Minimizing litter in South Carolina is a worthy mission, but Gov. Mark Sanford doesn't think it is worth $2 million a year in state money. He's not alone. Surely such a hefty state expenditure isn't needed to convince South Carolinians to pick up their trash. ...

While it's important to keep our state clean, paying the director of Palmetto Pride operations a $90,000 salary with $30,000 in fringe benefits is out of kilter with state agencies with far more critical public functions. While we recognize that Palmetto Pride is a nonprofit rather than a state agency, it gets all but $30,000 of its budget from the state, making it only fair to judge it by state standards.

By comparison, the adjutant general and superintendent of education both make $92,007.

And surely the state shouldn't be paying the Palmetto Pride director, who oversees a staff of seven, nearly as much as it pays Department of Corrections Director Jon Ozmint ($124,698) ... The governor's salary, by the way, is $106,078.

Certainly, cleaning up our state is an admirable goal. But does it require a $1 million annual advertising campaign and a staff of eight at a payroll cost of roughly $400,000?

Further, is the task one that could be done by an existing agency? Indeed, why is this task given to a nonprofit that raises relatively few private dollars?

The hope is that the upcoming budget debate will provide the answers.