TheState.com: Opinion

Loftis: Making government transparent easier said than done

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:26 EDT

This week, media outlets across the country are celebrating “Sunshine Week,” a time devoted to the promotion of open government. The cause is noble, and government leaders at all levels should be committed to the goal of daily transparency and not just during an appointed week.

Creating a transparent and accountable government is far more difficult than one may assume. There are many obstacles to granting citizens a look-see into what really happens, not the least of which is the old-fashioned sense of embarrassment. Few of us enjoy someone looking over our shoulders, and even fewer like the entire state peering wide-eyed into our daily work. But good government cannot exist in today’s complicated world without such sunshine.

Advocates of open government include members of the media, grassroots organizations and, yes, even a few elected officials. One example of such advocacy is Aiken Rep. Bill Taylor. His bill to strengthen our Freedom of Information Act is currently on the House calendar for debate. This legislation would allow citizens access to government records at a minimized cost and in a timely manner. Further, it provides a process to appeal denied FOI requests at the Administrative Law Court rather than at the costly Court of Appeals. This keeps costs down, enables swift resolutions and sets consistent standards across state government. I applaud Rep. Taylor for his dedication to transparency and look forward to the passage of his bill.

Too often the custom of government is to meet problems with silence. As a man who has spent the bulk of his life running a business, it is clear to me that serious issues and problems must be faced directly.

I have learned about the obstacles that some groups use to keep watchful eyes at a distance. For more than two years, the treasurer’s office has been fighting for open government and transparency at every opportunity, including at the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission.

Knapp: Not expanding Medicaid will cost SC small businesses

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:44 EST

The debate is underway over whether to expand the federal-state health insurance program, Medicaid, to more uninsured low-income South Carolinians.

Opponents of expansion, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, are led by Gov. Nikki Haley’s director of Health and Human Services, Tony Keck, who runs the state’s Medicaid program. Mr. Keck’s public position is that the issue is not about cost but about making more of our citizens healthy. He argues that expanding Medicaid is an inefficient way of achieving that goal.

In December, I attended a forum where Mr. Keck explained that having health insurance was not a good predictor of health outcomes. Therefore the state would do better in promoting health by concentrating on education and jobs while encouraging our citizens to make better personal choices about their behavior.

But in response to a question I posed, Mr. Keck admitted that a low-income person’s health would be better if he had Medicaid than if he did not. “But at what cost?” he quickly added.

Mr. Keck’s almost reflexive response reveals that the tactic of arguing that Medicaid isn’t the best way to improve health is really an effort to misdirect the debate away from the real issue — cost.

Editorial: Outlaw texting while driving

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 00:00 EST

IT’S FAR TOO simplistic to say that South Carolina’s roads are among the nation’s deadliest because we are one of just five states with absolutely no limits on drivers sending and receiving text messages. After all, our roads were among the nation’s deadliest long before anyone had ever heard of texting.

But as long as we do have some of the nation’s deadliest highways — only Montana has more deaths per vehicle mile traveled — it’s not simplistic to say we need to do something to make our roads safer.

The most important thing we can do is step up enforcement, since our biggest dangers are people driving too fast, refusing to yield and driving after drinking too much — all of which are illegal.

The most efficient thing we can do is outlaw practices that anyone with even a modicum of sense can see are insanely dangerous. Topping that list: sending and receiving text messages while driving.

Do other activities also distract drivers’ attention? Of course so. But not nearly as much; even talking on a cell phone pales in comparison to texting. One federal study found that texting makes a driver 23 times more likely to crash. Not 23 percent. Twenty-three times.

Editorial: Midlands supports United Way at record level

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:06 EST

WITH THE economy still at a crawl, more and more families and individuals are seeking aid, but many charities are struggling to meet the burgeoning needs because giving has been stagnant or down.

As unfortunate as it is, it isn’t surprising that charitable donations have contracted in these uncertain times. People tend to give less, choosing to squirrel away any extra money they might have so they’ll be prepared to weather any personal financial storm that might blow their way.

