Happy days are here again in South Carolina … or so it would appear.
After an extended spell in double digits, the Palmetto State’s widely watched unemployment rate has declined to 7.1 percent – its lowest level in years. Meanwhile S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley – who brands herself on the campaign trail as the state’s “Jobs Governor” – has touted the announcement of more than 40,000 new positions since taking office.
Good news, right?
Not exactly …
First, South Carolina’s shrinking unemployment rate isn’t the result of an influx of new jobs – nor is it attributable to new hiring by existing businesses. Why is the jobless rate dropping, then? Easy – it’s the result of tens of thousands of working age South Carolinians leaving the workforce. In fact the last time we checked South Carolina’s labor participation rate stood at a record low of 58.2 percent – down from 60.9 percent in June 2011.
That’s nearly five percent below the national rate of 63 percent – which itself is hovering at thirty-five year lows.
You will never hear Nikki Haley mention this statistic. Nor will you ever hear her mention the number of jobs South Carolina has lost since she took office (her administration doesn’t track that figure). Nor will her administration ever provide an accounting for the billions of dollars spent on taxpayer-funded “economic development” – subsidies which often fail to produce a return on investment.
See, if Haley mentioned those things people would pretty soon realize the employment situation in the Palmetto State is nowhere near as rosy as she would have you believe … which makes it not unlike our state’s income situation. Or its academic situation.
Anyway …
In the latest blow to befall the “Jobs Governor,” the Associated Press – usually a reliable mouthpiece for pro-Haley propaganda – has published a report calling into question some of the governor’s recent jobs announcements.
Buried within the AP article were several doozies … including a quote from Haley’s Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt in which he admits his agency doesn’t follow up on the billions of dollars it doles out each year to select companies (read more on this infinitely corrupt process here).
“Would it be helpful for us to be calling them every year for the next five years to see how many people they employ this year, as opposed to waiting for them to meet their contract? I don’t know that that would be a good use of state resources,” Hitt told the wire service.
But here’s the truly devastating line for Haley …
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley touts that more than 40,000 jobs have been announced during her tenure, but no one can say how many of those planned jobs have become reality. Many employers won’t fill those jobs for years. Some plans will simply fall through – and already have in at least three cases.
In other words, take all those taxpayer-subsidized announcements with an ocean of salt.
South Carolina Democrats – who have been effectively challenging Haley’s narrative on jobs – pounced on the AP report.
“As usual, Nikki Haley only cares about what things look like rather than what they are,” S.C. Democratic Party spokeswoman Kristin Sosanie said. “That’s a very disturbing and very sad fact as the people South Carolina have seen her cover-up a hacking, cover-up tuberculosis outbreak, and now paint a happy picture on 40,000 jobs created that haven’t panned out– all while families in South Carolina struggle.”
This isn’t the first time Haley has been challenged by the media on her job creation numbers. Back in July 2011, the AP busted Haley taking credit for positions that “were announced before she took office” as well as hundreds of jobs that were “the fruit of a deal that Haley tried to derail.”
Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey did not immediately respond to our request for comment regarding the latest AP report.
Job creation has been the centerpiece of Haley’s reelection bid – and is expected to dominate her paid media efforts as the 2014 campaign heats up. But Democrats have an equally (if not more) compelling counter-narrative on that front – assuming they are able to compete with Haley and her supporters financially.
Oh … and offer some sort of policy alternative to the governor’s crony capitalist philosophy.
If they can do those two things, then the rematch between Haley and S.C. Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Camden) could get interesting. If not, Haley will win in walk – even if her “jobs” record is nothing but hot air.
68 comments
You’ll never hear any politician mention that statistic, or at least, very few of them.
It is a nationwide thing, though. Not just a Haley-thing.
And yet FITS will endorse Haley in 2014
Sure he will.Shes going to be the Republicn candidate right?Oh but there’ll be the USUAL bumbling and stumbling verbal gymnastics all these non Republican Republicans use.You know like”Not that we re admirers of Haley BUT…….”
Same old record.But Fits aint no Republican .He says so!
Does that womwn have another jacket? How many times do we have to look at it? Goddamnit!
That’s an old picture. She looks much different since all the weight gain.
Amen! I heard Hitt got a “Wide Load” sign from a moving company to hang on her bulbous ass!!
Really, maybe Simran can help her meditate, come into alignment with her soul and planets and stop binge eating..
Nikki Haley has about 3 suits she wears on a regular basis – all of them ugly. Then there are the bedazzled suits that she brings out every now and then. She must have gotten a bedazzler for Christmas at some point. An then you add the tacky black hooker boots. I don’t think the woman owns another pr. of shoes in the winter.
Bedazzled or Vajazzled?
