Monday letters: Cost of SC Senate roads plan adds up quickly

It isn’t difficult to project the impact of the Senate’s plan to fix South Carolina’s roads with general fund money.

One way to find $400 million is to completely eliminate the legislative ($47 million) and judicial ($50 million) branches of government, along with public safety ($81 million) and the conservation, natural resources and economic development agencies ($234 million). That comes to $412 million.

Another way is to evenly distribute cuts — about 6 percent — to everything except the Legislature and debt service.

If the Senate plan had passed last year, just look at the cuts some agencies would have taken this year under that across-the-board cut:

▪ $3 million to the judiciary and administrative law court.

▪ $36 million to higher education.

▪ $160 million to public education.

▪ $108 million to health and social agencies.

▪ $5 million to public safety.

▪ $31 million to the Department of Corrections.

▪ $14 million to natural resources and economic development.

▪ another $18 million to aid to local governments.

These cuts would be to agencies that are already stretched thin … or being sued for not providing adequate services … or not fully funded at the levels required by law.

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Monday letters: Cost of SC Senate roads plan adds up quickly."