What’s there and what’s not
Take a close look at this photo taken of the Statehouse this week. It’s pretty obvious that something big has changed — the Confederate flag is no longer prominent at the entrance of the complex. But guess what that does? It actually makes what’s there now in the foreground even more visible — a monument to a Confederate soldier! Photo by Andy Brack.
NEWSState’s economy doing better than you might think
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher
AUG. 14, 2015 | Feel like you’ve got a bit more of a cushion — a little bit more of cash in your pocket? Many in South Carolina do as favorable economic conditions tend to overshadow any potential problems.
Just look at some leading indicators: Home sales are up; gas prices are among the lowest in the nation. Unemployment is still higher than average, but not in the double digits statewide like it was just a couple of years back. And state sales and income tax collections — they’re at historically high levels.
“Recent numbers show a steadily strengthening economy,” said state Department of Revenue Director Rick Reames III.
Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt says the growth of existing industry in a state with a proven record of success is fueling efforts to recruit more businesses.
“We’re leading the Southeast in manufacturing job growth, and thanks to a terrific team-first approach, we have successfully recruited more than $5 billion in capital investment to our state in three of the last four years,” Hitt said. “From aerospace to automotive, agribusiness to tourism and everything in between, South Carolina’s diverse economy is healthier than it’s ever been, helping us ensure financial prosperity for South Carolinians today and in the years to come.”
South Carolina Realtors CEO Nick Kremydas sees an improving economy in real time.
“The only thing hotter than the weather this summer has been the real estate market, especially in the metro regions along the coast and Upstate,” he said.
New numbers from his trade association show home sales were up 15.7 percent in July 2015 compared to the previous year. Pending sales are up 7.5 percent for same time period — the same percentage increase in the average sales price, which now is $230,093.
One reason prices are going up is because there’s more demand — more people moving into the state or buying homes — than there has been lately. There were just over 40,000 homes for sale in the state in July, down 6 percent from the previous year.
“It’s rather simple,” Kremydas said. “As job conditions improve so does the real estate market.
“Our quality of life in South Carolina continues to attract families from across the country. New construction has not caught up to demand (yet) and that is driving prices up and inventories down in many markets.”
Other favorable indicators
More income. Personal income increased 1.2 percent to $183.7 billion in the first quarter of the year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
More workers. Nonfarm employment rose 0.5 percent by 10,400 workers in June from the previous month, according to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). While the labor force declined slightly from May to June, the state had a historic high in terms of the number of citizens working — 2,112,034, according to DEW.
“Our economy is making phenomenal progress with 67 consecutive months of employment growth,” said DEW Executive Director Cheryl Stanton. “Over the last 5½ years, there are more than 215,000 additional South Carolinians working, an expansion of more than 10 percent of the state’s workforce.”
Lower unemployment. The state’s unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent to 6.6 percent in June. If you drill down and look at employment on the county level, four counties (Allendale, Bamberg, Marlboro and Orangeburg) had unemployment rates of 10 percent or more in June 2015. Two years earlier, 19 of 46 counties had unemployment rates of 10 percent or more, according to DEW data. More: Monthly trends.
More tax income. With more people working, there’s more revenue generated by state government in sales and income taxes. Collections of those taxes provide an immediate indicator of the health of an economy because they’re collected and reported on a weekly and monthly basis.
“The June 2015 total General Fund tax collections were nearly $900 million dollars — $898,107,789 — the largest on record for the state of South Carolina,” Reames said. “In addition, FY 2014-2015 General Fund collection was up 7.1 percent compared to the prior year.”
Be on the lookout
While tax and job numbers have rebounded, not all indices are going up. Though the changes are slight, keep your eyes on these indicators too:
Leading index. The state’s Leading Index dropped 0.34 percent in July to 101.8, which is still considered positive because it’s above 100. The index predicts economic growth over the state for the next three to six months.
Stock index. The South Carolina Department of Commerce keeps up with Bloomberg’s S.C. Stock Index, which was 3.2 percent lower at the end of June compared to the previous month.
Hours. Commerce also highlights that average manufacturing weekly hours in May dropped 1.6 percent to 42 hours. Similarly average hourly earnings of all employees in private industry were slightly down across the state from about $22 in March to just under $21 in June. That metric is important because it provides an indication about the mix of jobs — manufacturing jobs tend to pay more than service industry jobs, for example.
In June, Clemson economist Bruce Yandle questioned whether the U.S. economy was losing its steam. He pointed to weak data on retail sales, low employment growth, slowing manufacturing activity and tame productivity growth.
COMMENTARYTime to get smart on crime
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher
AUG. 14, 2015 — Crime and punishment. There’s a whole book written about it. But there’s also been a series of important discussions about the topic over the summer held by the Riley Institute at Furman University that’s been mostly ignored by the media.
That’s too bad, particularly in our state where more than 21,000 people are in prison — six times more than 40 years ago. Of the number of people incarcerated in state prisons, 64 percent are black — more than double the percentage of African Americans who live in the Palmetto State.
