Lawmakers unveil jobs strategy
Harrell, Leatherman hurl barbs at Sanford
Audio clip
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, discusses the need for economic development
AP
South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell (left) answers questions from reporters Tuesday about a plan to boost South Carolina's economic growth after a news conference in Columbia. Joining him is Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence (center).
The rebuttal
The state Department of Commerce released information to rebut claims that the agency and Gov. Mark Sanford weren't doing enough for economic development.
Here's a look at the numbers:
25,615: The difference between "the 147,409 jobs created in the first four years of the Sanford administration and the 121,794 jobs created during the Beasley administration," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 154,783 jobs created in the first 5 1/2 years of the Sanford administration eclipses the 137,130 jobs first 5 1/2 years of the Campbell administration."
$13.6 Billion: Capital investments announced between 2003 and 2007, including $4 billion last year.
500: Jobs created with BMW's expansion in the Upstate.
3: The number of jobs out of every five recruited last year that were in the manufacturing sector.
34: The percent of jobs announced in 2007 for rural counties, where 21 percent of the labor force lives.
22: The percent that South Carolina's exports were up in 2007, above the national average of 12.1 percent.
COLUMBIA — Politicians blamed each other Tuesday for South Carolina's consistently high unemployment rate while pitching a new job recruitment plan that was short on details.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman piled on the criticism of Gov. Mark Sanford and his administration as they outlined a concept intended to get more people working and earning more.
The legislators were joined by businessmen, researchers and academics outside the state Employment Security Commission to discuss the creation of a Knowledge Sector Council that will coordinate efforts and ensure economic development tools passed by the Legislature are utilized.
"The past few years of inaction and missed opportunities have shown us that if we truly want those high-paying jobs created, we must not only provide the means but also the execution," said Harrell, R-Charleston. "Especially now, given the current state of our national economy and our high unemployment rate, we can no longer wait for that leadership to present itself."
Harrell did not give specifics on what he was alluding to, saying that he was focused on the future.
Leatherman, though, was more direct
in his criticism.
"After observing the actual results over the past several years, it has become painfully clear that this administration simply doesn't care about creating jobs for our people," he said.
The Governor's Office dismissed the whole to-do as a design to distract voters.
"It's an election year ploy to distract from the fact that the Legislature has consistently failed to prioritize spending, and has cut funding for our economic development efforts as a result," said Sanford's press secretary, Joel Sawyer. He noted that neither the governor nor Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor were invited to the announcement.
Sawyer said the numbers that back Sanford's economic development efforts speak for themselves. And Leatherman was either stretching the truth or making things up Tuesday, Sawyer said.
Harrell said the bottom line is still the facts that South Carolina's per capita income is lower than the national average and the unemployment rate is higher.
"We can no longer stand by and watch as our state continues to fall behind," Harrell said.
The "Future Economic Development Blueprint" will start with a call to the South Carolina Research Authority to facilitate and guide the creation of the council.
Bill Mahoney, chief executive officer of the authority, said the nonprofit will arrange regular forums for a group of stakeholders to align efforts and resources. Stakeholders include the research universities, technical colleges, the state Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Commerce and about 10 other groups.
The goal is to drive job creation in science, technology and commercialization, which will spur jobs in other sectors, such as the construction industry. The knowledge-based sector, along with manufacturing and tourism, will drive economic success, according to the outline presented Tuesday.
Sawyer said the governor believes the best approach to job recruitment is to make the state more business-friendly so more entrepreneurs are attracted. To do that, the legislators' time would have been better spent restoring the $10 million cut from the Commerce Department's funds for sealing recruitment deals, he said.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.
E-mail this story
Printer-friendly version
Comments
zoomru (anonymous) says...
A ..BRILLIANT ...EXAMPLE of....WHAT???
Political Backstabbing and lack of TEAMWORK !!!
Harrell and Leatherman what are you DOING?? You mena to tell US that Government just creates jobs??
