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April 6, 2003
House hog farm approval disturbing on many
levels
By GRAHAM OSTEEN
Special to The
Item
EDITOR’S NOTE: Graham Osteen
is editor and publisher of The (Hartsville) Messenger, former
executive editor of The Item, and a vice president of Osteen
Publishing Co.
This is a
tale of why South Carolina is often its own worst
enemy.
On Wednesday afternoon, I was able to
use a high-speed Internet connection to watch the hog farm
debate live from the state House of Representatives. As
opponents of the bill begged their House counterparts to wake
up, come to their senses and smell the hog waste, I received
an e-mail about some other upcoming
legislation.
In summary, it read: “The South
Carolina Venture Capital Investment Act establishes a pool of
investment funds at the Department of Commerce to promote
investment in knowledge-based, technology and other
growth-oriented companies in South Carolina. Under the Act,
the Commerce Fund would borrow monies (up to $100 million)
from banks and insurance companies (at long-term market rates
of interest) and invest those monies in professionally managed
venture capital companies.”
In conclusion, the
memo states: “Approval of the Act would provide an additional
benefit to South Carolina in its efforts to transform its
economy. This benefit comes from a prevalent practice in the
venture capital industry. Venture capital companies prefer to
invest alongside one another in innovative companies.
Therefore, the dollars invested in South Carolina companies
under the Act will attract out-of-state dollars into South
Carolina, creating a positive multiplier effect in terms of
total money invested here.”
Think about this:
South Carolina’s House of Representatives - by a vote of 66-43
- is sending legislation to the Senate that completely
undermines county councils in this state, disregards proven
negative environmental consequences, and gives the green light
to corporate hog farms to move that horrendous mess of an
industry out of North Carolina and into South
Carolina.
Yes. You read it right the first
time.
A majority of House members approved
what is being called the “Witherspoon Hog Farm Protection
Act,” named after its successful sponsor, Rep. Billy
Witherspoon, R-Conway.
Do you see the twisted
irony here?
On one hand legislators are
considering a $100 million venture capital fund for high-tech
industries - that will attract other clean, high-paying
industries - and on the other hand they’re opening the doors
to corporate hog farms.
Do you think the
people of Rep. Witherspoon’s district of Conway are going to
allow mega-hog farms to locate anywhere near them, 20 miles
from the pristine beauty of the South Carolina coast? Do you
think the people of Upstate Greenville, represented by
mega-hog farm supporter and Speaker of the House Rep. David
Wilkins, are going to allow open sewer lagoons next to the BMW
plant, along the Reedy River or anywhere near the I-85
corridor?
To add insult to injury, Rep.
Wilkins told the Associated Press that, “Our agriculture
industry ought to have solid regulations they can rely on that
are unified — and not be at the whim of some county council.”
Some county council? Is that the view from
Columbia these days? Here’s a translation: Rural South
Carolina is too poor and too stupid to know that mega-hog
farms are on the way, so what difference does it make? This
type of arrogance defies logic, and it sends a clear signal
about the balance of power in Columbia. The metropolitan areas
are in it for themselves only.
This area’s
legislators worked hard to defeat a comically short-sighted
bill, and they deserve all the credit in the world. See the
Roll Call vote on page 7C in Sunday's Item
newspaper.
The temporarily unsuccessful
outcome — at this stage — is best summed up by Becky
Meacham-Richardson, R-Rock Hill:
“I think the
people who voted for this were brain dead. They were not
listening. I’ve never said this once in 13 years, but I’ll say
it today — thank God for the Senate.”
Surely
the South Carolina Senate will step in to save the day on this
one for the good of the entire state.
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April 7, 2003 
County council continues
budget talks
