Crime at the State

Cindi Ross Scoppe writes a 1,000 word campaign ad for the Bill Cotty for Senate campaign.

How much would you like to bet that Ms. Scoppe will not be reporting her contribution to the the proper authorities? I'd go without barbecue for a month if Scoppe were to admit the fair-market value of her "advertorial" to the officials in charge.

Now I don't believe in making it a crime to speak your mind on an election. But The State has repeatedly editorialized that our incumbent protection campaign finance laws that criminalize speaking up and supporting your own candidate are all well and good and should be obeyed. (Here's a "news" account.)

(Never mind that Scoppe is backing this insane Bill Cotty plan that would make schools centralized at a higher level [the state level] rendering parents more beholden to Columbia.)

As usual, The State is playing by one set of rules for themselves (freedom of speech) and another set of rules for the rest of us (political speech only with government permission).

Hypocrites.

Laugh or Cry? The Perennial Question...

The commies used to have a saying, "No Enemies to The Left." Basically, the idea was that no matter what sort of objectively awful atrocity someone committed, if they were for Labor instead of Capital, then you oughtn't criticize them. Joseph Stalin, for instance, was off-limits. And so came the gulags.

The State has a similar motto: No enemies in the public schools. No matter how badly the bureaucracy does at enlightening our children or instructing our children or, heck, even at graduating our children, the system must be defended.

So today we get this brilliant dichotomy: The Opinion Page headline says, "School smoking ban is the least lawmakers can do."

But on the News page it says this:

Student slashed in White Knoll fight

Uniformed police officers will be at White Knoll High School today after a violent fight Tuesday that hospitalized one student with a slashed neck authorities say was caused by a razor blade.

So, contra La Socialista, I'm thinking that the very least that the Government-Run Holding Cells public schools could do is to prevent teachers from raping students—or, if that's too hard, at least stop kids from getting slashed in the neck.

But maybe fighting against cigarette breaks is more important.

The Dog That Didn't Bark

With all their propaganda against independent schools or even allowing people in a free country to choose them, you would think that The State would be equally vigilant when it comes to the scandals and shenanigans that go on in public schools. (Unless you realized that La Socialista cares even less for even-handedness than they do for accuracy.)

What sort of scandals go on in our public schools? Oh, you know, the usual: violence, sex with children, financial impropriety. Look here, here, here, and here.

But, when you're The State, I guess stories like this are just more important than investigating what's wrong with a system that endangers children every day.

Better, but needs improvement: Warren Bolton

Without a doubt, Warren Bolton is the class of The State opinion page. You're just not going to find the same condescension, arrogance, and elitism in his columns that characterizes the noxious output of Scoppe and Warthen. Thank Goodness for small favors.

Unfortunately, Bolton is still, after all, an employee of The State and seems to have succumbed to its anti-small-people ThoughtWorld.

To wit, read his recent column about the conference of Black Mayors and, in general, many of his columns about the state of Black South Carolina.

Although reflective and polite, Bolton can't get beyond the idea that the key reforms involve letting powerful people control our lives more and more. So Bolton says we need to look to (in this case) mayors to make our lives better:

Mayor Campbell said that in small towns, mayors have to get involved in almost every aspect of citizens’ lives, including schools. “We have to get involved in the education system, although as mayors we have no control over education,” he said. “We have to motivate our school systems in our various cities and towns,” he said, adding that mayors must visit schools and serve as mentors.

And, what's more, Mayors are the lowest level of assistance we should be looking at. State intervention cannot be neglected; even federal control can't be ruled out:

Mayor Johnson said it’s hard to believe the state has yet to address the quality of education in rural areas. Manning is in Clarendon County, where the school desegregation suit was birthed, yet “we’re still dealing with equity issues in education,” he said.

But of course the real answers to our most pressing problems do not lie in politicians at higher and higher levels of authority who are farther and farther removed from our daily lives. The real answers lie in our neighbors, friends, families and, most of all, in ourselves.