..."The past few years of inaction and missed opportunities have shown us that if we truly want those high-paying jobs created, ...." WELL ...why has is taken YOU both this LONG?? IS ANYTHING better late than NEVER??
A Governor is OUR state's leadership MOUTHPIECE....YOU and the DEMOCRATS have run AMUK !! YOU ..porkers !!!
1) HAS the Legislature LED by YOU and McConnell CLOSED one landfill in OUR state and installed PLASMA machines to turn OUR trash into ENERGY?? Go to www.startech.net !!
2) Has the legilature led by YOU and McConnell produced ONE MEGAWATT of energy from OUR COASTAL WIND?? Have YOU??
ANSWER: NO !!!
3) HAs the Legislature mapped out a STATEWIDE elevated Mag-lev Mass Transportation Plan to solve SCHOOL Bussing, Commuter Transit, and Multiple Airport Tie-IN??
Answer NO!!
Get Busy...boyz!!!
July 30, 2008 at 5:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinadude (anonymous) says...
Megga dittos fellow posters!
These are the two bozos that let the 2006 "tax reform" fiasco which is a huge disincentive to business and investors and placed a huge reliance upon the sales tax which is not a consitently reliable source of revenue. I agree with wpc above that this is basically a lot of BS from Harrell and Leatherman who are largely responsible for screwing up SC's tax system. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING POST (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF REGARDING THE 2006 TAX SHIFT PUBLISHED IN NOV 07 BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA POLICY COUNCIL).
July 30, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinadude (anonymous) says...
In June 2006, the South Carolina General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, H. 4449
(R. 417) legislation that will radically change the state's revenue system. The new law shifts
the burden of funding public school operations from local to state government by replacing the
local school district tax on owner-occupied residential property with a one-cent increase in the
state retail sales tax. The law is intended to provide a clean, revenue-neutral swap of sales for
property taxes, with the state government reimbursing the local governments for the revenue loss
created by elimination of the property tax.
What home owners gain in the form of reduced property taxes, consumers will suffer in the form
of increased sales taxes. Moreover, the hoped-for relief to property owners will prove illusory.
Soon after the old taxes are removed, we predict, local taxpayers, particularly business taxpayers,
can expect to find themselves burdened by new taxes, which will be imposed to replace the old
taxes removed by H4449. The new taxes will be imposed to satisfy local governments' appetite
for revenue and from state government's failure to impose a local spending cap.
We believe that local governments will, by 2010, have completely recouped the revenue loss
attributable to the 2006 tax cut. They will thus be receiving a sizeable transfer from the state,
while offering no relief to local taxpayers. This push could take a number of paths, with the
renewed burden of local taxes falling in different ways on businesses and homeowners. In the
report that follows we sketch one plausible outcome. In summary, we predict that, by FY 2010:
ï ï The entire 2008 reduction in property taxes will have been extinguished by the
introduction of new property taxes. And, because the 1• increase in the state sales tax
will be in effect, the state will be collecting $594 million more in sales tax revenue.
ï ï The 2008 reduction in property taxes will have been extinguished through the imposition
of new taxes on commercial property and on residential property that remains taxed
under H. 4449. We foresee a state of affairs in which:
o Business, which saw no relief in taxes taxes over and above
what they would have paid had H. 4449 not been adopted.
o Home owners will find that their initial tax cut has been reduced by 45% (or
$281 million) from $632 million to $351 million.
Tax Changes in South Carolina: No Relief in Sight 4
By 2010, the state will find that it has merely increased the sales tax while effecting a
redistribution in property-tax burdens from home owners (who will pay somewhat less than they
would have, absent the new law) to businesses (which pay much more).
These political developments will have adverse consequences for the state economy.
July 30, 2008 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whycantitbebetterhere (anonymous) says...
