This week, The SC Policy Council unveiled a new website called The Nerve - Where government gets exposed. I've closely followed a series of debut articles about how South Carolina landed the new Boeing facility. The basic gist of the reports is that the Palmetto State has given away too much taxpayer money in order to get the company to build its plant in North Charleston.
Today's item is entitled "Boeing’s 'A' Team: Firm Turned to S.C. Power Brokers." Keep in mind, the article emphatically states that the Boeing deal was completely legal. But, it details how Boeing turned to big-time economic development players to negotiate their deal. Among those named, Leighton Lord, who I support for Attorney General.
I can understand where the reporters at The Nerve are coming from. I would love to live in a world in which state and local governments did not offer tax breaks to lure companies and where Wal-Mart and other retail giants didn't advertise "loss leaders" items in order to get customers in the door only to charge them double for necessities. But, we live in free market. Well, not all that free, but the most free of any that I know of.
So, all of you who are complaining about tax incentives - get over it. They are a reality of 2010.
Saying South Carolina should get rid of incentives is like saying Ray Tanner should stop letting the Gamecock baseball team use metal bats. Yes, the game would be more pure if colleges used wooden bats like they do in the Big Leagues. But, I don't see he NCAA issuing that mandate anytime soon. And, I don't see all 50 state legislatures agreeing on a tax incentives moratorium anytime soon either.
So, let's stick with what's working. The Gamecock baseball team winning in the SEC with "pings" from aluminum bats and the state of South Carolina winning in the economic development game through leadership that understands the law and how to operate within it.
...that's what I said.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
SC needs new leaders - let's start with the AG's office...
The scuttlebutt around South Carolina Attorney General's race these days is all about prosecutorial experience - who has it, who doesn't. But, it should be about a lot more than that.
A state agency the size of the Attorney General's office is a mine field full of explosive personalities. For an candidate to tout some mild success in prosecuting CDV and drug cases is about like me touting my golf game. Sure, that sweet 3rd shot on the par-5 17th felt good, but it didn't do much to help my score.
Putting away petty criminals makes for good headlines and fat to chew on, but it doesn't help South Carolina move forward. It's time for a new approach at the Attorney General's office.
Share this video with a friend via YouTube.
...that's what I said.
A state agency the size of the Attorney General's office is a mine field full of explosive personalities. For an candidate to tout some mild success in prosecuting CDV and drug cases is about like me touting my golf game. Sure, that sweet 3rd shot on the par-5 17th felt good, but it didn't do much to help my score.
Putting away petty criminals makes for good headlines and fat to chew on, but it doesn't help South Carolina move forward. It's time for a new approach at the Attorney General's office.
Share this video with a friend via YouTube.
...that's what I said.
Friday, December 18, 2009
About Leighton Lord
I ran across a blog the other day about the Attorney Generals race in South Carolina. Here's my response.
"Alan Wilson, is not only a proven prosecutor, but a veteran of the Iraq war." I'll give you that he's an Iraq war veteran, but "proven prosecutor"? What source are you citing here? His campaign site? Have you ever seen him prosecute a case? Have you looked at his winning percentage? Word in legal circles is that Alan Wilson is just not a very smart lawyer and as a prosecutor he has the charisma of a drying mud puddle. Yes, he has held down jobs as Assistant Solicitor in Lexington County and Assistant Attorney General. But, all that proves in South Carolina is that the good-ole boy system is alive and well. His dad has been politicking in Lexington for a quarter century now. I find it refreshing that Leighton Lord hasn't been bogged down in the quagmire of Palmetto state politics. That BS has been killing us for years. As a SC native, I look forward to the new kind of leadership Lord could potentially bring. Didn't I read something recently about Boeing building a new plant in North Charleston? I'm pretty sure his law firm played a big part in that (http://www.nexsenpruet.com/news-635.html). It's time for the people of South Carolina to wake up and quit expecting the Attorney General to put away petty drug dealers and wife beaters. Family matters like drug addiction and matters of the heart are tough enough without politicians getting involved. It's time for the people of South Carolina to see the AG as the state's lawyer, not some hell-bent prosecutor out lock up every redneck who is caught with weed or beating his wife. In today's age of complex real estate deals financed by government bonds and economic incentives packages that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, I want an attorney general who can help South Carolina compete in the global economy with the stroke of a pen - not one who carries a big sword.
... that's what I said.
"Alan Wilson, is not only a proven prosecutor, but a veteran of the Iraq war." I'll give you that he's an Iraq war veteran, but "proven prosecutor"? What source are you citing here? His campaign site? Have you ever seen him prosecute a case? Have you looked at his winning percentage? Word in legal circles is that Alan Wilson is just not a very smart lawyer and as a prosecutor he has the charisma of a drying mud puddle. Yes, he has held down jobs as Assistant Solicitor in Lexington County and Assistant Attorney General. But, all that proves in South Carolina is that the good-ole boy system is alive and well. His dad has been politicking in Lexington for a quarter century now. I find it refreshing that Leighton Lord hasn't been bogged down in the quagmire of Palmetto state politics. That BS has been killing us for years. As a SC native, I look forward to the new kind of leadership Lord could potentially bring. Didn't I read something recently about Boeing building a new plant in North Charleston? I'm pretty sure his law firm played a big part in that (http://www.nexsenpruet.com/news-635.html). It's time for the people of South Carolina to wake up and quit expecting the Attorney General to put away petty drug dealers and wife beaters. Family matters like drug addiction and matters of the heart are tough enough without politicians getting involved. It's time for the people of South Carolina to see the AG as the state's lawyer, not some hell-bent prosecutor out lock up every redneck who is caught with weed or beating his wife. In today's age of complex real estate deals financed by government bonds and economic incentives packages that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, I want an attorney general who can help South Carolina compete in the global economy with the stroke of a pen - not one who carries a big sword.
... that's what I said.
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