A survey for Sanford's government accountability task force found that half of the state's white residents trust the government, compared with just over a quarter of the state's black residents.

Four in 10 blacks thought the state was headed in the right direction, while almost two of three whites did.

The University of South Carolina Public Service and Policy Research survey of 516 South Carolinians has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

The research institute contributed the survey to the Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance appointed this summer to study how to make government work better.

The racial divide was clear throughout the study, with responses from blacks and whites diverging in seven of nine categories.

"It was a pretty striking conclusion in every case," said Robert Oldendick, a political scientist who led the study.

The racial disparity doesn't surprise some.

"Most African-Americans don't see the government running well or helping them," said state Rep. Todd Rutherford, a black Columbia Democrat. "A number of whites see the only role of government is to cut their taxes and let them be self-sufficient."

Felicia Hopkins said blacks are trying to catch up with whites, who historically have had more money and more power.

"We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go," she said.

Hopkins, 32, has seen high-paying jobs come and go with the arrival and departure of the big Mack Trucks assembly plant in her hometown of Winnsboro.

Government, she said, needs to look at the big picture and be more worried about bringing jobs to the state than it is with cutting programs little by little the way the MAP Commission recommends.

"Don't worry about a million dollars here, a million dollars there," she said.

To close the gap between black and white perceptions, Sanford wants to change the tax system, especially by lowering the income tax.

"It cuts across racial lines, across gender lines," Sanford spokesman Will Folks said. "It's one tangible thing we can do to encourage the flow of capital investment, to encourage the creation of wealth, to stimulate job growth and to create a place where businesses, including minority-owned businesses, can thrive."

Geography and income also divided the outlook on the state.

Sixty-eight percent of the people in the Lowcountry thought the state is headed in the right direction; only 52 percent of those in the Upstate felt that way.

Half of the respondents with family incomes between $50,000 to $75,000 thought the state is doing an excellent job helping businesses create jobs. Just a third of those with incomes under $25,000 thought so.

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