If you want jobs here, you need a workforce that is educated. We don't have too much of that here - educated people leave once they have been educated. You also need a strong spirit of community - we don't have too much of that here either. No one wants to pay for community projects that show the spirit and unity of the community - everyone just wants to make sure that they pay the lowest taxes possible. That is evidenced by crumbling schools, lack of beautification efforts and trashy public spaces, the number of homeless people wandering around and begging, the lack of enforcement of code violations, the lack of public services, etc. The worst part is most people are deluded into thinking they live in the greatest place in the world and there's nothing wrong with how things are. Wake up - you may have a beautiful home here, but it is a mess and you need to clean it up.
July 30, 2008 at 8:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drp7773 (anonymous) says...
These folks need to get off their asses and go find the jobs, instead of sitting back and doing nothing but collect the taxpayers money. All the surrounding southern states are making trips to China and any other place and are giving enough incentives that they are coming to their states with jobs. I just drove down Rivers Ave and Dorchester roads and they look like closed up old towns. We need jobs, manufacturing, warehousing, high tech etc. It's time these lazy people wake the hell up and do what we sent them there for.
July 30, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinadude (anonymous) says...
DRP,
AMEN BROTHER!
July 30, 2008 at 8:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justmyview (anonymous) says...
I thought South Carolina already had an agency dedicated to bringing in new businesses to the state. Any effort to bring in jobs to South Carolina that offer decent salaries should be applauded.
July 30, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drp7773 (anonymous) says...
It takes your congressman, senators and especially your governors visiting these places to bring jobs in they have more pull. The governor of Ga goes on these trips all the time, they just nailed Kia and they will be opening up a plant in south Ga
July 30, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
Bobby and Hugh just need to get on board with Sanford and become real conservatives and not be neocons. They are like the Republicans in DC that preach one thing and then spend our money to death on junk and never call for the abolishment of any agency or policy. Sanford is the man and Bobby and Hugh are not worthy to be in the same capitol building with him.
July 30, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Harrell-la-rasa and McConnellista ?!
Talk about LEADERS??
Did you cut taxes and reduce spending?? ASK Jake "Snotty" KNOTTS?? You Ravenel'ers !!!
DID YOU SHOW LEADERSHIP BY EDUCATING the public about STATE tax-free muni-bonds to raise investment to build-out TRASH PLASMA-FIERS to generate electricity to be SOLD BACK THROUGH THE POWER GRID?? DID you displAY TEAMWORK TO GET A REFERENDUM on the BALLOT ??The energy SOLD would go to pay off the machines resulting in NO TAX INCREASE to the TAXPAYER?? DID YOU ??? NO !!! YOU BOZOs would rather gived METHANE lollipops to big business instead of looking out for the CITIZENS OF THIS STATE !! The LEAST YOU COULD HAVE DONE WAS CLOSE THE LANDFILLS AND GIVE THESE COMPANIES REDUCED ELECTRICAL RATES !! Good LORD!!
The SAME goes for turbines for COASTAL WINDFARMS. DID YOU EDUCATE, then REFERENDUM, then produce energy to pay off the BONDS....NO !! THEN OPEN UP THE BIDDING FOR THESE BUSINESSES FOR CONTRACT AUCTION??
YOU DON'T FOOL ME !!
DEMOCRATS... COME out from under your desks!! What did you lead this STATE ON?? WHAT ??? STOP drinking 4 dollar LATTEs and start doing SOMETHING??? What are you going to do?? WE want to know??
Commerce Dept.....DO MORE WITH LESS !! We taxpayers are !!!
July 30, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
Another thing that needs to be examined is the exporting of American jobs to foreign countries such as China to make most of the goods and appliances we have to buy today. Our economy used to be based on making electronics, appliances, autos, and textiles. Today our economy is funded by the military industrial war complex to make warplanes, tanks and weapons and an economy based on needed services. If we don't have wars we don't have to make war products and then the economy really suffers. That is why we have to get into wars every so often. Until we can make and buy "Made in USA" products and replace Chinese production our demise into third world status will only hasten.
July 30, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
icbmman (anonymous) says...