Close — bejismed (sometimes), just ask Sic…….
How about a pair of “Daisy Duke’s” and a halter top?
As for the jacket, I agree. However, it’s made from the same fabric as the floor mats in my car, only mine are sand-dune-tan with a light mixture of sky-blue and of golf-course-green.
From the AP story, some jobs don’t go to SC residents.
Gov. Haley touts 40K new jobs that may be years away
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20140105/AIK0105/140109738
{Excerpt}
Announced jobs don’t always represent job openings. In the last year, at
least three companies border-hopped to South Carolina, taking advantage
of local and state incentives to move a few miles from south Charlotte,
N.C. The moves were touted as bringing more than 1,200 combined jobs.
For most workers, it meant a slight difference in their commutes.
Maybe 5% of the voters read that article. 75% of them will see her paid TV campaign (lies).
She wins with out breaking a sweat. We are stick with her.
BTW, I am a republican..
Let’s hope not. I voted for her last time. I will not this time. At first, I was counting on just voting for the most interesting third-party candidate and letting the numbers take care of themselves as I am not a fan of the Sheheen dynasty. I figured enough state employees and retirees who had been screwed over by her would see her out the door. As this saga unfolds, I am leaning more and more toward voting for Sheheen, directly. I am still not a fan of the Sheheen dynasty but Haley’s support of crap like Christie and Lindsey Graham make it all the more imperative that she be de-throned and thrown into the dust bin of SC politics, WHERE SHE DEFINITELY BELONGS.
If a Democrat can’t win this time it’s time to fold the tent.
Then fold it now!Dont you “get”it?Democrats are EVIL per se among SC voters.Everyone laughs at Gran Tango.I dont know why.He WELL reflects South Carolina’s mindset.Haley will win in a walk for one reason and one reason only,the “R” by her name.That will override all this “stuff” Fits blows off about here.Hell, he will vote for her himself!
He sure does! The Party of Stupid!
LOL, Tango’s last dying word will be Republican. I, for myself, cannot understand why ? You would think being the worst state would make people wake up ?
How do you go about posting under several different screen names?
It’s a Nikki trick I learned ? What are my others ?
Wasn’t referring to you.
Your point scares the hell out me ! Many people will possably vote for a third party and that could help her win again ! I wonder what the slogan will be ? We know about ” The Transparent Movement ” I didn’t vote for her last time, I’d even vote Alvin Greene over Nikki !
Hi Deo! Since she barely defeated Sheheen the last time, I have been of the opinion that the loss of a fair number of supporting votes, as my own, would be enough to cost her the election. As this wears on, it becomes more imperative that she be defeated. It looks as though I will have to hold my nose and actively vote for Sheheen as another four years of Nikki in the Governor’s Mansion is unacceptable.
We seem to agree quite often. I have decided to vote Sheheen.
I am also a Republican and voted Haley once, a mistake I will not make twice.
You would have to search far and wide to find someone who would be worse than Haley.
She and Obama are one in the same:
unprepared
Unqualified
appoints friends not qualified for positions appointed to
self serving
lying
campaigned on transparency and is transparent a doggie do
a second term disaster just like Obama/Ohaley
Let’s make it a “GREAT DAY In South Carolina” and send Haley packing!
Here’s how it’s going to go down. Haley will win re-election in 2014, and go all gaga over Christie or Huckabee (Whoever looks to get the nomination), the Dems are going to run PantsSuit and truthfully she’s un-electable (The We Hate PantsSuit will run the same TV and Radio ad over and over “what difference does it make” Haley will leave the governors office in November of 2016 to be a member of the transition team for Huckaiste(Either Way) and then be given an ambassadorship or a cabinet position in something that doesn’t matter (HHS, Commerce, Edu-caaa-shun, or interior) to help set her up for a senate run in 2020 when Ms. Lindsey retires (assuming he get’s re-elected but the establishment believes it’s a done deal (I don’t). Either way they are setting her up to be the first Indian-American and Female president.
I don’t doubt your assessment of the way this pile of shit will stack, but I really do hope it doesn’t come to pass, except about the part regarding pantsuit being unelectable.
Would that make Slick Willies title “First Dude”?
“Would it be helpful for us to be calling them every year for the next five years to see how many people they employ this year, as opposed to waiting for them to meet their contract? I don’t know that that would be a good use of state resources,” Hitt told the wire service.
Holy shit the fucking balls on that Hitt guy!
Yea, that’s right you fucking cockroach, hand out hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars from your little fucking agency and don’t bother to make a few phone calls to follow up on the taxpayer money you hand out!
What the fuck do you do all day you fat bastard? Drink Vodka? Oh yea, that’s exactly what you do. Nice work if you can get it.
