In saying this week that our state's high unemployment numbers
"are not an accurate reflection of the growth happening in the South
Carolina economy," Gov. Mark Sanford is probably correct. But his
assertion that his policies are revitalizing S.C. small businesses
won't come as much comfort to the tens of thousands of folks who are
out of work - or to the many thousands more who have given up
looking for work. Their plight well may be on a collision course
with his re-election aspirations.
In S.C. politics as in politics everywhere, perception is
reality. Right now, South Carolinians who are out of work - and many
more in low-wage jobs who believe themselves vulnerable to
joblessness - perceive the state's economy to be a sinking ship.
To bolster his bullish outlook on the S.C. private sector,
Sanford this week cited dramatic increases in the state's sales tax,
personal income tax and corporate income tax collections. He
attributed this good news in part to this year's legislation
lowering the S.C. income tax for small businesses. If their tax
payments are higher, he says, it follows that their profits also are
higher.
Sanford also noted that the S.C. Department of Commerce is having
its best year since 1991 in attracting new businesses to South
Carolina. His publicity staff points to a recent National Federation
of Independent Businesses survey of S.C. small businesses, which
shows that about 70 percent of them are planning to expand.
Sanford no doubt spoke out in response to the S.C. Democratic
Party's ongoing disingenuous attacks on his job-creation record. The
Democrats even blamed Sanford for Chinese computer-maker's Lenovo's
recent decision to locate its North American operations center in
the N.C. Research Triangle - a rational business decision that does
not necessarily reflect on the quality of Sanford's economic
development efforts. No governor, Democratic or Republican, has the
power to create private-sector jobs. Only private businesses can do
that. All government can do is improve the business climate - as
Sanford, like the governors before him, has endeavored to do.
Sanford's problem as he moves into 2006, his hoped-for
re-election year, is that voters tend to see job creation as
government's responsibility. History shows they're especially hard
on incumbents in office during hard times for workers.
On Sanford's watch, the General Assembly has done all that it
probably should to improve the job-creation climate. The state is
set for an S.C. hiring burst that drives down unemployment numbers.
The only question is whether this happens in time to help Sanford at
the polls in November
2006.