Good night. Talk about political BS at its fullest. The state legislature has to be one of the dumbest groups of government bureaucrats I have ever seen. Instead of working with the governor who has tried to cut wasteful spending and eliminate a bloated state bureaucracy, they practically blame him for the unemployment rate increase. Then, they announce the formation of ANOTHER bloated, useless government entity. I question if South Carolina is truly a conservative state: the largest employer in the state is GOVERNMENT, and even Republican politicians want more GOVERNMENT.
If you want more higher-paying jobs to locate here, there are several things you have to do:
1. Emplace a stronger sense of community by making central cities stronger. Making it difficult for cities to annex unincorporated urban areas and allowing pseudo-towns to form creates nothing but division and animosity among a metro area, particularly this one. Companies don't want to locate in cities that don't have unity and vision for their communities.
2. Find ways to lower or eliminate the state income tax. Texas continues to bring in more people and more jobs, since most people don't like being taxed on their income TWICE. Even Florida still has a higher job growth rate despite its real estate economy.
3. Create a much stronger focus on repairing current infrastructure and building new infrastucture. SC ranks last among the 50 states in highway spending. That alone, says enough.
4. Divert lottery earnings from college scholarships to the elementary and middle schools. If you want to have better education for your children, you have to start at the beginning. It's stupid and ridiculous to spend money on people who are already educated enough to go to college.
The solutions are simple, but these bureaucrats, who only want to attain more power and relevance, do nothing but continue to stall things and make it look like their actually working. I don't know if this Knowledge Sector Council will work or not, but this useless blame game is juvenile and unproductive. Shut up and do something!
July 30, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Glenn..... what are you doing with that CANNON??
STOP shining the thing and START using it. BUT Don't point it at SANFORD?!? Are you feeling jealous because he gets to go to a conference?
Put on a fresh pair of PAMPERS and LETS GET this State moving!!
1) CLEAN THIS STATE!....CLOSE LANDFILLs
2) ENERGIZE THIS STATE....Energy from trash and WIND and Nuclear
3) Move this State...Statewide elevated mag-lev mass transit!!
4) Free SLAVEs ...TEachers and children with PUBLIC school vouchers
I've got more...??!!
WHAT CAN YOU THINK OF and DO!!! We want to KNOW!!
July 30, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinadude (anonymous) says...
Zoomru!!
Amen Brother!
July 30, 2008 at 11:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whycantitbebetterhere (anonymous) says...
zoomru - Brother I am not sure you're okay... you sound, well, a little, well, gosh, um, well - not okay...
July 30, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartley8184 (anonymous) says...
Na... I've read the laundry list of "ideas" for getting the high paying jobs here, and I'm afraid none of them will work. I'm not going to bother telling why... I choose to be politically correct instead of truthful.
So, the real solution is we need to put Moses in charge, so that he can part the Red Sea, turn a stick into a snake, and make bread fall down out of heaven.... or... some other unlikely-to-occur fairy tale miracle like that.... anyway, some sort of miracle handout that will suffice until people finally want to take responsibility for their individual destinies, rather than waiting for a government "hand up". You know, they'll act like people act when they value education and respect the duties of citizenship and home.
July 30, 2008 at 3:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChrisPia (anonymous) says...
http://www.dallas.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Sit...
July 30, 2008 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartley8184 (anonymous) says...
Maybe we can pursue alternative energy sources in verbal hot air or manure. We could put a group of political speechmakers in front of a giant collection mechanism and gather the resultant wind or BS that is produced. It would probably power a small town for a year, or Nancy Pelosi's government jet for a month. Or, maybe we could burn textbooks and library books to produce electricity... since noone seems to be using them to get educated. Or, perhaps we can all just get hooked on crack cocaine and methamphetamines and go live under an overpass. We wouldn't really need to worry about jobs or energy at all in that scenario. By the way, is anyone working on ways to make asphalt, jet fuel, plastics and other critical products from solar energy or wind power? Just wondering... it's not just about gas....
July 30, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Postandcourier.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Postandcourier.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by signing up!
Full terms and conditions can be read here.