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Commerce Secretary Joe E. Taylor and Gov. Mark Sanford have struggled to get out the good word on the state’s economy, with unemployment figures dwarfing other news at times.
But at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, Taylor presented agency heads with laminated, ready-made talking points, sized just for a jacket pocket or purse.
The Buzz expects readers will hear a lot during the next, oh, eight weeks about the 27 percent increase, year over year, in capital investment, and the 64 percent increase, year over year, in jobs created.
The first to grab one of Taylor’s cheat sheets? Sanford himself.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism director Chad Prosser joked he could use the blank back side to jot down the good news on tourism.
Let the numbers games begin.
A MICHIGAN STATE OF MIND
In perusing the September issue of Budget & Tax News — the latest copy is always on The Buzz’s coffee table — the headline “Residents Leave Michigan In Droves” caught our snarky eye.
Turns out Gov. Mark Sanford’s assertion — made in his State of the State address and elsewhere — that folks were packing up and leaving Michigan is true.
Unfortunately, Sanford did get one fact wrong. Apparently, those from the Wolverine State are packing up with United Van Lines and not U-Haul, as Sanford asserted.
The Budget & Tax News story was based on data from United Van Lines showing Michigan to have the nation’s highest percentage of outbound residents.
The state with the highest percentage of inbound moves?
Oregon.
South Carolina was fourth.
DEBATE THIS
The Buzz was puzzled last week when an invite from Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to debate Treasurer Grady Patterson showed up via e-mail.
However, that potential cross-race debate got The Buzz thinking about other fantasy matchups.
• Gov. Mark Sanford vs. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer — Wait, they’re not running against each other? Eckstrom doesn’t care. Neither do we!
• State Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, vs. Jenny Sanford — The Buzz does not make endorsements but likes the first lady in this debate.
• Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston, vs. anyone — Oh, how The Buzz will miss him.
• GOP treasurer nominee Thomas “T-Rav” Ravenel vs. Patterson campaign manger Trav Robertson — Just to see how they roll.
• State Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, vs. himself — The Buzz admits we’re not always overjoyed to see the Senate’s most loquacious member take the floor. But we just might take this matchup over, say, the nail-biting comptroller general-treasurer face-off.
DOING NO WRONG
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer received a “standing o” last week from members of the Silver Haired Legislature.
Having responsibility now for the Office on Aging, Bauer has improved his connections with South Carolina’s older residents. So, the seniors were understandably disappointed when Bauer missed his appointed speaking slot.
When he made a surprise appearance several hours later, he reportedly rocked the hotel conference room where he reached the older set.
“With proper diet, exercise and God’s grace, I’m closer to where I was before,” Bauer told the group, referring to his recovery since a May plane crash that nearly claimed his life.
A BIG DEAL
The National Governors Association meeting in Charleston last month generated more cash for the town than anticipated, a study found.
An economic impact study, conducted by Dr. John Crotts of the College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis, pegged the value of the four-day event at $4.3 million. That’s more than twice the initial prediction of $1.6 million.
“Charleston’s popularity as a destination generated greater-than-expected attendance from delegates, the media and corporate sponsors,” he said.
The 98th meeting of the group was moved to South Carolina after Biloxi, Miss., the planned site, was forced to drop the event in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
WHAT THEY MAKE
Go to http://www.thestate.com/ for a searchable list of salaries for state employees earning more than $50,000 a year.
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