Archive for September, 2008
In last night’s debate, there were two questions that I couln’t accurately answer. As I’ve always said, I don’t mind answering “I don’t know” to my constituents. After research, the questions and answers are below:
1-Someone questioned my estimate of $10,000 per pupil per year in public education
The average per pupil funding is $4,867 state, $1,097 federal, and $5,516 local. This is an average total funding level of $11,480 excluding revenues of local bond issues. There is a wide range in this average. Interestingly, there is an almost direct reverse proportion of test scores with per pupil spending, yet we must remember that the districts with the highest expenditures tend to be the pooper districts with severe socio-economic issues. Nevertheless, funding isn’t much. I must re-iterate that parental involvement is the key. For all of these figures click here.
2-Someone asked the percentage of the state budget goes to education. Last year $3,815,469,939 was spent on education. That’s $3.8 billion, more than half the budget. To see the breakdown, click here and scroll to the bottom.
Just got in from a 2 hour debate with my opponent held at Tri-County Technical College. I want to thank Ms. Jennifer Beattie, Mr. Bob Peter, the faculty, & students for putting on an excellent open exchange of ideas. I don’t know of a stone that was left unturned as our agreements and differences were brought out. Practically every major issue from social to fiscal was covered. I had two questions that I could not accurately answer, so I’ll follow up this week:
1-Someone questioned my estimate of $10,000 per pupil per year in public education
2-Someone asked the percentage of the state budget goes to education
Senate incumbent, challenger debate at Tri-County Tech
From the question of abortion to the Anderson County 1-cent sales tax, the candidates were questioned by nearly two dozen citizens.
Meadors, a family physician in Anderson, proposed improved health care and support of public education as keystones of his term if elected to the senate.
Bryant said pork-barrel spending needs to be reigned in, which if done would provide money for the district’s needs, especially for infrastructure. Bryant also repeated his support for school vouchers and for opposing tax increases – unless there is a corresponding tax reduction.
Bryant listed a number of accomplishments since he was elected in 2004, including a law requiring the death penalty for sex offenders who molest children and co-sponsorship of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman (which passed in 2006).
He also pointed to a bill that would give women having an abortion an option to view an ultrasound, and support of the replacement of property tax for schools with a sales tax.
“My commitment is to what comes out of your pocket,” Bryant said, and endorsed the idea that cutting taxes helped the economy.
Meadors cited a list of problems in the state, from high dropout rates to rising unemployment to high crime that need addressing.
“I promise you we can and will do better,” he said.
In discussing school vouchers, Meadors said he was opposed to tax credits and vouchers because they would harm public education. Bryant said he backs vouchers and credits, now set at $2,500 per pupil, because they give citizens the right to use their tax dollars as they decide.
When asked whether they would support the 1-cent sales tax Anderson County is proposing for infrastructure and developments, Bryant said he opposed it because there was no corresponding reduction in other taxes. Meadors said he would probably vote for the tax because of the need to fix roads and other infrastructure in the county.
In closing remarks, Bryant said he would continue try to improve government.
“I am committed to reforming the way we do business in Columbia,” Bryant said. He said he would “continue the movement for choice and competition. I trust government less now than I ever have.”
Meadors said Bryant had stated that government has grown 40 percent in the last four years, but reminded the audience that he wasn’t there when it grew that much.
“I’m not going to Columbia to make it bigger … but I am going to represent you and make it more effective,” Meadors said.
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the state’s largest broad-based business organization, is pleased to announce our endorsement of Kevin Bryant for Senate District 3.
As the unified voice of the business community, the Chamber believes that supporting pro-business candidates that have demonstrated support for business priorities and a commitment to advance a legislative agenda that promotes competiveness in South Carolina is of the utmost importance. The South Carolina Chamber will devote resources to your key race in 2008, working with its members and allies to hold fundraisers, educate citizens and organize Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts.
We thank you for your commitment to representing the people of South Carolina who each need good jobs, a competitive state economy and a pro-prosperity working environment to ultimately raise our citizens’ income.
The South Carolina Chamber is proud to support you in your Senate election endeavor.
Ron Paul: This Bailout Won’t Be the Last
I recently chatted with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) about the gigantic financial bailout that the government is preparing to undertake.
Some excerpts from the interview:
What’s your take on this huge financial bailout?
“It’s more of the same. More debt and more inflation and more pressure on the dollar. Ultimately, although the markets are responding very favorably at the moment, I think it is going to be devastating to the dollar and to our financial situation in this country.”
