South Carolina

South Carolina Republicans
by Luz Mendez

           South Carolina has come a long way since the early days of slavery and racial segregation.   Starting the 1950s fewer people were kept from voting by the poll tax, and turnout surged as South Carolina became competitive in the presidential elections of 1952, 1956, and 1960. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended legal segregation of public accommodations and workplaces and brought blacks suddenly into the electorate. This naturally shook up South Carolina politics, though not in the way widely expected: Democrats hoped to build biracial majorities, and sometimes did, but overall South Carolina moved, more than any other state in the South, toward Republicanism. South Carolina was one of the most heavily Republican states in the presidential races in the 1980s and, thanks to a pre-Super Tuesday primary it was the key state in determining the Republican nominees in 1988 and in 1996.
South Carolina is the 26th largest state of the United States. In 1996, South Carolina had an estimated population of 3,699,000. The population grew 6.1% between 1990 and 1996. Forty-five percent of the state is rural. Sixty-eight percent of its residents are white, 29.7% is Black, 1% is Asian, 1% is of Hispanic origin. The household compositions: 56.4% are married couple families; 27% are married couple families with children; 39% are college educated; median household income is $ 26,256; per capita income: $11,897; median monthly rent is $276. There is 6.0% unemployment.
           The governor of the state is Jim Hodges, a Republican.   In his State of the State speech, he addressed several issues such as education, law enforcement, the budget, taxes, and the environment. He proposed various programs to resolve the crucial problems facing South Carolina today.
           Education
           South Carolina faces a $4 Billion problem with substandard school buildings. Many schools are facing deplorable conditions such as insulation falling through the ceilings, dripping pipes, bathroom fixtures broken off or inoperable, makeshift classrooms beyond repair. Some schools have the equivalent of an entire school in portable classrooms. South Carolina’s governor, Jim Hodges’ number one priority is education. He believes that excellence in education only happens when parents join government, teachers and students to make it happen.
           The Governor proposed that at the beginning of every school year every parent should sign a Compact with Our Children. This is a pledge to set high standards for parents and government and teachers as partners in the children’s education. This pledge requires the parent to oversee his or her child’s regular and punctual school attendance and read to their young children and encourage older ones to read for themselves. Parents also pledge to provide a quiet, well-lighted study area, adequate rest, food and a healthy environment to the children. As well as, support school activities by volunteering, visiting the classroom and attending parent-teacher conferences.
           Another proposal was to implement a state lottery with the proceeds constitutionally committed to education. According to the Governor, an education lottery would generate at least $150 million dollars a year. He feels that the additional money the lottery dollars would generate can be used to build 21st century schools and give access to the tools the children need. The governor also requested the General Assembly to dedicate fully one half of the available dollars coming to the general fund and the EIA to educate the children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. This represents an increased educational spending of $380 million. This money would be used to cut class size down from the present 25 or more to an average of no more than 17 children for every teacher. Since decreasing class size demands more teachers, the governor proposes to turn to the corps of retired teachers. He wants to give the school districts the flexibility to keep some of the most experienced teachers in the classrooms. He also recognizes the value of the present teachers and wants to give teachers a salary that is $300 above the southeastern average. Part of this proposal also recommends that $25 million of the $380 million be designated towards buying laptop computers and SAT review software programs to get student’s SAT scores up.
           The governor also proposed a Governor’s Institute of Reading. The Institute would bring to South Carolina the nation’s leading reading experts, promote reading through grants to local schools, provide the best professional development for reading teachers, and promote a world-class collaborative reading effort. He also asked that $125 million be devoted to build 21st century schools, with more classrooms, homework centers or alternative schools.
           The governor called for the establishment of the South Carolina First Steps; a program designed to assure that all children start school healthy and ready to learn. This program will bring together state and local agencies, churches, parents, teachers and businesses to identify children’s needs and find ways to address them. This program would promote better child-care, coordinate children’s health services and help parents help their children. The governor proposes to start this year by designating $20 million from state budget funds towards this program but he urges business leaders, foundation directors and community leaders to commit their time, talents and financial resources to make it work.
           Law enforcement
           The governor proposed to establish drug courts. Instead of costly incarceration, people who are convicted are sentenced to hundreds of hours of community service. They are tested and re-tested for drug use. Any hint of illegal drugs means instant jail time. He modeled his idea after the example of Lexington County. He encouraged the general assembly to establish drug courts statewide to fight the war on drugs.
           The governor also stated that he would sign an executive order authorizing SLED Chief Robert Steward to begin immediate criminal background checks on all persons who apply for video poker licenses in South Carolina. He proposed to tax the proceeds of video poker. He believes that this industry should contribute $200 million a year to the state in taxes and fees. This represents roughly one-third of the video gamin industry’s net profits.
           Taxes
           In a proposal by the governor to lower taxes for senior citizens, he said, A This generation defended us in war, raised families, paid lots of taxes and built our great state. They have given so much and now its time to give back to them. He proposed to wipe out income taxes on retirement income, raise the income tax exemption for seniors to $20,000. This alone would eliminate tax for 58 percent of our seniors over 65 and older.
           The budget
           The governor proposed to match up to $300 of any state employees’ annual contribution to their 401-K retirement plan. He also recommended a 3% pay raise for state employees.
           The environment
           The governor believes that South Carolina made an environmental mistake several years ago when it pulled out of the Southeast Compact for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management. The results were disastrous. Instead of every region in the country handling its own waste, it is dumped in South Carolina.
The governor wants to explore joining the Southeast Compact again. First, it will establish a definite date after which South Carolina will no longer be the national and regional landfill for nuclear waste. Second, the Southeast Compact must make North Carolina and all other states responsible for their waste.