While we’re sure many in our community have taken wise steps to protect their financial stability, many also are sacrificing to minimize the struggles of friends and neighbors in need. How else can we explain the historic fundraising campaign the United Way of the Midlands is experiencing? The charitable organization has collected a record $10.25 million so far this year; that represents 99 percent of its 2012-13 goal, which means that total should rise even higher. Last year, the United Way collected $10.22 million.

We commend the many individuals, companies and others who rallied around the United Way. But while it’s good to celebrate the milestone, it’s even better to acknowledge the tremendously good work that money will do for those in need. The United Way of the Midlands has mastered its innovative strategy aimed at steering this community’s limited charitable dollars to areas of greatest need.

The organization, which supports programs in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, Newberry, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, takes an active role in identifying appropriate, qualified organizations to deliver services that address the Midlands’ most pressing needs.

Editorial: Legislature should allow early voting

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:48 EST

ALTHOUGH the seven-hour waits that some Richland County voters endured in November were an extreme, with specific causes, there’s nothing new about too-long waits to vote. Even when election officials manage to deploy all of their voting machines, people can end up waiting a couple of hours, sometimes more.

Some argue that anyone unwilling to be inconvenienced doesn’t need to be voting, and frankly, there’s something emotionally appealing about that argument, particularly when you think about how uninformed some voters are when they cast ballots.

But it’s one thing to say that to people who have a flexible work schedule, or who are retired or don’t work, and for whom a long wait is a mere inconvenience. It’s quite another to say it to hourly workers, who might have to take time off of work, if they even feel like they can risk asking for time off, or get charged extra for not picking their children up from day-care on time. We are quite literally saying that they should have to pay for the right to vote — while those of us in comfortable offices don’t.

That’s simply not acceptable when there is an easy alternative.

For several years, the professionals who run elections have been asking the Legislature to allow early voting, in order to keep pace with a growing population without having to buy more voting machines and hire more poll workers.

Editorial: Midlands bus contract should be bid out sooner than later

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:04 EST

LONG-TIME BUS operator Veolia Transportation has been helpful in bringing stability to the Midlands system, and it makes sense to rely on the contractor to keep buses operating in the short term, but transit officials must put the service out for bid as soon as possible.

Despite Veolia’s helpfulness, the public legitimately has been concerned that the company has provided too few details over the years about how tax dollars it receives are spent. Beyond that, this service has never been bid out; Veolia has operated the buses since they were transferred into public hands in 2002, which makes it difficult to determine whether the Midlands is getting a comparatively good deal — in quality or price.

With the bus system now poised to receive millions more annually, thanks to the passage of the penny-on-the-dollar transportation sales tax in Richland County, it is imperative that this contract be bid out sooner than later.

For sure, this community has benefitted from Veolia’s expertise and even its resources. During a particularly turbulent time roughly two years ago, the company brought in an executive director — at no expense to the public — to oversee the bus system. That manager, Bob Schneider, has done an admirable job. The company’s contract, which was to have ended during that period, was extended a year and a half. In November, the transit authority board extended it for another six months, through April. Veolia has now asked for another one-year extension.

By all means, the transit authority should retain Veolia to keep things running smoothly while it prepares to bid the contract out. But while it should take the time to do its due diligence, it shouldn’t tarry. This contract should have been bid out long ago.

Editorial: New SC county would create confusion, duplication

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:01 EST

EVEN IF residents in Ballentine, Irmo and Chapin have some legitimate concerns about their local governments, creating a new county is the wrong way to address those issues.

Establishing a new county would further complicate our already overly fragmented local governmental structure and create unnecessary confusion and duplication. It would become even more difficult to set effective public policy and deliver efficient services. A new county also would hamper existing cities and counties by siphoning away a portion of the limited state funding provided to local governments.

