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Sen. Hutto talks reality about taxes

The white Democratic lawmaker walks a tightrope in South Carolina. With redistricting having created bastions of black voters in one district and white voters in another, the numbers of black lawmakers have increased even as the number of white Republicans has grown so much that the GOP now holds majorities in both houses of the S.C. Legislature.

In general, the white Democrat must be Democrat enough to secure the African-American voters in a district and unlike traditional Democrats enough to pull votes away from a generally conservative Republicans.

Give Orangeburg Sen. Brad Hutto credit for being a talented tightrope walker. Having succeeded the late Sen. Marshall Williams in 1996, Hutto has built a solid base of support in the district that includes portions also Barnwell, Allendale, Hampton and Bamberg counties. He has gained stature quickly in a state Senate built power structure built as much around seniority as party affiliation.

Hutto's political candor may be one reason why.

Without ever using the word "Republican," Hutto in a speech to the Orangeburg Rotary Club challenged his colleagues to a different approach to state government even as he lamented what he calls the wrong approach to government embedded in the legislative power structure.

Hutto cites the financial crisis that has seen more than $1 billion cut from the state budget since May 2001. "The situation's not going to be any better'' this year, with another $500 million in cuts expected because state tax collections are down.

What will the Legislature do? The majority will again promise not to raise taxes even in the face of slicing education and other necessary services. That is not as it should be.

Telling Rotarians that if they want a senator who will pledge to raise taxes under no conditions they should elect someone other than him, Hutto said he was sent to Columbia to use common sense and reason.

"Some of my colleagues don't deserve to be there,'' he said. They will agree to any cutback in taxes but reject an increase in any tax. There must be a balance between spending and revenue.

Hutto cites funding alternatives for the coming session:

-- Increasing the state cigarette tax to the national average, an action that would fund Medicaid this year and beyond. The GOP majority rejected the increase last year with a late-session, one-time federal appropriation of $100 million being used for funding in the face of a $200 million shortfall.

-- Eliminating sales tax exemptions that account for about $1 billion annually. They include exemptions on items from newspapers and mobile homes to automobiles and telephones service. Hutto knows seeing them all eliminated will be a tough political sell.

-- Raising the state sales tax by a penny. This approach has been coupled by some with an accompanying call to cut property taxes. The trade-off fails, however, because there are those who favor only cutting property taxes without any corresponding increase in the sales tax, which is paid by all people including a sizable number of tourists.

"Always saying no to taxes is wrong,'' Hutto says. As unpopular as the decision may be, South Carolina lawmakers are going to have to come to that conclusion this year. Give Sen. Hutto credit for telling it like it is.