Sanford touts thrift in visit

Philip Lord

Thursday, June 08, 2006

”Gov. Mark Sanford watches Mick Martin tool a piece of metal at Southeastern Tool Co. Wednesday.Staff photo by Philip Lord”

Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday the S.C. General Assembly did not want to give voters a clear picture of their actions during the recently completed session prior to the June 13 primaries.

Last week Sanford called on lawmakers to give him the budget in time for him to deal with any vetoes prior to the body leaving session, but lawmakers decided to wait until June 14, after the election, to return to session for three days – at a cost of about $50,000 a day.

About 30 minutes before Sanford arrived in Aiken for an afternoon meeting with employees at Southeastern Tool Co. Inc., he was informed the budget, as well as some 60 other bills, had landed on his desk.

“We brought them in on a gurney,” said Research Coordinator Braden Bunch.

Sanford told the employees of the Aiken company, who took a break from their work to hear the governor, that the proposed state budget shows a 13 percent increase in state expenditures.

Sanford said state revenues grew by more than $1.1 billion, which was record growth, but still the General Assembly voted to spend more money.

The current budget proposal shows a 19.98 percent growth in state expenditures, which Sanford said is greatly outpacing the taxpayers ability to pay for the growth.

“Your state government will grow this year by 13 percent,” Sanford said. “We don’t think that’s a good idea. We think the growth ought to be roughly equal to the growth of people’s pocketbooks and wallets.”

Sanford added, “The government shouldn’t grow faster than the underlying economy, because if it does in the end something has got to give.”

The current budget proposal shows the state’s budget increasing by $1.22 billion next year. “Never before has our state budget grown by 1.22 billion dollars,” Sanford said.

Sanford said the General Assembly has based its budget on what could be a one-time budget windfall. He said currently China has a growth rate 19.5 percent, which is less than the state’s increase.

Looking at surrounding states, Sanford said the Palmetto State’s budget increases per-person expenditures by $177. In Georgia that figure is $109 per person and in North Carolina, which budgets on a bi-annual basis, that figure is $25 per person.

Sanford said he worried mid-year budget cuts, which are across the board cuts, could result in South Carolina if revenue falls short of expenditures.

Since mid-year budget cuts must be across the board, Sanford said they cut deepest.

“You are throwing out wheat with chaff when you do that,” Sanford said.

Sanford said he favored a slower rate of growth and the banking of funds to help cover shortfalls in leaner budget years.

He also said he favored returning more money to the private sector, which will stimulate more growth.

Contact Philip Lord at plord@aikenstandard.com