A group of community leaders in Ballentine, Irmo and Chapin, upset by Richland County voters’ approval of a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax to pay for improved bus service, roads and other projects, is shaping a plan to combine the northwest corner of Richland County and much of the northern edge of Lexington County into a separate county. For now, supporters refer to their proposed creation as Birch County.

Those pushing this misguided effort also are bothered that Lexington County is considering placing a one-cent sales tax on the ballot, largely for roads. In addition, some proponents of a new county are upset about other issues such as development controls.

In order to create a new county, supporters would have to get a third of voters in the area to request that the question be placed on the ballot; two-thirds of voters would have to approve the referendum. The U.S. Justice Department also would have to sign off on the process.

Editorial: Howard Rich’s losing SC investment strategy

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:06 EST

THE LESSON that S.C. voters need to take from the latest campaign-finance reports is that Howard Rich, the megalomaniacal millionaire from New York, is not going to stop trying to buy himself a friendly little Legislature in South Carolina.

If he succeeds, we know his minions will start by throwing public money at private schools, stealing funding and public support from the public schools that we own and are responsible for.

And eventually, who knows? They’ll probably try to fulfill the perverted dream of Mr. Rich’s fellow traveler Grover Norquist to cut government in half and then in half again and again and again until it’s small enough to drown in a bathtub.

And Mr. Rich won’t give up his efforts unless or until South Carolinians so thoroughly reject his tactics as to convince him that trying to buy our Legislature is a bad investment strategy.

What our legislators need to take away from the reports is this: Yes, Mr. Rich will come after you if you dare to oppose his carpetbagging plan for our state. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll lose.

Editorial: Abolish Budget and Control Board, take SC off autopilot

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:12 EST

IN SOUTH Carolina, two obscure constitutional officers and two legislators share equal say with the governor in allocating office space to state agencies, managing state-owned property and inter-agency mail and overseeing the state’s vehicle fleet and scores more executive duties.

Those two legislators have equal say with the three executive officers on the Budget and Control Board in deciding whether state agencies can ignore the budget that was passed by the rest of the Legislature and run a deficit or borrow money from another agency.

Meantime, the only routine review the Legislature performs on state agencies comes by way of annual budget hearings — which can last less than 15 minutes, and are held by as few as three legislators.

It is, in short, a system that dilutes gubernatorial authority, steals legislative authority, obliterates the concept of accountability (if five people are in charge, no one is in charge) and blurs the line between executive and legislative in a way that offends the constitution and makes it nearly impossible for either to do its job well.

And so we have, as Sen. Vincent Sheheen explained last week, a government on autopilot: “The executive branch doesn’t know what’s happening, and the legislative branch doesn’t know what’s happening, so we have these eruptions about once every year.”

Editorial: The problem with Haley’s tax-by-tax fixation

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:04 EST

GOV. NIKKI Haley says we have to keep lowering our income taxes because other states are doing that. They’ve “seen the successes we’ve had in South Carolina and are nipping at our heels,” she said in her State of the State address. They’re slashing or eliminating their income taxes, and “We have to keep up.”

But even if you believe that being the lowest-taxed state is a good thing — and it’s not unless you’re providing the education and infrastructure and health care that even the governor acknowledges are essential — competing tax by tax is a game we’ll never win.

Sure, income tax rates are important to some businesses that might move to our state. But for others, property taxes are key. For others, it’s getting a special sales-tax exemption or lower excise taxes.

So we slash our income taxes to undercut the states with no income tax but high property taxes, and we slash our property taxes to undercut the states with low property taxes but a high sales tax, and we slash our sales tax to undercut the states with a low sales tax but high excise taxes, and we slash our excise taxes to undercut the states with low excise taxes but high income taxes, and where does that leave us?

Everybody’s happy that they don’t have to pay taxes. But not so happy that we’ve shuttered our schools and courthouses and there’s no more police or fire service or garbage collection, and we’ve freed the prisoners because we don’t have any money run the prisons.

