The bleak reality of government finance in a low-income state seems to have tempered the damage that S.C. legislative property-tax-relief proposals would do to public schools and local governments, but not nearly enough. Separate S.C. House and S.C. Senate special committees, convened last summer, last week brought forth competing tax-relief proposals.

Both would slash some residents' property tax bills while raising sales taxes on everyone by 2 cents. But commercial and industrial property owners would get no tax relief. Neither would residents who own rental property or out-of-state residents who own second homes in South Carolina.

Moreover, all property owners would continue to pay property taxes on local government bonded indebtedness. And the Senate proposal would require all property owners to continue paying taxes to cities, counties and special districts - taking only school taxes off the plates of residents who live full time in their own homes. As part of that, the Senate also would cut the school portion of personal property taxes, giving vehicle owners a break. But lots of folks who hoped that the legislative committees would seek to abolish all - or at least most - property taxes are bound to find disappointment in both proposals.

If either bill becomes law, property taxes would continue to be an important part of the S.C. government-financing system. But thanks to the sales tax increase, that system would take proportionally more money from the pockets of low-income residents - though the phase-out of sales taxes on food, recommended by both committees, would ease that sting a little. Meanwhile, both proposals would undermine local control of schools - and of cities and counties, if the House committee gets its way.

It well may be that the weight of the unmet expectations of property owners sinks these bills before they gain political traction during the 2006 legislative session. But the bleak reality is that our state, where low incomes are preponderant, can't afford to abolish the property tax unless residents are willing to accept deep cuts in local services and crowded, teacher-deficient, Bedlam-like public school classrooms. The committees scaled down their property tax breaks to fend off that grim scenario.

As it is, both committees envision significant shrinkage in local spending, school spending especially - with the terms of the shrinkage dictated in Columbia, not in Conway, Georgetown and other S.C. county seats. And neither committee had the stomach to propose an even bigger sales tax increase or an increase in the S.C. income tax, in order that schools and local government be made whole.

The question now becomes whether the bulk of S.C. legislators are willing to disadvantage the majority of S.C. residents (and every visitor who spends money here) to please folks fortunate enough to live in owner-occupied homes. If the goal is to sustain the independence of local government and some semblance of tax fairness, that trade makes no sense.