Targeting trash group

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Prioritizing a state budget is a tough business and Gov. Mark Sanford is angering some lawmakers as he searches for ways to trim spending. As Greenville News reporter Tim Smith pointed out recently, Sanford has targeted the public funding for an anti-litter organization, Palmetto Pride.

The nonprofit group operates on a $2 million budget, most of which is supplied by municipal court fines. Sanford wants to redirect some or all of that money to more pressing needs.

That has pitted the Republican governor against some members of his own party. But the governor makes a good case that it's difficult to defend funding at current levels for the organization — given the overwhelming needs in health care, public safety, education and prisons. Palmetto Pride, with a staff of seven, doesn't do itself any favors by paying its director an outsized salary of $120,000 annually — almost $14,000 more than the governor.

Certainly South Carolina has a longstanding litter problem and Palmetto Pride is a much-needed presence in the state, although Sanford believes correctly that the organization could work harder to seek private funding, as do many other nonprofit organizations. It's hard to justify public funding at current levels for Palmetto Pride.