to “economic development.” In fact, we thought this was self-evident in the aftermath of the Covid-19 recession.
In the fall of 2020, University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen told a conference of business leaders that “South Carolina will have to begin re-thinking its approach to economic development” – focusing less on corporate recruitment and more on “persuading workers to live in South Carolina.”
That hasn’t happened. Instead, state leaders have doubled down on the same failed approaches responsible for producing these terrible results – all while bragging about how “conservative” they are.
For years, I have championed aggressive income tax relief and other pro-free market reforms which would empower South Carolina small businesses and individual income earners to keep more of their money – thus enabling them to expand and employ more workers. Unfortunately, “Republicans” have decided to appropriate recent revenue surpluses elsewhere… choking off the ability of these businesses to expand.
***
RELATED | GOP MAJORITY STILL ATTACKING CONSERVATIVES
***
“If the Palmetto State is ever going to pull itself out of the vicious cycle of poverty and joblessness, it must stop subsidizing the mindless growth of government (including corporate welfare) – and start empowering the small businesses and sole proprietorships which drive job and income growth,” I wrote more than three years ago.
Sadly, no one is listening… no one in charge, anyway.
“Republican” leaders have vowed to make tax relief a priority in 2025. S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith, in particular, has said cutting taxes is at the top of his agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Unfortunately, Smith and his allies are once again tinkering around the edges of a problem they should have substantively addressed years ago.
Their talk of tax relief now is definitionally “too little, too late.”
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
Wages generally lag in red states, unless the state has oil or some similar natural resource Republicans prefer their constituents, dumb and poor and their women compliant. They are much easier to manipulate that way. Of the ten lowest household income states in the US 9 are red states.
Mississippi
West Virginia
Louisiana
Arkansas
Kentucky
Oklahoma
Alabama
New Mexico
Missouri
Tennessee
I think SC comes in at 12. This of course correlates very well with education and health. Two things Republicans don’t worry about. But hey, how about those low tax rates!
While income levels do matter to a certain extent, what matters more is whether that income, when compared to the prevailing living costs, allows a person to pay their bills and still have a meaningful amount left to enjoy. So, for starters, when you look at the states with the lowest housing costs, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri are in the top 10 of most recognized lists and West Virginia comes in at #12, followed by Alabama at #14. When you look at the Forbes list of the cheapest states to live in (which looks at all of the major components of household living), seven of the states with the lowest household income are also in the top ten cheapest places to live. So you have to look beyond simply the income component to see the nig picture as to economic well being.