Editorials from across South Carolina: SCANA dividends, term limits, charter schools

SCANA dividends

Even under the Dominion proposal, customers would be expected to pay not just for the concrete and steel that went into the failed reactors, but for a guaranteed quarterly 10 percent return for shareholders. That’s simply unacceptable.

Investment is, by its nature, risky. Sometimes investments make money; sometimes they lose it. In the case of the two V.C. Summer reactors, the investment was an incredible flop — to the tune of more than $9 billion.

RELATED: 3 numbers you need to know about SCE&G, Dominion and our energy future

Were SCANA any normal company subject to market realities, its investors would have had to eat that cost. They would have lost spectacular sums of money. But SCANA is decidedly not a normal company and, under South Carolina law, ratepayers are on the hook instead — at least to the extent that SCANA can prove its expenditures on the reactors were “prudent.”

And that qualification matters a lot. It could be the difference between customers owing $10.3 billion (the full cost of the reactors plus financing expenses) or $0.…

No one is asking shareholders to pay for the nuclear disaster. At the least, however, they should accept that the return on their investment will be significantly lower for the foreseeable future — say 0.5 percent instead of 10 percent — just like customers might have to pay elevated bills for decades. It’s not losing money; it’s just not making as much of it.

That’s the minimum that can be expected in the wake of one of South Carolina’s largest-ever economic disasters.

It’s good to know that the Dominion offer would save SCE&G customers quite a lot of money compared to the status quo. But it’s still worth holding out for a better deal — particularly one in which shareholders share the burden.

Term limits

U.S. Term Limits, the leader in the national movement to limit terms for elected officials, likes what it is hearing from candidates wanting to succeed South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy.

Four Republicans -- Lee Bright, Josh Kimbrell, William Timmons and Daniel Hamilton – have signed the organization’s congressional term limits pledge. They also committed to proposing term limits on Congress.…

The goal of those espousing term limits is noble. They want a government that functions better and is more in touch. But will a constitutional limit on the amount of time a person can serve in Congress achieve such?

We think not. The Constitution that is the underpinning of the American system of government gives power to the people through the ballot box. Telling constituents they cannot re-elect a member of Congress takes away from the power of the people.

Charter schools

When only the Charter School District was an authorizer, the only means by which charter schools could remain operational was with the district’s approval. Breach status left them no choice but to right what was wrong or risk shutting down.

RELATED: Why are we letting failing charter schools game the system, and send us the bill?

Then came a rallying cry from Due West. “Erskine to the rescue.” Charter schools that did not want to play by the district’s rules began to transfer to Erskine. Four, which lost out on the option to transfer because they were already in breach status, did an end-run by terminating their contracts with the charter district and starting over — effectively bypassing the law, which states both parties — the charter school and charter district — must first agree to a transfer.

State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, and others are keenly aware that not only will poorly performing charter schools continue to make a run for it and head to Due West, it’s also likely more and more will crop up, putting undue and unwarranted strain on the state’s budget. Sheheen is proposing limiting to two the number of charter schools Erskine (or any higher education institution) can add this coming fiscal year.

The bigger picture here is about more than what uncontrolled charter school growth will do to the state’s budget. It’s essential to bear in mind that poorly performing schools are finding an alternate route to stay open and receive tax dollars. In other words, they can continue to underserve our students at taxpayer expense.

And that is hardly the purpose of education in South Carolina.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Editorials from across South Carolina: SCANA dividends, term limits, charter schools."