By Bill Settlemyer
Published Sept. 1, 2011

A couple of reader responses to recent columns I’ve written asked me to stop writing about politics and start writing about how to grow South Carolina’s economy.

Bill Settlemyer

Unfortunately, in the current economic and political climate, you can’t really separate politics and economics. In particular, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the tea party movement and its allies are a hindrance to economic development, at both the state and national levels.

In a recent Washington Post column, Allan Sloan, senior editor at large of Fortune magazine, announced that he was resigning from the Republican Party. Sloan savaged both the tea party and President Barack Obama’s administration for leading us into the current economic morass:

“Our current mess is different from the Lehman-related horror, because it stems primarily from politics, not economics. The previous fear-fest came about because Lehman’s bankruptcy disrupted financial markets in unanticipated ways. Today’s crisis was completely avoidable. You can blame it directly on the fools who brought our country to the brink of defaulting on its debts in the name of saving us from ... I’m not sure what.

“Yes, the tea party types bear primary responsibility — but they couldn’t have done it without the cowardice and incompetence of the Obama administration, which let things get way out of hand. This whole fiasco just enrages me. And it ought to enrage anyone who wants the United States to act like a real country rather than some third-rate failed state run by fanatical factions that hate one another.

“Some policies and statements you hear from tea party types about the economy and the debt markets are utterly insane. Any competent economics instructor would give you an F if you asserted the same sort of nonsense on an exam. But all that aside, at least the tea party people have a story and a message. The Obama people have none — at least none that I’ve been able to discern.”

Our state isn’t helping itself or the nation
Sloan’s column will undoubtedly resonate with the rapidly spreading voter discontent over political incompetence in Washington at a time of genuine crisis for the nation.

How about South Carolina? Have the tea party and its supporters helped or hurt economic development in our state? Well, first there was Jim DeMint putting his pet earmark crusade ahead of the vital need to obtain Corps of Engineers funding to study the deepening of Charleston Harbor for future port expansion. No thanks to DeMint, other members of our congressional delegation stepped up to the plate and found a way to get the funding, but it was touch-and-go.

Then there was the Amazon distribution center debacle, in which tea party adherents and others almost cost the Midlands a vital project and besmirched our reputation in the process by trying to renege on a commitment to Amazon regarding a sales tax exemption. And it certainly didn’t help that Gov. Nikki Haley sat on the sidelines instead of making sure we kept our word on the promised economic development incentives.

But wait, there’s more! At a Business Journal event earlier this summer, I heard the president of the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance express serious concerns about state legislators with tea party leanings who were saying they would no longer support any tax incentives to attract or retain industry in our state.

And for the coup de grace, there’s State Education Superintendent Mick Zais turning away $144 million in federal funds for South Carolina’s schools. In effect, Zais, with Haley’s endorsement, arranged for S.C. taxpayers to give a $144 million education grant to all the other states that had the good sense to welcome the repatriation of their federal tax dollars back to their own states. This decision is a perfect illustration of what happens when ideology trumps common sense.

It’s cold comfort to me and so many others who care about education to know that those who voted for Zais knew he planned to reject the money. It just makes the same case at the state level that Allan Sloan makes regarding the impact of the tea party in national politics. You can be passionate about your political philosophy, but please, don’t check your brains at the door when you enter the fray.

A 3-step plan to support S.C. economic growth
So what should we be doing now to grow South Carolina’s economy? First, elect political leaders who are capable of striking a balance between ideology and pragmatic problem-solving. I sometimes strongly disagree with legislators like Bobby Harrell, Glenn McConnell and Chip Limehouse, three prominent Republicans from the Lowcountry; but I also appreciate their leadership on numerous sensible and effective policy initiatives they have championed on our behalf in Columbia over their years of service.

What else should we do to stimulate economic growth in South Carolina? As always, job one is education. We should raise sufficient revenue to establish 4K preschool programs in all public schools and greatly increase state funding for K-12 public education and for our technical schools, colleges and research universities.

We also need to clean up and rationalize our tax structure to enable the state to raise the revenue we need for education, infrastructure and vital services to our citizens, including Medicaid, which is far more important to our state’s economy than most people realize.

We need to stop chanting the “no tax” mantra like a bunch of fiscal zombies. Conservative hero Ronald Reagan had no problem raising taxes when more revenue was needed to fund programs and reduce deficit spending. If all you want is low taxes, limited regulation and small government, move to Somalia. What I want, nationally and in this state, is “right-sized” government that raises the revenue needed to pursue intelligent public policies that strengthen our economy and help bring prosperity to our citizens.

Bill Settlemyer is the founder of the Charleston Regional Business Journal. Email him at bsettlemyer@scbiznews.com.