Editorial: Columbia’s downtown relevant again

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:21 EST

COLUMBIA’S downtown is relevant again, and with each announcement of a new arrival along Main Street, the capital city’s principal artery takes on a new air of vibrancy.

Among the latest developments is news that Agape Senior will move its corporate headquarters to three buildings in the 1600 block of Main Street. Agape, one of the state’s largest health-care providers for seniors, also will open a vegan cafe, a 24-hour public fitness center and a pharmacy, among other things.

While it might be too soon to declare that Main Street is back, it’s certainly well on its way. From the new restaurants and retail establishments and the return of a local farmers market to an intriguing experiment with an ice-skating rink during the holidays and a second successful run of the Famously Hot New Year’s Eve gala, Columbia is primed to get its downtown into gear.

Agape Senior, now headquartered in West Columbia, will occupy more than 43,000 square feet of space at 1614, 1620 and 1626 Main St. The plan includes creating a landscaped alley connecting Agape’s complex to the new $11.3 million, 532-space parking garage at Taylor and Sumter streets.

The health-care provider will move about 100 of its headquarters staff into the Kimbrell’s building, which will house not only offices but also a 250-seat auditorium and a 3,000-square-foot conference center to train the company’s 1,900 employees.

Editorial: SC State woes cry out for change in how trustees are selected

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:02 EST

S.C. STATE University has had its share of troubles, but it’s hard to recall a time when it has seemed as dysfunctional as it is today.

The disheartening state of affairs at the 116-year-old publicly owned, historically black college is largely the result of sustained ineptitude on the part of the university’s board.

While some committed, well-meaning people serve on the panel, it has proven over the years to be overbearing and self-absorbed. Some board members have treated the university like their own personal fiefdom, engaging in senseless and unproductive infighting and turf wars that only serve to damage the operation and image of the university.

It’s understandable that some lawmakers want to shake up the board. But they must do more than reshuffle the deck. They must bring transformational change to reverse S.C. State’s fortunes and improve the quality of boards that oversee all of our state’s colleges and universities.

The most recent problem at S.C. State involves criminal charges filed against former board member and chairman Jonathan Pinson. He’s accused of using his influence as a university leader in a kickback scheme involving a land deal and of profiting by steering a contract to someone to promote the school’s 2011 homecoming concert. Former campus police chief Michael Bartley also was charged in the land deal; he has admitted his guilt.

Editorial: Ballot-fiasco fix should move filing from parties to state

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00 EST

IT’S HARD TO imagine that the duplicative filing requirements that led to last year’s ballot purge would trip up future candidates.

Yes, it’s nonsensical to require non-incumbents to turn in paper copies of their economic-disclosure reports when they file for office when they’ve already completed those reports online. But the fact is that most candidates would have complied with both laws if state officials hadn’t essentially told them to do what the law should have required rather than what it actually required.

Still, clearing up that confusion and eliminating the separate-and-unequal requirements for incumbents and challengers is a symbolically important step for the Legislature to take. And Senate leaders’ decision to fast-track the fix could begin the long and difficult process of rebuilding public confidence in our state government, which has plunged to new depths as a result of that and other fiascos, debacles and controversies over the past year.

Unfortunately, as important as it is symbolically, the legislation does not address a systemic problem that the ballot debacle highlighted: the inappropriate role the political parties play in our elections.

The Democratic and Republican parties once ran our primaries, but the Legislature decided two decades ago that we needed professionally run elections that didn’t have the taint of corruption and sloppiness that the party-run primaries had. So it put state and local election officials in charge of running the primaries.

Editorial: SC Senate must close video gambling loophole, while it can

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:23 EST

LAST YEAR, gambling supporters used the Senate’s byzantine rules to run the clock on legislation that would have stymied the video gambling industry’s latest attempt to reconstitute itself. And so our state endured another six months of the reemergent poker barons openly defying our law as their attorneys razzle-dazzled a couple of judges into ignoring a decade-old ban.

