First, do no harm

APRIL 1, 2011 – It’s human nature to rush around just before something has to be done to make sure it gets done. Around our house, there’s a flurry of activity just before the children are out of the door to school or before a weekly column is due. So it is also with the South Carolina General Assembly. Just before the end of the annual session in June, there’s a flurry of activity to make sure the big policy bill of the year, the budget, is finished and wrapped with a big bow on top. But as the budget, with its specific monthly deadlines, is being crafted, there’s a lot of time for legislators to get their hands dirty with other issues.

“Invest” isn’t a dirty word

OCT. 29, 2010 – It’s amazing how one little word can have two vastly different meanings.

The word? “Invest.”

If you talk to just about any financial adviser and ask about a tried-and-true, conservative strategy for planning for your retirement, it won’t be long before you hear: “Invest early and invest often.”

But the politician who touts the exactly same conservative strategy – that states, like individuals, need to invest early to reap bigger, good rewards over the longer term – is lambasted as a liberal of the worst sort who wants to tax and spend you to death.

Consensus: State leaders need to read widely

SEPT. 10, 2010 – It’s a toss-up about who had the best funny answer to Katie Couric-like questions about what South Carolina political leaders should read.

Former Gov. Jim Hodges (who should know) put the zinger at the end of his answer on what they should read frequently: “The Wall Street Journal for business and economic news. The New York Times for national and international news. Politico.com for political news. Sports Illustrated for sanity.”

Scent of kerosene leaves mark

ALONG THE GULF COAST, June 7, 2010 – The hint of kerosene in the air on Mobile Bay served as an immediate reminder of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brack

It wasn’t an overpowering scent, but a faint fragrance similar to what you might smell a few minutes after spraying WD-40 on something.

The price of vilifying government

JUNE 4, 2010 – If you think South Carolina’s been muddied by nasty politics recently in the gubernatorial race, just think how bad things will get if the state gets slimed with pollution from the Gulf oil disaster.