| Sanford: 'Our State Can Do More' |
| (Columbia) - Governor Mark Sanford used his
fourth State of the State to underscore a message that quote 'our
state of our state today is that we're making real progress, but
that we can do more - and doing so means change in fundamental
ways.' Sanford spoke before the General Assembly Wednesday night. (Read the full text of Governor Sanford's speech.) "We still have many miles to go in improving our state," Sanford says. "Too many South Carolinians don't have work, or work that fully uses their talents. We still have much more we can do to make our state competitive in the global economy. Education and health care are still not where we need them to be for people to make the most of their lives." The governor focused most of the speech on fiscal matters, such as streamlining finances and creating a good business climate for the state. Sanford talked paying off the deficit, helping small businesses, recruiting new jobs, and limiting the growth of government. Sanford says he wants voters to decide on his plan to curb the rate of government growth. "I will live by what the people of South Carolina decide," Sanford said. "This is a great way to avoid a lot of fighting and fussing come budget time, and I ask you send to the voters this fall the Taxpayer Empowerment Amendment to limit the growth of our government's spending to population plus inflation." He says job creation can happen if the state focuses on several goals, such as reforming the workers compensation system, bettering government structure and holding the line on spending. He asked for the creation of a department of administration to enforce the laws created by the legislative branch. On improving education, Sanford says he wants to see more help from the private sector, create more charter schools, and find ways to reduce the cost of higher education. He says those goals are critical in an era when South Carolina's children are competing with the rest of the world. Sanford also made a somewhat suprising call on legislatures to pass laws which would make it easier for African-American judges to be elected. Over the past several years this has been a controversial issue, with the side supporting the measure never garnering enough votes to pass the legislation. Democrats were quick to blast most of what Sanford had to say, chalking most of the promises up to election year politics, and saying it lacked specifics. In a taped response to the speech, Democratic Senate Minority Leader John Land says Sanford has failed at many of his goals since he took office in 2003. Read the full text of the Democratic response. "The reality is that Mark Sanford's been in office for over three years now and he's just realizing the state has serious problems," said Land, D-Clarendon County. "He and his party control every branch of state government. The voters put Sanford in charge in 2002 expecting results. He has failed, and failed miserably." |