SOUTH CAROLINA’S “COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS” HAS FAILED
By FITSNEWS || It’s been six years since this website mocked “New Carolina,” a government-subsidized propaganda organ advocating for command and control “economic development” in the Palmetto State.
What’s command and control “economic development? It’s government stealing your money and giving it to other people.
Specifically, we accused “New Carolina” of spouting “a bunch of commie crap” – embracing policies that spent more tax money on crony capitalist “incentives” as well as more government funding for “our failed public schools, our bloated and inefficient higher ed system and ‘distressed areas’ of our state.”
Why did we say all that? Because it was (and is) true. “New Carolina” – a.k.a. the S.C. Council on Competitiveness – is a group of ultra-leftists promoting an anti-taxpayer, pro-special interest agenda under the guise of “business friendliness.” And despite having thrown all sorts of “synergies,” “clusters” and other flowery language at the Palmetto State’s chronic economic and academic underachievement for the last six years (the way members of the “Republican” S.C. General Assembly have thrown money at those problems) … nothing has changed.
Neither the flowery rhetoric … nor the billions of dollars in new taxpayer spending … have changed a damn thing. In fact things have actually gotten worse.
“We, the tenacious people of New Carolina, declare independence from mediocrity,” this group wrote six years ago as its credo. “We will reach beyond past mistakes and build on historic successes toward a bright future that lifts our families, our schools, our businesses. From this day forward, we will demonstrate a new will and forge a new way.”
Huh?
It gets worse …
“With tireless passion, bold leadership and decisive action, we will silence the nay-sayers, the doubters, the cynics,” the New Carolina manifesto continued. “We will encourage the innovators and teachers, and celebrate the courageous. In doing so, we will become a leader in public education, entrepreneurial success, personal income and quality of life. Each day we will reach for, and push each other, until one day the world will acknowledge us as ‘The New Land of Opportunity.’ New energy. New ideas. New action. New Jobs.”
How’s all that working out?
Well, assuming “The Lost Decade” (a.k.a. 2000-10) was this group’s starting point … guess what: Things have gotten even crappier.
South Carolina currently has the sixth-lowest income levels in the country. And the seventh-lowest labor participation rate. And the worst government-run education system in America. And is currently the most criminal, most corrupt, least transparent state in the country.
All this despite the S.C. General Assembly passing record-setting budgets each year (with a few hundred thousand bucks thrown in for “New Carolina” itself).
Yet still … despite their demonstrable failure … on “New Carolina’s” website you can still find the same ridiculous “credo.”
Sheesh …
What’s our credo? They may call us “nay-sayers, doubters and cynics,” but our credo is simple: “No Ragrets.” As in we had “No Ragrets” bashing these big government corporate cronyists then, and “No Ragrets” bashing them now.
Seriously … not even one letter.
(Click to play)
(Vid: Via)
In fact our founding editor Will Folks personally challenges the head of this organization – Ann Marie Stieritz – to debate him anytime, anyplace regarding who has the better plan for moving South Carolina’s economy forward. Sure she was educated at la Sorbonne and he was high as a kite while attending “USuCk,” but he’s confident he can hold his own.
Bottom line? If these socialists are going to continue picking our pockets to give their wealthy buddies tax breaks … we’re going to continue calling them out for it.
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20 comments
Will was high as a kite while attending USC. No matter what our differences may be, we’ll always have that in common.
That, and the fact that I agree with all of what he said, above. Damned feckless-ass blathering crypto-commies! They’re everywhere!
“Not working?”…they must’ve been like Tommy Ravenel and hired FITS as their “consultant.”….LMAO…..
PS: SCPSD references FITS in an article. It’s hilarious…You have ALL the answers…yet you get your @$$ kicked every time the people speak…
I wouldn’t be laughing at anyone’s employment history if I were you. I doubt SCPTSD is going to get your sorry ass off food stamps/Medicaid anytime soon.
“Not working”. GrandTango’s status…..still.
Obviously you have a different understanding of “ultra-leftist” than I do. You should see some real leftists. There are none in SC.
They congregate around Times Square and the Philly court house. Here in Taxifornia they are assistant editors at the SF Comical and the LA Slimes.
“Leftists” is a meaningless word in Fitsland.
Basically ,it just refers to anyone he disagrees with.
I would buy “crony capitalists,” but certainly not leftists.
You think government should do something that doesn’t fit some fickle, selective, subjective definition of a core function of government? Left-leaning uber liberal leftist socialist communist Marxist Leninist Stalinist Maoist pinko comrade moonbat statist moocher leech bloodsucker America-hating freedom-hating fascist authoritarian totalitarian libtard libturd LIEberal DEMONcRAT/DemoCRAP/Dimmocrat little Benito blackshirt jackbooted thug gestapo MSM-brainwashed Soros-bought Benghazi-denying Hillary-supporting climate-change-zombie evolutionist Kenyan Muslim atheist Obamabot who wants to steal my money at gunpoint to force people to gay marry pedophile dog-screwing Muslim abortion doctors!
(Some of this is from the comments section, not necessarily FITS. Oh, and if I left any out, feel free to add onto the pile.)
… “Progressive” Fascist …
Southern Core goals: stupid.
LOL! When I look at the list of Board Members I can’t help but think how damn silly your comments are as to their leanings. Whether Left or Right (overwhelmingly, Right) they certainly don’t fit your descriptions.
Of course, you wouldn’t recognize a Republican or a Conservative if someone kicked you in the nuts everyday (and someone should wake you up everyday with a kick in the balls just for good measure).
Has anyone found any program, project or activity that the “new Carolina” committee/agency/organ is associated with that would constitute a success? … Anyone? … Anyone?
Rich and well connect white people got jobs that are high paying and that put them in the flow of large government money. Yea, kit worked as planned and it was a success!
Speaking of flow of g’ment money: Welfare recipients out here in Taxifornia now receive approximately $18 per hour in food stamps, rent subsidies, rent control, transit chits, “walkin’ around cash”, discounted clothes and luxuries … There are 86 fed programs and 125 Taxifornia state programs devoted to these welfare recipients and that now include diaper services (!). It is well known that here in the Bay Area there are more g’ment workers tending to the homeless than there are homeless … go figure.
Mark: maybe you should quite your job and take the raise.
Putting aside the GREAT NOMENCLATURE DEBATE, the real money is in the Upstate. No brag, just fact. As one CEO told me recently in his European accent, ”…we are afraid of planting ourselves in places such as Columbia. We love your Lowcountry and your western counties. They know how to do business. They’re not always begging. Not always expecting handouts.” I do not judge. I only note.
“In fact our founding editor Will Folks personally challenges the head of this organization – Ann Marie Stieritz – to debate him anytime, anyplace regarding who has the better plan for moving South Carolina’s economy forward.”
I have just received word that the “founding editors” challenge has been accepted. Ann Marie Stieritz has chosen 4:00 am, Christmas day is the time and the place is the city center of Aleppo, Syria.
Holy shit I need to catch that movie…the clip was funny. Painful, but funny.
Wrong Will,
It made a lot of big government types rich.