The Legislature's approval of an incentive package for a national retailer usurps executive authority over economic development and can be expected to diminish its success if more broadly pursued. South Carolina doesn't need "170 secretaries of commerce."

That how Gov. Mark Sanford described the legislators who inserted a targeted incentive package for Cabela's, a Nebraska-based outdoors chain that is considering sites in North Charleston. In his veto message, the governor insists that the Legislature's action undermines the negotiating position of the state Secretary of Commerce, who serves in the governor's Cabinet.

"If any firm can strike a better deal and larger incentives by working through a member of the House or Senate, who then sponsors supporting legislation, then why bother with the secretary of Commerce?" he asked in his veto message. Our report by John McDermott also cited other critics of the incentives plan: smaller local retailers who fear that a Cabela's store will undermine their stake in a highly competitive business. Or as the governor stated in his message: "There are a lot of other family business that have been paying taxes in South Carolina for a long time that would now be called on to subsidize a loss in their sales."

Since the 1960s, economic incentives have been provided to manufacturers to convince them to build plants that will bring high-paying jobs to the state. The expectation, the governor noted, was that "retail growth would follow the increase in residents' disposable income." But, the governor noted in his veto message, the bill "moves us into incentivizing retail investment for the first time in our state's history."

Further, the incentives for the prospective retailer were included in a tourism bill without reviewing the extent to which they can be expected to benefit the state. There may be one positive result, however. The governor has ordered a comprehensive review by the Department of Commerce of incentives now included piecemeal in state law.

The state should choose its economic strategy with care, and use tax breaks selectively to achieve its ends. The study should determine how many other incentives no longer serve the purpose for which they were intended.

What will it take to get lawmakers interested?