Our Legislature mustn’t let that happen again.

Already, gambling supporters are gearing up for a delay game. Last week, they argued disingenuously to postpone reporting the anti-gambling bill out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We need time to study it, they argued. Why, it won’t hurt anything to wait a week, they argued. Please.

Gambling supporters know you don’t kill bills in the Senate by voting them down. You kill them by preventing a vote. And you do that with rules that let a single senator send a bill to the contested calendar, where it dies, except under two circumstances: when a super-majority of senators votes to leapfrog it over all other bills and debate it, and in the very first days of a new session, when the calendar is so short that a bare majority of senators can actually force a vote on contested bills.

Gambling opponents need to do that. This week.

Editorial: Columbia citizens locked out of city manager hiring process

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:05 EST

WITH THE impending retirement of Columbia city manager Steve Gantt, who has ably served the public the past few years, this would have been an opportune time to pursue a change in the city’s form of government to allow a full-time, elected mayor to oversee day-to-day operations.

Unfortunately, City Council continues to balk at the notion, choosing instead to stick with an unelected manager it hires to oversee the affairs of our state’s capital city. As long as that is the case, it is incumbent upon the council to search for and select a capable, qualified candidate to oversee the city’s affairs.

Teresa Wilson, whom the council just chose to lead the city, might well be such a person. There might be no better person for the job.

But we don’t know how well she stacked up against the field because City Council failed to reveal the other finalists for the job. City officials say that Ms. Wilson was chosen from among five finalists.

State law requires the names of at least three finalists to be released to the public before anyone is hired. The intent of the law is to let the public know who’s in the running while it’s still possible that any of the finalists could become city manager. That allows for public comment, scrutiny and reflection. City Council violated that the law.

Editorial: If McBride is to get new Richland County job, say so

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:04 EST

NOW THAT Lillian McBride has finally done the right thing and stepped down as director of elections in Richland County, officials can move past this sad saga and begin repairing the public’s broken trust in the county’s ability to stage smooth, unquestioned elections. Right?

Not exactly. Anyone who thought this matter could end in a nice, clean separation between Ms. McBride and the county hasn’t been paying attention. The same dysfunctional structure that landed Ms. McBride the director’s job, setting the county on a path toward the Election Day disaster that left voters waiting for hours to cast ballots and caused others to not vote at all, now seems likely to allow her to remain employed in the Elections and Voter Registration office.

That won’t sit well with many members of the public. Quite frankly, it’s not unreasonable to argue that Ms. McBride was paid handsomely to do a job, failed the public and deserved to be fired without any special treatment.

We don’t have a problem with Ms. McBride possibly being placed in a position for which she has the skills — at an appropriate salary. But we’re troubled by the clandestine manner in which members of the county elections board, the legislative delegation and who knows who else orchestrated what appears to be a deal to keep her employed. What’s most troubling is that it’s part and parcel of the system, which must be changed, that placed Ms. McBride in a position that she couldn’t handle in the first place.

Taking advantage of an archaic system that allows legislators to appoint the county elections board and otherwise interfere in local elections, the Richland legislative delegation passed a law creating a merged office of elections and voter registration and gave the top job to Ms. McBride, who had never overseen an election, without even considering other candidates.

Editorial: Current crises, systemic flaws demand legislative action

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:39 EST

THINK OF South Carolina as the proverbial frog that sits contentedly in the pot of increasingly warmer water until it eventually boils him.

The problems that plague our state have been present for so long, and have been worsening so gradually, that we don’t even recognize them as problems: a governmental structure that diffuses power so no one can wield it to the public good; a loophole-riddled tax system that can’t meet our needs, much less our wants, and a budgetary process that can’t distinguish between the two; an education system that can’t educate all of our kids, and a political system that refuses to make the obvious improvements to that system.

But occasionally, the temperature spikes, and we recognize that a crisis is brewing.

