HOW MUCH IS THE PALMETTO STATE REALLY SPENDING THIS YEAR?
|| By FITSNEWS || Another year, another totally pointless debate over government spending in South Carolina. And while it’s easy to blame glad-handing politicians at the S.C. State House, we’re becoming increasingly convinced the real culprit is the state’s increasingly worthless mainstream media.
For the last six months, the “MSM” in the Palmetto State (which get millions in government subsidies each year) have been bemoaning a lack of funding for the state’s “crumbling roads and bridges.” The refrain has become deafening over the last few weeks, as a principled pro-free market State Senator – Tom Davis – has been blocking a gasoline tax hike with a filibuster.
But why are roads and bridges crumbling (a fact we don’t dispute)?
These MSM outlets refer to a $6.6 billion state budget – and a multi-billion annual “shortfall” – but they neglect to point out to their readers these two important facts:
1) South Carolina’s budget isn’t $6.6 billion, it’s more than $25 billion.
2) The so-called “shortfall” they reference includes hundreds of millions of dollars in totally unnecessary new highway construction projects.
Why don’t they tell you any of this?
Good question: It’s their job to tell you. And the fact that they aren’t telling you (and haven’t been telling you for years) is one of the reasons those roads and bridges are crumbling.
But we digress …
Let’s ask the simple question: How big is the state budget?
Again, to hear the MSM tell it – it’s $6.6 billion.
According to the summary control version of the latest budget plan presented by the S.C. House of Representatives, though, we’re actually looking at a spending plan totaling $24.5 billion.
That’s broken down (roughly) as follows: $6.8 billion in general funds (i.e. money collected from state taxes), $8.3 billion in federal funds (i.e. “manna from heaven”) and $9.4 billion in “other funds” (i.e. monies generated from hundreds of different fees and fines assessed on the people of South Carolina).
Oh, and that total doesn’t include $1.5 billion in food stamp funds (money taken off the books by lawmakers last year) so when you add that to the total, we’re looking at $26 billion.
That’s a lot of cash …
Now, lawmakers like to claim they only control the “general funds,” but that’s not true. They raise fees and fines all the time – meaning they have control over the “other funds,” too. They can also dramatically impact the amount of federal funds available (more on that here).
So … are we saying the mainstream media are lying to you?
Yes … repeatedly.
Oh, and this money doesn’t include cash appropriated to the state’s reserve funds – nor the hundreds of millions in debt it owes on all sorts of bonds (including a massive borrowing bill for roads and bridges approved just two years ago).
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There is more than enough money available for South Carolina’s government to adequately maintain its network of roads and bridges (and fund necessary expansions) – our leaders are simply choosing not to do so.
24 comments
One picture is worth a thousand words. The pic that Will chose for this story is perfect. It tells completely, what our Legislature does with the money it extorts from us.
If the state legislators are not voting on it, if state taxpayers don’t directly pay for it via state income tax and other state taxes/fees, why should federal money flowing to various agencies be counted as part of the overall state budget?
It seems to me that spending should count as federal or state, not both. If counted as both then it is double counted. The spending should be counted as against the entity that raised the funds.
Republicans running the state are not the problem…. nothing to see here.
Demoncats used to run the state. It was no different. One party rule is one party rule, doesn’t matter what you call them.
Are you saying it’s not getting worse?
Its just more being exposed (you should know that by now). Before the internet and all of these news websites, the public heard little unless someone really pissed someone else off, and MSM felt safe to report on it. Meanwhile, want to earn a sizable amount of money for being a whistleblower under the Federal False Claims Act?
I saw it all – and everyone else was here too. But they didn’t see a fucking thing. Reality has become a liberal hoax, disproved daily by Faux news.
The internet has lots of facts, but as facts multiply, Republican defenses increase to overcome them.
Republicans are voting against their own self interests.
“Look ma! I can gouge out my own eyes, and the liberals are powerless to stop me!!!”
Same shit different label. Republicant, Demoncat are the same poison in different bottles.
I say marijuana and heroin.
Both are botulinum toxin.
one kills, the other is a cosmetic.
Just wow.
Usually, Max, you can come up with a crafty or clever point or two. However, this is complete foolishness.
You can’t honestly think that one political party is the problem, and that other political parties can somehow do better?
No….party labels are merely just that–labels. Labels created by the effin media to help sell their agenda.
They are all greedy and self-interested. They all suck.
Labels do matter, because our voters vote based almost entirely on those labels. That is why we have the same corrupt politicians every cycle and why nothing ever changes.
Labels do not matter–hence my comment that, essentially, most all politicians are greedy, self-serving, and disinterested in the general public.
Ergo, select whichever “label” (created by the media) you would like, but the result will not change.