But don’t we need to get these toxic assets off banks’ balance sheets?
“Sure, they need to be removed. Somebody needs to suffer the consequences [but] not the taxpayer. Everybody knows that they have to be removed. They are priced too high. The assets don’t have real value—some have zero and some have 10 cents on the dollar.
The people who had been making profits for all these years and dealing in all of this debt creation and derivatives—that now is becoming unwound—are claiming that it would be so painful if somebody went bankrupt and therefore we have to put so much burden on the taxpayer and on the dollar because the alternative is worse. But quite frankly, if they destroy the dollar and the dollar system, then they have a much bigger problem that they are going to have to deal with and it would be the collapse of the whole international monetary system—which is conceivable.”
So instead of having taxpayers buy the bad debt, the market should take care of it by itself?
“Sure, prices need to go down. Bad debt needs to be eliminated. The taxpayer ought to be protected. Taxes ought to be lowered…We are following the same routine that we did in the Depression, and that is artificially try to keep prices up. People were starving in the Depression and the only thing they did was try to keep wages artificially high and keep food prices high. We are doing the same thing now—we are trying to keep housing prices high. Low prices for houses mean poor people could buy a house. This is the most important part of a free market economy and that is free market pricing. Without free market pricing, the market can’t work. And this is in a way a major effort to price fix.”
So you think the government should not have bailed out any companies during this crisis?
“That would have been the best thing. It would have been painful, but housing prices would have come down sharper and faster, and it would have been over by now. But this whole idea of price fixing—that’s what they are doing—has been trying to keep housing prices up and trying to stimulate home building. Well, if you have 100 percent more homes than the market really wants, you can’t keep prices up and you can’t stimulate home building. If the prices go down, then people will go out and buy homes again. So they should allow the liquidation of debt.
Before the Depression, [the government] generally allowed these kinds of problems to unwind. They were very severe. They would last six months or a year—a lot of liquidation of debt would be wiped off the books. And then it would go back to work again. What we’ve been doing now—especially since 1971—is preventing the real liquidation of the malinvestment and the excess of debt… If this process continues, we’re going to own General Motors and Ford, then we will have to own the airlines. We are socializing our country without even a vote by the Congress. It’s a horrible situation.”
Will this bailout stabilize the crisis?
“I personally don’t think so. It might be temporary, but no, there is much more involved. I mean, we are talking about trying to unwind trillions of dollars of derivatives . . . You have to get rid of all that stuff.”
Will this bailout be the last?
“No, no. This won’t be the last one. There will be something else later on. But that doesn’t mean you might not have a few months of a reprieve. But it will continue.”
Will we have to bail out the auto makers?
“Oh I think so. We are not going to let them fail. Our policy is such that everybody gets bailed out. It’s like a drug addict, they’ve got to take their fix. It’s too tough getting off these drugs. And the drug here is easy credit.
Since we’re still learning the ins and outs of this Wall Street crisis, I’ll be putting a lot of trust in Sen. Jim DeMint. Here’s his latest thoughts:
| DeMint Outlines Economic Growth Plan Says ‘bold pro-growth economic plan is urgently needed with or without a bailout’ |
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September 25, 2008 - Washington D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) outlined a plan to stimulate real economic growth for American businesses and families through lowering taxes, reforming government failures, and immediately expanding domestic energy production. “The proposed bailout is a trillion dollar band-aid that does not contain a single item that will stimulate our economy,” said Senator DeMint. “Now is the time to cut taxes on American investment, reform government failures, and expedite energy exploration so we can grow our economy. We must enact pro-growth economic solutions that will create jobs, open up our vast energy resources, encourage investment, and pave the way for long-term prosperity. Instead of giving government more power after its past failures, this plan provides our economy the tools it needs to work through this crisis and gives Americans the freedom to succeed. Given the serious problems we now face, we should all agree that a bold pro-growth economic plan is urgently needed with or without a bailout.” REFORM A TAX CODE THAT DISCOURAGES CAPITAL FORMATION REFORM FAILED GOVERNMENT REGULATION EXPAND ENERGY EXPLORATION REFORM FAILED GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ###
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Here’s the new radio spot we’re running.
“Hello, I’m Senator Kevin Bryant. If tax and spend solutions would solve all of our state’s problems, we wouldn’t have any problems. As you know, South Carolina needs better roads, a better business climate, and our children need more educational opportunities. Since the beginning, we’ve stood together for more reform and less taxes. More more information, please visit kevinbryant.com. For reform vote Bryant. Paid for by Bryant for Senate.”
