South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell sent me and all the other registered voters in South Carolina a big color post card last week. I’m not sure what it cost but it was glossy and full color and I’m sure it was expensive. Anyway, Speaker Harrell was taking credit for engineering the biggest tax cut in South Carolina’s history. The postcard and recent TV public service announcements featuring Speaker Harrell would seem to be the opening salvo in his potential gubanatorial bid. The cover of his missive highlighted the repeal of the state grocery tax but that was small potatoes compared to the $86 million reduction in personal income taxes. While I am in accord with the move to eliminate the lowest tax bracket on personal income, providing relief to low-income families the worrisome part of the legislature’s tax relief fixation is that it hinders our state’s ability to fund infrastructure improvements and increase the amount of money provided to public schools. A more detailed look at our current situation was provided recently by my friend Andy Brack in his weekly State House Report column. You can read this for yourself by clicking on http://www.statehousereport.com/columns/07.1021.money.htm. The total amount of income tax dollars lost due to recent legislation is $600 million. South Carolina has phased out estate taxes on our wealthiest residents, thereby losing $60 million in revenue. Lawmakers also cut the rate of small business income taxes from 7 to 5% eliminating another $54.5 million dollars. Brack writes that without the tax cuts South Carolina wouldn’t face a shortfall of up to $430 million this fiscal year, instead we would have netted a $150 million surplus. Brack contends and I agree that this is the legislatures back door way of eliminating sources of revenue that could have paid for improvements in education, health care, prisons, mental health programs and so much more. There is a method to their madness, besides scoring political points, the GOP dominated legislature cuts taxes to eliminate the means to improve our state and help us compete in an increasingly complex global economy.

If you watched the documentary “Corridor of Shame” www.corridorofshame.com you surely understand that our current system of funding public school districts is unfair and starves rural areas of funds to build badly needed schools. “Corridor of Shame” depicts schools in Dillon and Jasper counties literally crumbling, with raw sewage in the hall and libraries housed in closets. Dillion School District Two has the sorry distinction of hosting the oldest, continuously operating school building in South Carolina. J.V. Martin High School was built in 1896. Many of the schools have no reliable heating or cooling systems and in some cases ceilings of classrooms have collapsed. The situation in 36 school districts grew so dire that education officials filed a lawsuit against the state seeking funding for new schools. After years of litigation the suit was settled with a mandate that the state provide funds for pre-school education but did nothing to rectify the current system, which punishes rural districts for their lack of property tax revenue.

We have some serious problems in our state that require funds to fix. Our prisons are overcrowded and understaffed, there are virtually no facilities much less treatment programs for the mentally ill and our public schools are a national embarrassment. Because many of the problems that require attention affect the poor and or people of color, there seems to be absolutely no political will in South Carolina’s legislature to address them. Speaker Harrell should hang his head in shame for the lack of leadership he has demonstrated in the face of these serious issues.

I had one personal encounter with Speaker Harrell and it speaks volumes about where his priorities lie. I attended a legislative breakfast sponsored by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce shortly after Bobby Harrell assumed his leadership post. I was attending on behalf of the non-profit board of directors Friends of the Greenville County Guardian ad Litem Program. The statewide GAL program which recruits, trains and supervises volunteers to advocate for abused children in the custody of the SC Department of Social Services is chronically under funded and I was hoping to draw attention to the matter. I shook Speaker Harrell’s hand and introduced my cause and myself. I asked him to consider supporting full funding for the GAL program, which at the time was less than $3 million. He rather forcefully told me that he couldn’t make any promises and turned and walked away. Having spent nearly two decades of my life serving as a volunteer or a board member for GAL I was crushed that he would not show the slightest interest in an incredibly affective program which provides a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens. While I understand Speaker Harrell can’t promise to fund any program, he certainly could have taken the time to show some interest in those who volunteer to serve our state’s children. I was astounded by his rudeness but not at all surprised by his lack of interest in children since they can’t vote. The nearly single minded obsession our state lawmakers demonstrate toward business and business interests is hurting our state and its citizens. We need leaders who aren’t afraid to tackle tough problems and are willing to stand up for those who have no voice and no power. With complete Republican domination in South Carolina, I don’t see that happening.