To the extent that we rely on politicians, "community leaders," celebrities, and others, we will continue to be disappointed. But insofar as we look to ourselves and those closest around us, we are on much sturdier ground.

Warren Bolton seems like a reasonable guy. I wish he'd reflect on that simple truth.

Big Improvement: Scoppe Column is only half-blind

Pop Quiz: Is $100 too much or a good deal?

Now any reasonably intelligent adult understands why this question doesn't make any sense. It depends on what you're buying: $100 for a year of car insurance is a fantastic price, but it's way too much for a pack of gum.

Cindi Scoppe's latest column is part 8,487,596 of the The State's continuing series on "Why Your Taxes Are Not Too High So Shut Up Already." She looks at Palmetto State taxes and provides a bunch of absolute numbers to back her claim that "no matter how you crunch the numbers, SC isn't a high tax state." Really? And so Scoppe selects out a bunch of numbers that make it look like we Sandlappers are undertaxed by a graceful and lenient government that really could (ought to?) demand much more from us.

Of course one of the things that Scoppe never does is to look at the quality of the services we get for that money. Is $100 too much or too little? That's the format that Scoppe takes for her column.

Why not take a look at what South Carolinians are getting for their money? Like the 50th ranked schools in the country, with the highest drop-out rate, lowest SAT scores, and achievement scores going 2-to-1 in the wrong direction?

All of a sudden, we don't seem undertaxed at all...

Christmas in September

The State devotes valuable newspaper space to an idea so silly even Brad Warthen or Cindi Scoppe wouldn't dare bring it up: subsidizing the homeless.

Under the new plan, people who choose not to work (among others) would be awarded $12,500 per year from...wait for it...you and me. Between putting food on the table, clothes on the kids, and paying, ahem, property taxes, what little that's left should be diverted towards giving people thing—so say the plan's authors, anyway.

Gift-giving is great. Who doesn't love Christmas time? But taxing working people for giveaways to non-workers is perverse. When you subsidize a behavior, you'll get more of it. And this is no good.

This is a job for churches, not governments. (And it helps to keep the two seperate.) Churches do an excellent job of giving a hand-up, not a hand-out. And the congregants can do a better job of making sure it stays that way.

Cheerleaders for Failure

When you listen to The State on education, it's like hearing a foreign country's Minister of Propaganda. There was no accident at Chernobyl . . . there is no AIDS in South Africa . . . there's almost nothing wrong with South Carolina government-run schools. Wait, what's that last one? That can't be right.

Today's editorial from The State continues an unending campaign to pretend that children are being adequately served South Carolina's schools. The only problem is that the State Department of Education disagrees with The State.

According to the State Department of Education.

Over 70% of South Carolina public school 8th graders can't read and write at proficient level

Over 76% of South Carolina public school 8th graders can't do math at proficient level

Over 76% of South Carolina public school 8th graders can't do science at proficient level

Over 75% of South Carolina public school 8th graders can't do social studies at proficient level

I think those statistics are pretty grim but The State insists things are fine; after all, we're "on track to reach the national average within eight years on all significant measures of achievement."

First of all, why is this an excuse? Eight years? If I have a son in the 6th grade, our schools will be up to mediocre in eight years? By the time he's 20, the middle schools will be up to 'mediocre,' if I believe the line of the politicians, known for their honesty and efficacy. Seriously, even if we believe the politicians, why is it okay to condemn the hundreds of thousands of children in public schools today, to a substandard education? (Answer: Because Brad Warthen's kids aren' t there.)

Second, it's simply not the case that you can extrapolate our improvements along a decade-long timescale.

Third, even if the public schools were improving at the glacier-like pace that editor Warthen breathlessly insists, why is it okay to deny unsatisfied taxpayers the chance to control their own child's education?

Fourth, what about the dismal graduation rate? Even The State admits that ours is horrible. It hovers around 50% (51% according to the left-wing Urban Institute; 49% according to the centrist United Health Foundation; 53% according to the conservative Manhattan Institute). Since high school graduates typically earn about 50% more per year than drop-outs, this is a pretty big deal.