I can admit, I’m beginning to learn the ins and out of the recent Freddie, Fannie, & AIG bailouts. Here’s a great article, though I think partisan finger pointing won’t fix this mess.
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) — The financial crisis of the past year has provided a number of surprising twists and turns, and from Bear Stearns Cos. to American International Group Inc., ambiguity has been a big part of the story.
Why did Bear Stearns fail, and how does that relate to AIG? It all seems so complex.
But really, it isn’t. Enough cards on this table have been turned over that the story is now clear. The economic history books will describe this episode in simple and understandable terms: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exploded, and many bystanders were injured in the blast, some fatally.
Fannie and Freddie did this by becoming a key enabler of the mortgage crisis. They fueled Wall Street’s efforts to securitize subprime loans by becoming the primary customer of all AAA-rated subprime-mortgage pools. In addition, they held an enormous portfolio of mortgages themselves.
In the times that Fannie and Freddie couldn’t make the market, they became the market. Over the years, it added up to an enormous obligation. As of last June, Fannie alone owned or guaranteed more than $388 billion in high-risk mortgage investments. Their large presence created an environment within which even mortgage-backed securities assembled by others could find a ready home.
The problem was that the trillions of dollars in play were only low-risk investments if real estate prices continued to rise. Once they began to fall, the entire house of cards came down with them. full article
| At times, our Senator seems like the only conservative in DC, yet he’s always up front ready to fight for the taxpayer. I hope others will join his crusade and kill the proposed bail out of irresponsible investors.DeMint Opposes Wall Street Bailout Plan does not solve the problems that caused the current credit crunch, and could make them much worse |
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September 22, 2008 - Washington D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) announced his opposition to the $700 billion plan proposed by the Bush Administration to bailout Wall Street. “After reviewing the Administration’s proposed bailout plan, I believe it is completely unacceptable. This plan does nothing to address the misguided government policies that created this mess and it could make matters much worse by socializing an entire sector of the U.S. economy. This plan fails to oversee or regulate the government failures that led to this crisis. Instead it greatly increases the role for Secretary Paulson whose market predictions have been consistently wrong in the last year, and provides corporate welfare for investment firms on Wall Street that don’t want to disclose their assets and sell them to private investors for market rates. Most Americans are paying their bills on time and investing responsibly and should not be forced to pay for the reckless actions of some on Wall Street, especially when no one can guarantee this will solve our current problems.” “This plan will not only cause our nation to fall off the debt cliff, it could send the value of the dollar into a free-fall as investors around the world question our ability to repay our debts. It’s also very likely that this plan will extend the cycle of bailouts, encouraging other companies to behave in reckless ways that create the need for even more bailouts, triggering an endless run on our treasury. This plan may make things look better for Wall Street in the next couple months, but the long-term consequences to our economy could be disastrous. “There are much better ways of dealing with this problem than forcing American taxpayers to pay for every asset some investor doesn’t want anymore. We should start by reforming government policies and programs that created this mess, including the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy, the congressional charters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Community Reinvestment Act. Then Congress should pass a number of permanent and proven pro-growth reforms to encourage capital formation and boost asset values. We need to make permanent reductions in the corporate tax and the capital gains tax rates. We have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, which encourages companies to take jobs and investment overseas.” “It’s a sad fact, but Americans can no longer trust the economic information they are getting from this Administration. The Administration said the bailout of Bear Stearns would stop the bleeding and solve the problem, but they were wrong. They said $150 billion in new government spending using rebate checks would solve the problem, but they were wrong again. They said new authority to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would solve the problem without being used, but they were wrong again. Now they want us to trust them to spend nearly a trillion dollars on more government bailouts. It’s completely irresponsible and I cannot support it.” ###
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I’m happy to have my red xps back now after 2 weeks of waiting for a back ordered video card. While trying to survive without my tech, I’ve been asking myself: Self, why don’t you consider getting an apple next time you get a computer? I have asked dozens of mac users and have not found one applite that regrets switching over. How bout it? Is there a mac user out there that prefers windows? Sorry B. Gates, but I’m just looking around.
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina)
Contact: Wesley Denton (202) 228-5079
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) made the following statement:
“Americans should be very concerned by the size and frequency of these government bailouts. The easy money, cheap credit policy of the Fed and the guarantees provided by Congress for Fannie and Freddie created a bubble that is now bursting.
