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The Have and the Haven;t 8/5/2006 Hogwash I say. We’re drowning in data showing many South Carolinians are hurting, particularly in our corner of the Upstate, which is non-metropolitan and not a tourist locale. And under Gov. Mark Sanford, our already shameful gap between rich and poor has grown to a chasm. Yet no one’s in the mood to make the governor, or any Republicans for the matter, pay a political price. Recently, his commerce secretary trotted over to Oconee County with the news that our economy was "smoking." The governor’s the one doing the smoking. And it ain’t tobacco. Gov. Sanford, in his Wall Street wisdom, has decided to just ignore the state’s unemployment rate, now the second highest in the nation. It has been above the national average throughout his tenure. Instead, he’s boasting about a $100 million increase in tax revenues as a result of making life even better for those who are already prospering. That’s certainly not everyone. Anderson County jobs fell by .04 percent in 2005, and wages fell 1.4 percent to an average of $29,490, according to a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. That compares to the state average of $32,916 and the U.S. average of $40,671. Matters were a whole lot worse in Oconee County, where jobs fell 3.4 percent and wages fell 2.3 percent. I bet those figures aren’t a surprise to everyday working people who understand the economy from the number of people on the production line and the amount of jingle jangle in their pockets. The trend lines aren’t good. South Carolina had the 15th lowest pay in 2000 and 2001. It’s now 12th. Growth in the gap between South Carolina’s rich and poor was 10th in the nation, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. Over the last 20 years, the average income of the middle 20 percent of families increased by $13,269, from $29,413 to $42,882, a 45 percent rise. The average income for the richest 20 percent of families increased from $59,086 to $104,378, a 76.7 percent improvement. The top 20 percent now have incomes seven times higher than the bottom 20 percent, up from 4.8 times in the early 1980s. The rich earn 2.4 times the middle 20 percent, up from 2 times in the early 1980s. In the transition toward a global economy, there inevitably are going to be winners and losers. What troubles me is that right wing ideologues have succeeded in persuading our state’s middle class to cheer on policies that don’t help them much, if at all, and often work against the interests of the majority. Take the recent property tax "reform." Whether it’s the school property tax swap or the 15 percent assessment cap up for a November referendum, the very wealthy benefit disproportionately, and small businesses are hurt disproportionately. When small businesses account for about two-thirds of economic growth and new jobs, is it any wonder we’re in trouble? Trickle-down isn’t an economy theory. It’s a fantasy. We deserve more.
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