Lawmakers unveil jobs strategy
COLUMBIA — Politicians blamed each other Tuesday for South Carolina’s consistently high unemployment rate while pitching a new job recruitment plan that was short on details.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman piled on the criticism of Gov. Mark Sanford and his administration as they outlined a concept intended to get more people working and earning more.
The legislators were joined by businessmen, researchers and academics outside the state Employment Security Commission to discuss the creation of a Knowledge Sector Council that will coordinate efforts and ensure economic development tools passed by the Legislature are utilized.
“The past few years of inaction and missed opportunities have shown us that if we truly want those high-paying jobs created, we must not only provide the means but also the execution,” said Harrell, R-Charleston. “Especially now, given the current state of our national economy and our high unemployment rate, we can no longer wait for that leadership to present itself.”
Harrell did not give specifics on what he was alluding to, saying that he was focused on the future.
Leatherman, though, was more direct
in his criticism.
“After observing the actual results over the past several years, it has become painfully clear that this administration simply doesn’t care about creating jobs for our people,” he said.
The Governor’s Office dismissed the whole to-do as a design to distract voters.
“It’s an election year ploy to distract from the fact that the Legislature has consistently failed to prioritize spending, and has cut funding for our economic development efforts as a result,” said Sanford’s press secretary, Joel Sawyer. He noted that neither the governor nor Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor were invited to the announcement.
Sawyer said the numbers that back Sanford’s economic development efforts speak for themselves. And Leatherman was either stretching the truth or making things up Tuesday, Sawyer said.
Harrell said the bottom line is still the facts that South Carolina’s per capita income is lower than the national average and the unemployment rate is higher.
“We can no longer stand by and watch as our state continues to fall behind,” Harrell said.
The “Future Economic Development Blueprint” will start with a call to the South Carolina Research Authority to facilitate and guide the creation of the council.
Bill Mahoney, chief executive officer of the authority, said the nonprofit will arrange regular forums for a group of stakeholders to align efforts and resources. Stakeholders include the research universities, technical colleges, the state Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Commerce and about 10 other groups.
The goal is to drive job creation in science, technology and commercialization, which will spur jobs in other sectors, such as the construction industry. The knowledge-based sector, along with manufacturing and tourism, will drive economic success, according to the outline presented Tuesday.
Sawyer said the governor believes the best approach to job recruitment is to make the state more business-friendly so more entrepreneurs are attracted. To do that, the legislators’ time would have been better spent restoring the $10 million cut from the Commerce Department’s funds for sealing recruitment deals, he said.
By Yvonne Wenger
7/30/08