“We’re going to have a market correction but it’s not clear yet whether we’re going to have a policy correction. It was failed government policies that enabled these problems to occur in the first place.
“Our leaders need to wake up, exercise some real discipline, and push for policies that reduce the failed role of government and reduce taxes on American investment to attract new capital to our markets.”
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Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world? My name is Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. I’m a survivor, as are many others…but if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn’t be here.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama voted four times against affording these babies their most basic human right. I have serious concerns about Senator Obama’s record and views on this issue, given he voted against these protections four times as a state Senator. Just as abuse victims share their stories to educate the public, fight for the common good and hope that as a result politicians do what’s right, I felt it was important to come forward and give these new born babies a voice.
I am living proof these babies have a right to live, and I invite you to learn more about Senator Obama’s record on this important issue.
-Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen
From the Office of Senator Kevin Bryant - District 3
For Immediate Release
September 12, 2008
Bryant Asks Public to Report Potential Price Gouging
Columbia – Senator Kevin Bryant today issued the following statement related to gas-price increases related to supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike:
“In the coming days, I am certain there will be a call for resources and supplies to be sent to Texas and other areas along the Gulf Coast currently feeling the direct impact of Hurricane Ike. When that call comes I am sure South Carolinians will respond as we have in the past; as we have experienced the devastating effects of hurricanes similar to Ike.
“And, while our thoughts, prayers and support will turn to those suffering the biggest loss the impact of Ike is not limited to the Gulf Coast. Many families in South Carolina, who are already struggling to make ends meet, will be faced with additional challenges as the disruption in the fuel supply will no doubt cause an increase in prices. We have already seen a spike in the last 24-hours.
“Many local, small businesses will seek to make only the necessary pricing adjustments needed to cover the rising cost of fuel in the days ahead, but not all businesses will act in such a responsible manner. I encourage anyone who suspects that a business is taking advantage of the current supply challenges, to report that business to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, which officially invoked the state’s
price gouging prohibition statute earlier today.
“These next few days will be a time for us to come together and look for ways to help our neighbor, not a time to make a bad situation worse by taken advantage of our neighbor.”
Citizens should report inordinate and suspected pricing violations immediately to local law enforcement or the South Carolina Attorney
General’s Office at (803) 734-3970 or
gasprices@SCAttorneyGeneral.com.
My computer is broken and in the shop, so I’ll be laying low for a day or two from the backbench. Last night I participated in an interesting debate with our challenger, Dr. Marshall Meadors. The Anderson Independent has a video and their coverage.
Also, my good friend Art Kaldas, summarized the event fairly accurately:
Wow! Over 300 enthusiastic, cheering Anderson residents attended the debate of Senator Kevin Bryant and challenger Dr. Marshall Meadors at Anderson Main Library. The debate can be summarized as follows:
MM: The role of a state senator is to listen to people and work toward enhancing the quality of life of all the people, not just some of the people.
KB: I am the first state legislator to start a website, a blog, to communicate to the people what they don’t hear through the news media, and to allow them to comment and express their concerns directly to me.
MM: Public education is our top priority. Vouchers for private school and homeschooling are unacceptable. We are only as good as our public education system.
KB: Columbia needs to get out of micromanaging our schools. Also we need to give parents more educational options. Students who attend failing schools deserve vouchers to go to better schools.
MM: In order to increase access to medical care for the uninsured, we need to increase cigarette tax from 7 cents to 50 cents, or more. And we can use the additional revenue to form health care alliances.
KB: We need to find ways to reduce medical care costs. We should limit liabilities for malpractice judgments, and we should support medical saving accounts. In addition, we should assist small businesses to pool their resources in purchasing medical insurance for their employees. I simply do not support any move toward socialized medicine.
MM: A family is a caring, compassionate unit. We can no longer give one definition for traditional family.
KB: The ideal goal of a family is one father, one mother, and children. However, we have many broken families, which we need to help as much as we can. So, we have the traditional family, and we have reality, which we have to deal with the best way we can.
MM: There are some concerns that people from out of state our attempting to influence our elections through campaign contributions, which may not be in the best interest of South Carolina.
KB: If someone tells me “you belong to me because of my campaign contribution”, I will tell them what to do with their money.
MM: Raising taxes should be an option of last resort. However, raising tax is sometimes necessary.
