Fresh paint over a rotted structure

 

Imagine…

You hired a contractor to rebuild a dilapidated house that had a crumbling foundation, a sagging roof, and rotted interior.

A month later the contractor showed you the house with a new coat of paint and announced that the job was finished.

You looked up at the roof.  It was still sagging.

You examined the foundation. It was still crumbling.

You cautiously peered into the interior.  It was still rotted.

Pointing these out to the contractor, you insisted that he finish the job.

He smiled back at you and cheerfully announced that the fresh coat of paint is the best that he could do.  Job done!

Folks, we finally have the opportunity to fix our state government so that we can hold our elected officials accountable for indebting our state, for handling budget shortfalls, and for how your tax dollars are spent.

With the current bill offered up by the Senate our elected officials still won’t be directly accountable for these things.

When we can hold them directly accountable for how our state is run we’ll then have great opportunity for prosperity in our state.

Until then, we will continue to have a weak economy, high unemployment, poorly educated students, and one of the highest tax structures in the country.

We must insist on true reform.

Governor Haley and the Senate leadership are the contractors in the little analogy given above.

We cannot accept the new coat of paint they are offering up as “job done”.

Contact your state Representative.  Tell him or her to implement the following items that citizens have asked for.

You can find your state Representative and his or her contact information by following this link.

Haley is trying to convince us that the superficial reforms offered up by the Senate in our government restructuring bill, H3066, are the best that can be done.

She blasted out an e-mail indicating that the only thing left to finish the restructuring job is for the House to accept these weak reforms offered up by the Senate and send the bill to her desk for a signature.

This bill has merely rearranged the proverbial deck chairs on the sinking Titanic.

Citizens asked for legislators to publicly debate and vote on every bond they authorized, thus making them responsible for the debt our state incurs.

Instead, the Senate created a new hybrid board (just like the Budget and Control Board) to split the authority to authorize state debt; continuing to shirk their responsibility for indebting taxpayers.

Citizens asked for legislators to come back into session and make responsible cuts in the event of a revenue shortfall in mid-year. Citizens wanted lawmakers to face the public for their choices and be held accountable.

Instead, lawmakers gave themselves the option to do nothing and allow an unelected, unaccountable state employee the authority to make mid-year budget cuts.

Citizens asked for lawmakers to mandate regular objective and public audits of all state agencies by the Legislative Audit Council on a schedule that is independently determined – not a schedule set by politicians.

Instead, The Senate broadened its power through legislative “investigative committees” – which have the authority to question and depose not only state employees, but private citizens if they deem them to have relevant information.

In addition, decisions regarding which agencies are “investigated” are left up to legislative leaders – the same ones who control most of state government already.

The public cannot be confident these politicians will investigate the agencies they control the same way they would the agencies the governor controls.

Citizens asked that the responsibility for issuing state contracts lie with one person whom the citizens of South Carolina could hold accountable if there was any wrongdoing or negligence in the process.

Instead, The Senate created a mixed system of doling out state contracts.

One third of state contracts being given out by the Department of Administration and the other two thirds by a three person panel, allowing politicians to avoid the full responsibility.

Citizens asked for the chairman of the Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) to be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate.

Instead, the Senate created a BEA chairman who reports not only to the governor, but also directly to legislative leaders that are not elected statewide and who write the state’s budget based off the BEA’s forecast.

With these critical issues left undone, how can the governor call this job finished?

H3066 will not give us the reform that will produce an opportunity for prosperity in the future.

Contact your state Representative.  Tell him or her not to accept the fresh coat of paint the Senate has put on our decrepit government structure, calling it “job done”.

The House must implement the reforms as outlined above.

You can find your state Representative and his or her contact information by following this link.

You can refer your House member to this report published by the South Carolina Policy Council.  It makes these exact same recommendations.

Contact your state Representative today!

Sincerely,

Talbert Black Jr.

Palmetto Liberty PAC

P.S.  The South Carolina Senate has put a fresh coat of paint on our rotten government structure and called it restructuring.  The Governor is calling it a good job.  We know better!

The foundation of our state government structure is still crumbling.  Contact your state Representative today and tell them to fix H3066, our restructuring bill, with the plan and simple reform outlined above.

You can find your state Representative and his or her contact information by following this link.