What a fucking train wreck. Damned crony capitalism. Just drop the fucking tax rate you shysters and stop picking and choosing who gets your fucking favors.
Venting is good for the soul. Let it ALL out!
Really, all he needs to do is have regular contacts with the county development boards where the companies are supposed to opening.
If he’s afraid of offending a multi-national he may want to apply for a job with down the line, that should keep him off the phone with them. But, it would allow his agency to have half an idea about what is going on with the deals it made.
What an ass.
$10 says he’s headed back to BMW when this little party is over, he probably wishes he never left.
Hitt’s Agency Department of (NO) Commerce is a cluster fuck!
In a previous life I worked with them! He has elevated total Fuck Ups to run things, who could not find jobs sealed in buckets and handed to them. They ABSOLUTELY lie for Haley, claiming jobs which will NEVER come!
The Haley admin uses same metrics as Sanfraud, Hodges, Beasley and Campbell used. Thank goodness for these Governors pursuing Econ Dev initiatives. Upstate SC is completely over the near total evaporation of the textile industry thanks to BMW, Michelin and so many others if but not for actions taken by Haley and her predecessors, especially Gov. Campbell.
“a quote from Haley’s Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt in which he admits his agency doesn’t follow up on the billions of dollars it doles out each year to select companies (read more on this infinitely corrupt process here).
‘Would it be helpful for us to be calling them every year for the next five years to see how many people they employ this year, as opposed to waiting for them to meet their contract? I don’t know that that would be a good use of state resources,’ Hitt told the wire service.”
What’s Hitt’s position on drug-testing food stamp recipients? Just curious.
I am betting he won’t have much of a position after that article – Nikki Haley will throw him under the bus.
He made a fool of himself.
He is what he is!
I’m not so sure, after the Paris fiasco I don’t think she can throw him under the bus so easily as he knows where some bodies are buried.
I suspect if anything he makes grovels his way back to BMW with her blessing so that everything remains kosher for both of them.
Drug testing is a losing proposition. Check the stats from Fla and others. Cost them more than it shaved. Figures show that there are less people doing drugs in SNAP than the general population.
You are correct, and I know that Hitt himself doesn’t have anything to do with food stamps. Just pointing out a certain hypocrisy in the GOP approach to recipients of government bennies.
Someone’s getting $100.00 bucks or so a month for food? Spare no expense in drug-testing him!
Some company gets a few million in benefits for nebulous “job creation” promises? Why, we should just trust it to do the right thing.
Would like to see all politicians tested for drugs and alcohol. Also, their appointees should be tested.
As employees of the government, drug testing should be mandatory.
Bingo, random, 12 times per year.
“Just pointing out a certain hypocrisy in the GOP approach to recipients of government bennies.”
Hey genius, you obviously don’t know that Bobby Hitt is a card carrying Democrat.
lol….better go back to the drawing board.
“The Truth, The Truth”, Haley and Hitt can’t handle the truth!
They would not know the truth if it hit them between the eyes!
This article, and the prior one, were both written by Seanna Adcox, the AP reporter you usually single out as a mouthpiece. Jim Davenport was no mouthpiece for any administration. I think everyone should take with a grain of salt your characterization of any media, whether it be puffing yourself up or trying to tear down others.
You ALL could be doing a better job. The election was so close, I have to ask, how’s that endorsement. Oh Haley holding up?
Adcock of the AP is a Haley mouth piece. This article should have been a lot worse!!! That article should have included the cost per job and I mean the real cost by local, county, state to include tax abatements, etc!!!
Adcocks Brother just got a big raise and promotion at that train wreck of an agency, D.E.W. Her job is to take a terrible story, write it so it is barely negative and therefore bury the story for the rest of the media.
I am sure a high school kid from SC could design a comprehensive way to accurately measure, track and handle unemployment in our state (including influx and efflux of workers as well as the most efficient way to find job matches for people out of work). It is heart-breaking to see families struggling every day to make ends meet and then see everything collapse and financially pushed back by 10 years when one of them loses a job. I wonder how efficient the sc.jobs.gov and scworks.org websites have been in employing those that have been unemployed for longer than 6 months or even year long. Can we have some numbers on those please? Maybe we should have a dedicated website with jobs postings for those unemployed for longer than 6 months and see how efficient the system is in providing jobs for those who really need it.
Some good points there. However, mention “influx” or “efflux” to a high school kid in this state and he’ll be heading for the school nurse to ask for a laxative.
LOL, sure you’re not refering to the movement !
LOL. I see your point.
If she goes back in office we will all be in the poor house and her bank accounts will be full.
So much for the jobs. Just more pipe dreams, smoke, mirrors, and a skag running the state.
Off-shore bank accounts?????