KB: The faster the government grows the slower the economy grows. Are you taxed enough? Or are we spending too much?
single gender classroooms is an interesting concept that some educators are looking at. I would love to hear your thoughts…
Taylors parents learn about single-sex classrooms: School to offer single-gender classes next year
By Lark Reynolds GREATER GREER NEWS
After listening to a presentation on the differences between the way boys and girls learn, Melanie Clark said she sees the evidence in her 6-year-old son. Clark said he processes information better when spoken to side by side rather than face to face. David Chadwell, the state Department of Education’s director of single-gender initiatives, said that’s often true of boys, whereas girls process information better when spoken to face to face. Chadwell presented information March 4 to a group of about 100 parents and teachers at Taylors Elementary School, which plans to add single-gender classrooms next year.
“I think it would be something wonderful for (my son) to be able to experience and see how he does with it,” Clark said. Principal Vaughan Overman said plans are to add a single-sex classroom for each grade in grades 2-5 next year, and possibly first grade, too. She said parents will have the choice to keep their children in coed classes. Chadwell touched on learning differences between the sexes that range from how they process visual information to the position in which they are most alert. He said the curriculum would be the same, but the way in which it was taught would vary based on understandings about how each sex learns.
A statewide survey of students who have participated in single-gender classrooms shows many are positive about the experience. Among fifth-graders, 82 percent said it increased their desire to succeed in school, and an identical percentage said it increased their self-confidence.
Dr. Leonard Sax, founder of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, said South Carolina is the only state with a full-time state position focused on single-gender education, and leads the nation in the number of schools offering single-gender classrooms, with 94.
Overman said the response among teachers has been enthusiastic. Not every boys’ classroom would have a male instructor because of a shortage of male teachers, she said. But that has no bearing on successful learning in a single-gender classroom, she said, as long as the teacher has the training to understand a successful learning environment for that sex. ”I’ve got plenty of females that are going to do a wonderful job working with male children,” Overman said. “I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference that we don’t have a lot of male teachers. Of course, we’d always love to have more.”
Reminder……..Reminder…….Reminder……..Reminder……Reminder
The Anderson County Republican Party will hold a Grand Opening Celebration and Convention Watching Party at their headquarters Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The headquarters is located at 807 N. Murray Aveune across from the Anderson City Recreation Center. Free BBQ provided by Creekside BBQ will be served.
The Anderson County Republican Women will also host a dessert buffet with proceeds going to their club projects.
Everyone is invited to attend and cheer on Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin as our nominees for President and Vice President. We will have a big screen TV on hand to watch all of the festivities.
So….put on your red white and blue and get ready to spend a fun evening with your fellow Republicans!!!
For information or to RSVP for the BBQ please call 226-3299.
You never know what you’ll learn while going door-to-door. On Tuesday (2008.09.02) a constituent invited me inside to view a video he’d seen on the internet on an interesting fuel source. Check out this short video on Glen Kertz, developer of Vertigro, a system he uses to develop fuel from scum. He’s developed a way to produce different strains of algae and extract the oils to make fuel. He claims he can produce 100,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year. This compares to 20 to 30,000 20 to 30 gallons of fuel per acre of corn per year.
Is this a real possibility? I’m not sure, but I found this very interesting.
Simply put, a cluster is a group of interconnected companies in a similar line of business that collaborate to build and expand their products and services. New Carolina has mapped five cluster industries: 361 Automotive, 98 Aviation, 106 Apparel, 110 Composite, 655 Textile
The cluster concept represents a new way of thinking about the economy and has been taking hold in organizations and communities across the world, the nation and our region. Clustering helps build relationships that support innovation and efficiency, which leads to productivity and prosperity for regions wanting to thrive. Clustering encourages regions to rally the public and private sectors in support of their clusters.
Together with its partners, SC’s Council on Competitiveness aims to help businesses see the value of collaboration across 
industries and with vendors, suppliers and organizations that support its goals. It strives to catalyze action by working with groups already developing new clusters, supporting these groups with top quality resources, and activating new clusters.
Where clusters form, regions grow and attract businesses focused on efficiency, innovation and higher productivity. This leads to higher per capita income in these regions. Clustering represents an excellent way of supporting the growth of existing business and new business in South Carolina.
80% of the new jobs and capital investment comes from existing businesses or new businesses that are created within the state. Organizing new and existing business around clusters helps provide businesses what they need to prosper, helps focus recruiting efforts and gets the CEOs of companies involved directly in the economic development process.
If the election were today, Obama would win with 273 electoral votes to McCain’s 265. Real Clear Politics has a good electoral map
States leaning Obama that Bush won in 2004: Colorado, New Mexico, & Iowa. This is going to be very close.
answering the questions, doing the math
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