Author: Paul Gable

Thoughts on Horry County Council Chairman Race

The special election primary for the vacant Horry County Council chairman seat is but five and one-half weeks away (March 12th) and I have been asked several times when I will write something about it.

So far, I have very little thought on the race at all, except for an overall feeling of ‘déjà vu all over again’ as Yogi Berra so eloquently puts it.

Of course, there are those associated with the local economic development corporation and our new Congressman Tommy Rice’s entourage who will assert that I have no coherent thoughts at all. I contend the same things about them, so it’s a safe conclusion the twain will never meet in that couplet.

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Expanding Flow Control Monopoly in Horry County

As the S.C. General Assembly considers legislation this year that would make flow control of the waste stream illegal throughout the state, Horry County government is planning to expand waste operations of the Horry County Solid Waste Authority and carry the fight into the courts to maintain its government monopoly over the waste business within county borders.

For over three years now, Horry County has legislated that all waste generated within the county must be disposed at the county dump, also known as the Horry County Solid Waste Authority, at rates dictated by the SWA.

This is nothing more than maximizing the income stream for the county created SWA, which operates as a quasi-governmental authority, without the SWA having to compete in the free market against private companies. And it must work well because the SWA has cut no jobs, even in the depressed economy, and each of its over 100 employees received a $500 Christmas bonus in 2011 and 2012.

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S.C. Ethics Reform? – Don’t Bet On It

The South Carolina Commission on Ethics Reform, appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley late last year, released its recommendations to tighten state ethics laws Monday.

Some of the recommendations should be considered no-brainers, such as: (1) Disclosing all private sources of income, and identifying all “fiduciary” positions, or positions of trust, held, whether compensated or uncompensated; (2) banning leadership PAC’s; (3) expanding the definition of lobbyists and lobbyists principals and increasing their annual fee and (4) strengthening public corruption laws.

It would seem that number (1) with regard to sources of income would be the most important. From outside interests of lawmakers and other public officials corruption generally rises. However, don’t hold your breath waiting for that provision to become law.

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Curtis Loftis Will Seek Re-Election as Treasurer

South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis confirmed yesterday that he will seek re-election to his current office ending any speculation about his candidacy for governor in 2014.

This is important news for the citizens of South Carolina. Loftis brings openness, integrity and accountability to the job. He has been especially vigilant in attempting to end the secrecy and questionable practices of the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission, of which he is a voting member.

Those efforts to reform the SCRSIC made Loftis the target of an attempted political smear campaign in late 2011 featuring “leaked documents” and bogus claims of a supposed kickback scheme by two investment firms with close connections to, then, retirement system CEO Robert Borden.

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South Carolina’s Transportation Infrastructure Problems

The battle to save South Carolina’s transportation infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, seems to be joined in the state government this year.

A bill to do away with the State Infrastructure Bank and roll its responsibilities into the Department of Transportation appears to have a chance of success as does one that would require prioritizing road projects with maintenance and repair of existing roads as the top priority.

In her State of the State address, Gov. Nikki Haley urged state lawmakers to fix crumbling roads and bridges.

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1st Congressional District Musings

The race for the 1st Congressional District is one week old and a pattern for the race seems to already be developing.

Watching video of the candidates who chose to show up at the Sun City Republican gathering and an earlier one in Mt. Pleasant, leads us to several conclusions.

The best comment about the group of candidates that comes to mind is a paraphrase of Winston Churchill’s comment about Labor Party leader Clement Attlee – ‘They are a modest group, which has much to be modest about.’

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A Vote for the Libertarian Party

As political deadlock continues in Washington and the two major political parties in the country continue to play ‘gotcha’ politics that do nothing to address the needs of the nation, the Libertarian Party becomes an attractive alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

The following is an op-ed from an American in his early 30’s who has serious concerns about the political atmosphere in the country and what this means for the future.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Please join me in welcoming the band formerly known as the G.O.P.

After this week, they go by a new nickname, “The Band-Aids.” They released a new hit this week called, “A Very Wasteful Band-Aid.”

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Flow Control – ‘Don’t Tread on Me’

Horry County is preparing to sue the State of South Carolina if the General Assembly passes into law legislation currently before the General Assembly that would eliminate the Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s flow control monopoly of the county’s solid waste stream.

In a far reaching debate last week on flow control, home rule and revenue streams, the county Administration Committee passed a motion to put a resolution before full council directing the county administrator and attorney to begin searching for a law firm to represent the county. The catch phrase is “The Don’t Tread on Me” resolution.

As usual in Horry County when the debate is on the SWA and/or flow control, the committee and council are framing the debate wrong.

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The No Debt Limit Congress

When is a debt limit not a debt limit? When it’s in Congress.

You have to give those 535 people we send to Washington every couple of years to run the federal government credit. They find more creative ways every year not to do their job.

The latest is a debt limit that is not a limit because it will be suspended until May 18th while the Treasury continues borrowing to pay the nation’s immediate bills.

When we (as a nation) reach May 18th, we will have exceeded the statutory $16.4 trillion national debt limit without having a big Democrat/Republican showdown over fiscal policy. Actually, we reached the $16.4 trillion debt limit in the last days of 2012. The Treasury has been juggling the books since then to make it seem like we didn’t.

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Glider Pilot Illegal Arrest in South Carolina

Darlington County Sheriff’s Department officers made national news when details of their illegal arrest and detention of Robin Fleming, the pilot of a glider aircraft, was reported in Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association magazine this month.

The article details another example of totally screwed up police procedure, illegal arrest and detention and total disregard for the law, by law enforcement officials in a South Carolina jurisdiction.

A combination of invented charges, contradictory incident reports, total disregard for a private citizen’s civil rights and generally screwed up policing are evident from the details of the Fleming arrest. The old 9/11 standby excuse was even used at one point to justify the officers’ illegal actions.

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