I’ll say it again — she is renominated and wins reelection. All the sheep say “baaah.”
…AND ANOTHER THING, does anyone else notice how much the bitch is trying to capitalize on her association with guns (whether shooting guns at FN or with the mediocre handgun she received as a Christmas gift) but how piss little she has done in her three years in office to advance the cause of the 2nd Amendment or of gun owners in SC?????
Where has Nikki been when legislators were trying to pass a “Constitutional Carry” bill, or what about the “Restaurant Carry” bill that has been in play? Where has Nikki been with regard to lending her voice in support of those or other pro-gun initiatives in this state for the last three years????? Where has she been calling for removal of stupid and unnecessary restrictions on where a CWP holder can legally carry in this state? Since she lives in a “government building”, should BPS not arrest her butt for being a CWP holder and carrying in one? I think that would be wholly appropriate.
She is all about, “oh, look at me shoot”, or “look at me, I own a gun”, and not one bit about supporting gun owners or CWP, except maybe signing off on a bill IF it manages to claw its way to her desk despite the efforts of pseudo-2nd Amendment supporters like Representative Mike Pitts. Oh wait, she did sign the bill which makes it easier for government to claim you are mentally unsuitable to have a gun if certain criteria are met, whether or not it makes the person in any way a real danger to themselves or to society.
I am likewise unimpressed with Sheheen’s Bill Clintonesque facade of, “oh look at me, I own (or borrowed) a shotgun”, but at least Sheheen hasn’t been touting his
gun ownership and CWP (if he has one, unlikely as that is) the way Haley has to get votes. I hope the gun owners of SC are watching, awake, and not so easily deceived.
Unless she has a primary opponent, the choice is a D. Look at the total mess America is in. The Ds are a F*#king Disaster..Do you want our state to be governed by an Obam-mite????…
Haley may not be gold…but she has fought Obama like the effing disease that he is…and our state has gotten some insulation from his horrible rule because of it…
Unless you’re going to run as a non-D, and win…be quiet…
Hi GT! I have struggled with this for some time, now. I don’t care about the party name so much as what they do when they are in there. There are good and bad Democrats and good and bad Republicans, although admittedly more bad of either than good as of late.
Haley has been a complete disaster from day one. She has been like a kid with no upbringing who was brought to a candy store and told to get something she liked. The one with no upbringing will go around stuffing their pockets with everything they can fit in them. Someone with upbringing will choose a nice item or two, but be conscientious about not looking like a greedy hog. Haley has no such conscience. It is about loading up her pockets with everything she can get and trying to get the same deal in every other candy store in town, to boot.
Do I expect Sheheen to be much better? No, not really, but at least he isn’t Haley and he will have to learn a few ropes before he gets as bad as she is, even with the political dynasty family background he has. Piss poor performance such as she has demonstrated on so many levels does not deserve being rewarded with a second term. If Sheheen is as shameless with his corruption and cronyism as she has been, then I hope he will be voted out at the end of his four. If he pleasantly surprises me, then I hope he gets another four.
Haley does not deserve another four to promote RINO trash like Huckabee, Santorum, and Graham, in hopes of getting a reward for her “loyalty”. She needs to go!
Who are the good Ds?
Also: ONLY Republicans have tried to block us from the disaster that Obama is…
There are some bad Republicans, but that’s only because they are in line with the Ds…
We’re FAR better off w/ Rs. Look at the Bush economy as opposed to Obama’s…The media has spun it…but we’re in bad bad shape since Obama took over. Bush’s economy was very good…no matter why else people found to hate him…A stromng economy is essential to individual freedom…
Government control and failure…makes bondage easier…and that’s Obama…
The economy was SO GOOD under Bush, we had to bailout major corporations and Banks, half -brain !
Nobody had to bail them out, Obama just wanted to, so they let him have at it.. Five years later and.$85 billion a month…and he’s still feeding the rich who keep that greedy B@$T*d in power…
Time warps are not possable. More jobe were lost under Bush, than Obama, look it up. I paid 4.25 per gallon under Bush, look it up. We are in 2014, not 1950. Bet you can’t wait for Hillary ? LOL.
And TARP was implemented under the administration of Bush .
Of course we lost jobs for the first several months of the Obama administration until the stimulus pulled the economy out of free fall. Bush pumped the economy up with a government subsidized real estate bubble, massive deficit spending on his Iraq war and financial deregulation. It had to collapse. The bank bailout was probably necessary and a huge rip off, but we were weeks away from a general economic collapse that would have endangered the food and energy supply.
Haley is made of 100% Haley, for Haley, by Haley, and for you Tango !
Alvin Greene could do better than Nikki ?
Does her dad still carry that sword with him? Guess these types are into the weapons.
Indian, my ass.