September 25, 2003

Gov. Mark Sanford worked the room on Wednesday in Clemson, and as keynote speaker for the Oconee County Industry Appreciation dinner didn’t have to work very hard to have the crowd eating out of his hand.

Industry in Oconee County, like in virtually every county across the state, has suffered numerous setbacks in the last few years, with the textile industry leading the way in business failures. But the governor’s point regarding industry — and the budget woes in South Carolina — was that it’s not just the major industries that employ hundreds that make the difference in our state.

It’s the single job that allows the individual to house his or her family, educate the children and provide health care that makes a difference. Just as small business is the backbone of our economy, so the single job contributes more to the economy than it gets credit for, he said.

And what does government do for small business? Not much, acknowledged the governor. And he’s right. We expend millions of dollars over the years to recruit industry and the contributions large industry makes to our quality of life and our overall economy can’t be discounted.

But we can’t forget the contributions that small business makes to our communities. And we should not forget the people behind those small businesses that have chosen to ply their trade or make their product in our area. In the end, it takes both the independent business person and large industry to make a community economically healthy.

"The person in business is not thanked very much for the difference they make in people’s lives," he said. "How many bridges and highways do you see with a business person’s name on them? Most of the time, those of us in politics get more credit than we are due."

Mr. Sanford has a way with a crowd. There’s no dispute that he is a popular speaker and can provoke a laugh from the most somber or applause from the most opposite in political philosophy. His talk in Clemson was no exception.

He simply wanted to say thanks, he told the crowd of around 300, and acknowledge the efforts of the Upstate, Oconee County in particular, for its efforts to contribute to the economic health of our state.

Unity is the key, he said, and he’ll get no argument from this quarter. We’ve long advocated not just unity as a community, but cohesive efforts regarding economic development among the Upstate chambers of commerce and industrial recruitment segments.

Then the thank-yous ended and it became politics as usual, as he segued into efforts to streamline government and cut costs, and revival of his campaign plan to eliminate the state income tax, despite it being likely the most steady source of revenue for state government services and efforts.

While it is true, as Mr. Sanford gave as an example of those efforts, that the Department of Corrections will save around $1 million by having prisoners work in agricultural projects to provide food for prison inmates, he did not mention the additional $50 million that department’s chief, Jon Ozmint, has said he needs in the next budget year. While it is accurate to note the consolidation of responsibilities going on in areas such as Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, he only briefly mentioned the jobs lost to that consolidation.

But overall, his contention that more unity is needed in our state, particularly in Columbia, was right on the money.
The governor made a good showing in Clemson Wednesday and likely convinced many in the crowd that his efforts to put South Carolina back in the black were working.

But this is just the beginning. When the legislature reconvenes in January it will be interesting to see if there is more unity in Columbia than in past sessions or we still have a non-cohesive group that can’t seem to put aside party differences to get the job done.

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