Over the past year, we’ve had a confluence of crises, which have jolted the public from its stupor and eaten away at what little confidence remains in our government:

• 250 legislative and local candidates were kicked off the ballot because no one noticed that a new law requiring economic-disclosure statements to be completed online did not eliminate the old law that required non-incumbents to turn in paper copies when they filed for office.

Editorial: Gamecocks, Tigers give SC something to strut about

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:04 EST

PALMETTO STATE football fans have much to celebrate after Clemson and South Carolina won impressive nail-biters in their bowl games earlier this week.

The wins, likely to land both teams a top 10 spot in the final polls, brought positive attention and much pride to the state of South Carolina.

Not only did the Tigers and Gamecocks win, but they both did it in style:

On Monday, No. 14 Clemson bested the No. 9 Louisiana State Tigers 25-24 when Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Coach Dabo Swinney, his coaching staff and the Clemson football team deserve a pat on the back for the thrilling defeat of LSU, an SEC powerhouse and one of the nation’s elites. The Tigers were led by quarterback Tajh Boyd, who completed 36 of 50 passes for 346 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The junior set career highs for attempts and completions and was named the game’s most valuable player.

Editorial: Sign up for credit monitoring, consider other options

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:02 EST

WE KNOW, we know: It’s been a hectic few months. You’ve been busy. And there’s still time. But as long as there’s time, there’s time to forget. So now that the holidays are winding down and you have — or soon will have — your official notification from the state informing you that you’ve been hacked, it’s time to act.

Whether you think of it as a New Year’s resolution or simply an item for the to-do list, here’s a smart way to start 2013: Sign up for the services the state of South Carolina is providing to help protect us after allowing the Social Security and bank account numbers and other sensitive data of 6.4 million consumers and businesses to be exposed to hackers.

The year’s worth of credit-monitoring that the state is paying Experion to provide might or might not be worth anything, as it’s unlikely that hackers will use this sort of stolen data so quickly. But Gov. Nikki Haley and the Legislature will be under tremendous pressure to continue spending our tax money to provide monitoring beyond the first year, so it’s good to go ahead and get in the protection pipe-line.

Beyond that, the state will be trying to convince people to sign up who haven’t, and likely as not it will spend more of our tax money to do it. By signing up now, we save ourselves the money it would cost us to track us down.

Perhaps more importantly, signing up for the temporary taxpayer-provided credit monitoring gets us credit-resolution assistance for life. If you become a victim of identify theft, an Experion agent will walk you through the fraud-resolution process.

Editorial: Richland must stop coddling sex businesses

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:49 EST

WE’RE NOT enamored with a deal Richland County struck to settle a dispute with illegal strip clubs, but it’s hard to argue with officials’ logic, and more importantly, it might have been the best resolution they could get.

But county officials must be careful to ensure that this arrangement meant to address specific clubs doesn’t cause confusion or set a precedent that prompts other outlaw adult locations to seek their own special deals, which could weaken the effort to regulate sexually oriented businesses long term.

Under the recent arrangement, county officials agreed to allow Platinum Plus to stay open — apparently in violation of county zoning laws — in exchange for closing Heartbreakers along Bush River Road. County officials would rather both locations shut down. But County Council members said they were pushed into a corner when attorney Tim Rogers said his client was prepared to relocate to a legal location along Bluff Road near Williams-Brice Stadium.

Council members would rather have Platinum Plus continue operating in its current location, tucked off Greystone Boulevard, than move to a more prominent and objectionable location. A revised settlement calls for a deed restriction to be placed on the Bluff Road property stating it will not be developed as a sexually oriented business.

Richland County has been battling with Platinum Plus, Heartbreakers and one other strip club — Chastity’s — for several years. In 2007, the county revised its business-license law and started cracking down on businesses that were not in compliance; the three clubs sued. Richland officials wanted to avoid a protracted legal battle, so they reached an agreement with the clubs calling for them to close, move or change their businesses. After the businesses didn’t close as agreed by July 15, 2011, the county sought to close them down.