Have you reserved your space at the “Sanfordville” tent city set to go up tomorrow at Finlay Park? Here’s where to sign up, and here’s the release I got about it today:
South Carolinians to protest Sanford’s refusal to use stimulus money for education and law enforcement with “tent city” near Governor’s Mansion
On Tuesday, April 7, concerned citizens from all over South Carolina will erect a “tent city” in Finlay Park (Taylor and Gadsden Street) near the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia. The “tent city protest” will run from 10:00 AM until midnight. The symbolic protest is in response to Governor Mark Sanford’s continued refusal to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money meant for public education and law enforcement. State leaders from both political parties predict that Sanford’s actions could lead to the firing of thousands of teachers and hundreds of prison guards.
South Carolina’s unemployment rate is currently the second highest in the nation and education and law enforcement budgets have already endured deep cuts. Sanford has consistently ignored pleas from teachers, parents and law enforcement officials to use this funding to prevent disastrous consequences.
Special guests will visit the “tent city” throughout the day. A list of guests will be distributed by tomorrow morning. Contact Brady Quirk-Garvan for more information at 843-743-5453 or [email protected]
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Yes, you’ve seen this before.
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As The State paper reported on Sunday, the reduced spending plan of the Senate is still more money than was spent last year. The state plans to spend $1 BILLION more in 2010 than in 2008.
There is no shortage of money, no crisis, no chaos, no need to lay off any teachers, police, or fire fighters.
Look at the Columbia, SC plans to spend their stimulus pork money on projects which are not necessary, must cooked up to blow the money on computers, new software projects, etc:
http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_city/Columbia/SC
Partisan Gap in Obama Job Approval Widest in Modern Era
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1178/polarized-partisan-gap-in-obama-approval-historic
I appreciate the Republican BS firehose, but I’ll start listening when a budget with numbers is produced by somebody and put on the internet where we can all read it. The tactic currently being deployed here is called round robin confusion. Distribute conflicting information to the public, hope they are unsophisticated and give up.
The schools are certainly not going to have more money. The state may well be paying out more in unemployment compensation. I’ve got 7 years of college and law school. 1 year of economics, courses in accounting, history, corporate law and commercial paper. I can handle some detail and complexity.
I’ll believe the Republicans when they release full, detailed budgets and comparisons. Until them, I’ll hold them collectively responsible for being unable to agree, within 500 million dollars, about how much money they have.
However, next fall my son needs to take Geometry at Wando High School to graduate and qualify for college admission on time. I need to know two numbers. 1. How many geometry class sections will be available at Wando HS next fall and 2. how many kids will be in each class.
Unlike the BS numbers the Republicans are trading, these numbers are very real, but they don’t exist yet since nobody knows how many teachers the school will have.
I understand the Republicans don’t want my son to go to Public School. However, Wando High School is an excellent school and I paid a significant premium for to buy a house in its attendance zone. I intend to hold the people responsible for this to their commitment. I’ve raised money with the PTA, paid taxes, paid extra for my house and supported my son’s school in every way requested.
When we were working on the Wando Fundraiser, we didn’t have the luxury of standing around wondering what table rental cost. We knew. That is how adults plan things with budgets that depend on income.
The real goal of the Republicans is to put everything off until after the school year ends so they can run the school system into a ditch when nobody is organized to do anything about it.
They misapprehend the Internets trans formative change in how communities organize politically.
Thanks, William. You said all I wanted to. For more information on how Sanford and friends are living up to the donations given to them by anti-school advocates, please visit here: http://stophowardrichsc.blogspot.com/
And this little rally is going to accomplish what? Proving that people are idiots and really need to be using their time more wisely? I’m sure we’ll see Brad down there, if it’s a rally to bash the governor you can count on obsessed Brad to be there in the front row.
For the record, the stimulus site posted above by Lee is NOT the government website dedicated to transparency, but an independent website that allows viewers to vote and edit descriptions of shovel-ready projects identified by the US Conference of Mayors. The money will be administered by federal grant programs.
The government website tracking the dollars coming to SC is located here.
Mr. Ivey, are you denying that list of projects?
They came from the City of Columbia, from the mayor’s office.
Mr. Hamilton,
I got my numbers from Hugh Leatherman. They show more spending this year than any year in history.
His talk of “budget cuts” is a ruse. The legislature jacked up a budget that they knew was unrealistic, then “cut it” back and cried fake tears.
There is no shortage of money, just a shortage of honesty in the Senate.
Lee,
I’m not denying that the mayor submitted that list of projects. However, the site you linked to explains that some, all or none of the projects listed may receive stimulus funds. It’s a wiki site designed to allow people to provide feedback and information about projects that are already planned and may or may not receive stimulus funds.
Let’s not lose focus on my main point – most of these projects are junk we don’t need. What few we might need, like some street work, are things we already have the money to do.
Mayor Coble has never been able to balance the books or pass an audit.
Now, he wants us to believe the city will have a web site up with accurate, real-time information.
According to the Leatherman budget, the state has 4% increases in spending, including education.
So what are these demonstrators crying about?