Mark Sanford should be our President. He is not just accepting federal bailouts to solve every problem but is trying to hold politicians/government accountable. This guy stands firmly on principle (and the state/fed constitution). What a breath of fresh air in a time of big, big (and more big) government:
Governor: New Loan Request Prompts Serious Questions about ESC
GOVERNOR SAYS AGENCY’S LACK OF ATTENTION TO TRUST FUND
DEMONSTRATES NEED FOR AUDIT, FURTHER REFORM
Columbia, S.C. - January 22, 2009 - Governor Mark Sanford today called for an expedited audit of the state’s Employment Security Commission (ESC), after they more than doubled from $146 million to $316 million their loan request from only three weeks ago. The governor also released a letter he is sending to the ESC’s commissioners today, calling for jobless data to be shared on an expedited timeline, or else he would remove the Commissioners from office.
Last month, the ESC asked the governor to apply for the original loan of $146 million to get them through the end of March. Two weeks later, they asked that the governor up the loan amount to $316 million, saying they would need more than double the original amount to make it until the end of March. Today, the governor said he would request only $25 million - to make it until the end of January - but in that time expects ESC officials to produce data requested.
ESC officials have suggested paying off these loans by roughly tripling the amount businesses are taxed, from around $300 million yearly to $900 million yearly. Governor Sanford pointed to the fact that the ESC’s trust funds have been depleting for the past seven years, and the agency has done virtually nothing to draw attention to it.
“Simply put, the ESC is out of control, it is not performing its mission of putting South Carolinians to work, and the only solution they seem capable of offering is asking for more in the way of money and tax increases,” Gov. Sanford said. “In these times, we simply cannot afford to have this agency solely focused on giving out benefits rather than identifying and addressing the root causes of unemployment in this state. Whatever needs to be done to expedite this audit needs to happen sooner rather than later. As well, if these Commissioners cannot provide Commerce with the data they and the business community have requested for more than a year, we will replace them.”
Based on concerns the governor raised last month about the ESC, more than a dozen legislators have now requested a Legislative Audit Council (LAC) report on the ESC. The LAC has over 20 years’ experience in auditing state agencies, and has a long record of rooting out waste and abuse in state government. A report from the LAC two years ago led to sweeping changes at the state Department of Transportation, and a similar audit recently uncovered a litany of problems at the state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs.
The ESC had previously refused to agree to such an audit, and has stonewalled repeated requests for data. The data request the governor and the Department of Commerce have made is aimed at providing area-specific data about unemployment so that economic development efforts can be better targeted.
Letter to ESC Commissioners [pdf 120kb] |