Example of false equality – using an extreme historical situation for high contrast to accentuate the concept.
Nazis starved, tortured and murdered the Jews by the millions. Though the Nazis were not a race, they thought they were, and by all but the most pedantically strict definition, they were racists.
Nazis thought Jews were an inferior race. Nazis hated Jews. Nazis were racist.
Jews hated Nazis. They believed Nazis were an inferior race. Jews were not racist.
Context means everything – who has the power? Is the hate justified?
You can bandy about the terms “hate” and “race” and so on, but this is a clear example – anyone who would say “Jews in the concentration camps were just as racist as the Nazis” is abusing logic, and exposing their bias.
Psychopaths often say that “everyone breaks the law, but everyone doesn’t get caught,” to excuse their actions, saying “unless everyone can perfectly follow the law, they shouldn’t judge me.”
Today, it’s common practice to blame the victim to minimize the perception of evil of those we’ve chosen to agree with. The poor are greedy. The uninsured didn’t plan. Iraqis aren’t Christian enough to have all that oil, especially after Saudi citizens flew planes into the twin towers, they should have elected a Christian… or at least a more secular… um… not a dictator anyway… they had it coming.
If i sift through this obtuse straw man you seem to have created, then perhaps I can see the point you are trying to make. Indeed, you will find little sympathy from me towards any politician–regardless of affiliation.
I’ve said it many times….R, D, I, N, (Nazi) pick your letter, they are only interested in feeding their ego and their wallet—everyone one of them. Not a damn one of them really wants to kiss a baby, but they all do, in order to manipulate you, so they can remain in power and continue to fuel these self-serving contracts.
With that preface, are you not lambasting your very own point whilst making false accusations that you know good and well the republican party does not support (i.e. Iraqis aren’t Christian enough to have all that oil)?
Is Hillary Clinton “not scum?” Seriously? And please do not label me as affiliating–or even supporting–a party. I’ve been very clear that I think they are all crooks. But I also am quick to give one of them credit when they do one small thing good (on occasion)–regardless of affiliation.
Finally, I’ve said it over and over–labels are simply that. Something created by someone else so that one can quickly identify generalizations about others. Unfortunately, we are beyond that now. Entirely too many issues to separate into just 2 simple parties.
You should be able to see that a murderer is felon, and so is a marijuana distributor. Labels. That’s all they are. Heroin is a label. Caffeine is a label.
Get life in prison for running a web site, and get a medal of freedom and a million dollar speaking fee for believing “curveball.”
Go to prison for being “an indigent” and stealing food, get a four million dollar bonus for being “the best and the brightest” and encouraging your clients to buy worthless derivatives you’re selling out the back door, effectively bankrupting America.
The label I choose is scum.
Republicans are scum.
If i sift through this obtuse straw man you seem to have created, then perhaps I can see the point you are trying to make.
—–
please do.
Republicans are in a class all by themselves.
Everyone is a little racist.
Everyone is a little dishonest.
Everyone is a little influenced by the rich.
Everyone has a little unregulated banker inside.
Everyone likes to pretend they’re a little “Christian.”
Everyone doesn’t care even a little, if you live or die.
Everyone wants a little endless war… wait!
went too far.
Republicans are scum.
Everyone else… not so much.
Get em’ Will. SC has state legislatures sitting on the State Infrastructure Bank …. SC legislatures have their friends and golfing buddies sitting on courtroom benches … Sitting on all kinds of Boards and Commissions, all of which decide how to spend money. They get their gas tax increase, watch for rewards going in the form of pay raises to people who don’t do a fucking thing but fuck around all day at their state jobs. And that’s NO LIE. Would you like a PIE JOB in State Government that pays you $80,000 to $190,000 a year? A job where you play around on the computer more than produce anything? A job were you just make stupid bullshit reports for stupid shit that is meaningless? SC government is one fucked up big mess. And it is full of criminals yet to be arrested. All in all, good report. People need to know what is really going on. And as long as Fitsnews, in part, keeps pounding away at the corruption, more people learn the truth and word spreads.
Preach!!!!!!!! You are so right!!!!!! Or they have a job with a large salary and run other businesses on state time…oh yeah, that’s just a board position somewhere else not really another business, psych!!! The ultimate double dipping.
More concerning is the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) president pleading for 25 million for a new building for the Children’s Hospital so they can prove they have enough money to borrow 300 +million more! What type of math /financing allows one to be granted 25 million in tax money to borrow 300+ million more and the whole deal hinges on proving you have enough to pay the loan off? They need some paint but not a new hospital. We need many other things first.
This is what your toilet will look like once Haley gets her way and raises your taxes! Oh my!!!