‘We Can’t Control What Happens Abroad. We Can Lower Costs at Home.’

by ALAN WILSON & CODY SIMPSON

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For South Carolina families, farmers, and small businesses, affordability is not an abstract political issue. We see it every day across our state. Families feel it when they fill up their cars, buy groceries, pay a utility bill, or sit down at the kitchen table to balance the family budget.

And right now, rising fuel costs are putting even more pressure on those budgets.

We know that for South Carolina farmers, fuel is not optional. Diesel powers tractors, combines, trucks, and equipment. It takes fuel to move seed, fertilizer, livestock, and crops. Our foresters depend on heavy equipment and transportation. Our truckers move the products South Carolinians depend on every day.

When fuel prices rise, those costs do not stop at the farm gate. They follow the supply chain all the way to the grocery store and the kitchen table.

South Carolina cannot control what happens abroad, but we can control what happens here at home.

And that starts with doing everything within our power to lower costs for South Carolinians.

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South Carolina currently imposes a 28-cent per gallon motor fuel user fee. We believe temporarily suspending that tax during periods of extraordinary fuel prices can provide relief to families while lowering costs for the farmers, foresters, truckers, and small businesses that keep our economy moving.

As Governor, I, Alan Wilson, will seek the authority to temporarily suspend the state gas tax for up to 120 days when extraordinary fuel prices place an unsustainable burden on South Carolinians. Revenue lost for road construction during a temporary suspension would be replaced using state reserve funds so needed infrastructure projects can continue.

But we also know relief at the pump is only part of the solution.

As Governor, I will also work to eliminate South Carolina’s income tax, reduce property-tax burdens, restrain state spending, expand affordable and reliable energy, and use the Families First Audit Initiative to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in government.

And as Commissioner of Agriculture, I, Cody Simpson, will fight to lower costs for the people who feed our state. That means reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens, expanding markets for South Carolina products, strengthening local agriculture, and standing up for our incredibly important producers that are facing rising fuel, fertilizer, seed, transportation, and equipment costs.

Because what happens on the farm eventually reaches every family.

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When our farmers pay more for diesel, fertilizer, and transportation, those costs move through the supply chain. When our truckers pay more to move goods, businesses pay more to stock their shelves. And that means, ultimately, South Carolina families pay more at the checkout line.

We cannot control wars overseas, decisions made by foreign governments, or every disruption to the global economy. But we can control what South Carolina does in response.

We can lower state taxes. We can cut wasteful spending. We can reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulations. We can strengthen South Carolina agriculture and energy production. And when extraordinary circumstances send fuel prices soaring, we can work to provide families temporary relief at the pump.

As Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture, we will work together to make South Carolina more affordable for families and more profitable for the farmers and businesses that call our state home.

We cannot control what happens abroad. But we can and will fight every day to lower costs here at home.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS…

Alan Wilson is the Republican nominee for Governor of South Carolina and has served as the Palmetto State’s attorney general since 2011. Cody Simpson is the Republican nominee for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture.

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