No amount of failure will ever convince Brad Warthen and The State that our state's parents deserve more control and our state's children deserve a better deal. It's bad enough to believe that the current morass is fine-and-dandy for the next generation; actively defending the status quo of failure and suffering is despicable.

Cognitive Dissonance

The State on Teachers:

Article 1

Article 2

Message from The State: You're Too Stupid to Run Your Own Life

It's shocking how reflexively authoritarian The State can be. Whatever the issue—no matter its small scale or inherent intimacy—The State sees another venue for government intervention. According to The State worldview, government is the babysitter and you're the infant.

Don't believe me? Check out this tiny gem of an editorial. The subject is so-called payday lending. The idea of such lending is that you can receive a cash advance against your next paycheck—for a fee. It is, in effect, an ultra-short term loan at a very high interest rate.

Since Brad Warthen doesn't like these things, what's his solution? You guessed it; just ban 'em.

Now, I've never used a payday lender and I don't plan on using one. But do you know what? I don't think that I'm qualified to make decisions for everyone else. But, of course, I'm not Brad Warthen. He thinks he is qualified to make everyone's personal financial decisions for them.

Put aside the fact that this is perfectly analogous to credit card debt. Some people spend more money than they have and put it on the credit card. When they can't pay the whole bill at the end of the month, they wind up carrying a balance. The balance has a high interest rate.

But let's set all that aside. I don't have any reason to use a pay day lender but maybe you do. It's not my business. Therefore, you should have a choice. But why does Brad Warthen think he's smart enough to imagine every single South Carolinian's circumstances and make the right choice for them? He thinks he can make a better choice ("no payday loan") for every person, in every situation, until the end of time. How smart is this guy?

All the "News" We See Fit to Print

It's time to play everyone's favorite game, "The State vs. Real Newspapers."

[Cue Theme Music, Applause, Chuck Woolery.]

Is everyone ready to play? Good, let's introduce our contestants.

Our first contestant, hailing from the Low Country, is The Post and Courier. Known for its provocative opinion page, lively recipe section, and awe-inspiring Spoleto coverage, the P and C has developed large, loyal readership through the years.

Our second contestant, joining us from the Upstate, is The Greenville News. Known for its probing coverage of local government, sterling business reporting, and amusing political cartoons, The Greenville News is widely read by our state's mountain people—and that's saying something; these people have standards.

And, as always, we have The State. Known for reporters who fall asleep on the job (when they're sober enough to actually try to cover the news), copious errors in factual accuracy, and bias so blatant it would make Bull Connor blush, The State is the reason we play the game. So let's get started.

Item 1

A number of citizen and small business groups from around South Carolina have formed a coalition to fight against runaway spending, exploding tax rates, and government waste. How will our contestants deal with the issue? Let's look at their first paragraph.

The Post and Courier

COLUMBIA - Tax and business groups have formed a new coalition that will push the Legislature for caps on local government spending.

The Greenville News

COLUMBIA -- A coalition of business and taxpayer groups today called on lawmakers to impose caps on local government spending, arguing fees and increases in millage are costing the state its competitive edge.

The State

[The State failed to cover the story. Apparently, the Voltron-like uniting of the state's major pro-business and pro-taxpayer groups into a coalition to fight back against expensive government is not worthy of being covered. Or maybe Aaron Gould Sheinin was fighting off a hangover? Who can know? What we do know is that, having failed to answer the bell, The State loses. Again. The State: Run by losers, read by the Midlands.]

UPDATE: It looks as though The State did publish a version of this story in the local section. Now, why they would publish a story about state government and state policy, that effects all of the state's taxpayers, businesses, services, and it quality of life in the local section is beyond me. It's either gross negligence or extreme partisanship. Is The State run by Fools or Knaves? Take your pick...

Posted by Bill Smith at 9:28 AM | 15 comments