But it’s not just a South Carolina problem, says historian Heather Thompson of the University of Michigan. It’s a national problem that she characterizes as the “civil rights crisis of the 21st century” because of how it impacts poverty, racial inequality and other community issues.
“It actually exacerbates all other inequalities — all other social problems that we face as a society, the things we seek to make better,” she told a Furman audience in July. “The way we’ve handled our justice system actually makes those things much, much worse.”
Some data she shared during the institute’s month-long weekly series called “Crime and Punishment: Thinking Outside the Cell:”
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Click on the chart to see better detail. Nationally, there are 2.4 million people in jails, state prisons and federal penitentiaries. That number means the United States has the world’s highest incarceration rate, by far. Places like Iraq, the United Kingdom, Australia and Saudi Arabia incarcerate 140 to 160 people per 100,000 citizens. In the U.S., there are 707 Americans per 100,000 people locked up. That number is seven times greater — 4,347 people per 100,000 — for black Americans.
- It’s not just a Southern problem, she said. In Pennsylvania, for example, the number of black prisoners outpace white prisoners by a 9-to-1 ratio.
- If you look at who is in jail compared to who is committing crimes, blacks far outpace whites. More than 70 percent of illegal drug users are white, she said, but 50 percent of drug prisoners are black, according to national data.
To suggest that the criminal justice system is completely color blind is as wacky as something illegal too many people smoke.
Fortunately, South Carolina is leading the way in sentencing reform, which has been lowering prison populations slightly and saving millions of dollars, said Riley Institute Assistant Director Jill Fuson, who organized the university’s “Straight Talk” series on crime. Advocates also point to one state prison that has closed and how another soon will.
“Too many times, the punishment given by our system of justice doesn’t fit the crime, and we are left with an over-incarcerated population, which cripples our economy and devastates individuals, families and their communities, particularly communities of color,” Fusion observed after the series ended this week. “While we all agree that there are criminals who are a threat to our society and need to be locked up, too many people are in prison because of minor non-violent offenses or perhaps because they suffer from mental illness and/or addiction.
“Moreover, upon release from prison, returning citizens find barriers to housing, mental and physical health services, and employment — making it very difficult to reintegrate successfully as contributing members of society.”
During the four sessions, observers heard from state legislators on the need for bipartisan reform to improve justice in South Carolina. Police chiefs and community members talked about the challenges facing the law enforcement officers in their communities. They heard from a lawyers, judges and state officials about conditions inside prisons. They heard from other officials, released prisoners and leaders about issues facing those who try to reenter society after being released.
Bottom line: Mass incarceration exists in South Carolina. It’s a drag on our economy. It’s a poor approach to solving community issues. It wastes taxpayer dollars to warehouse people instead of fixing conditions in communities that lead people to crime. And in many ways, it’s a morally irresponsible approach to justice.
When there are bad, violent people who threaten communities, they need to be locked away. But locking up thousands of non-violent offenders, particularly in a racially-disproportionate manner, is questionable. South Carolina needs to be smart on crime, not just tough on crime.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Send feedback to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
IN THE SPOTLIGHTElectric Cooperatives of South Carolina
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Statehouse Report to you at no cost. This week’s spotlighted underwriter is the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. More South Carolinians use power from electric cooperatives than from any other power source. South Carolina’s 20 independent, consumer-owned cooperatives deliver electricity in all 46 counties to more than 1.5 million citizens. As member-owned organizations, cooperatives recognize their responsibility to provide power that is affordable, reliably delivered and responsibly produced.
- More at www.ecsc.org or www.scliving.coop
Blacks haven’t been the only victims of racial discrimination
By Kendra Hamilton
AUG. 14, 2015 | I enjoyed the Statehouse Report’s discussion of “the elephant in the room” on July 31. But I think a missing element is South Carolina’s legacy of violence against and coercion of … other whites. Two “integration stories” told by friends my age come to mind — stories that helped to shape my thinking, as an African American with deep South Carolina roots, on the dimensions of the problem facing us.
The first, I heard 20 years ago. A bosom friend from Gonzales, La., confided the terror and confusion that descended upon her childhood when she learned that her best friend’s father, a known Klan leader, was believed “by everyone” to have murdered another classmate’s father, a Jew who was active in civil rights. This was in the year that the names Goodman, Schwerner and Cheney screamed from the headlines — but she recalls everyone she knew speaking, if at all, in whispers.
The second I heard last year, while planning the Nat Fuller Feast in Clinton. A Baptist minister on the organizing team — the son of a Baptist minister from rural Georgia — shared the story of waking up one morning and walking out of the door to catch the bus to school … only to see that his house had been vandalized: covered with signs, front and back yards, reading “nigger lover.” He was a popular kid, a football player. His brother was the quarterback. But their father had been preaching against segregation and this public humiliation was the family’s lot.
Who did these people grow up to be? Well, the Baptist minister from Georgia refused to be intimidated, and his son also became a Baptist minister and warrior for civil rights who preaches racial justice here in the heart of a county that practiced lynch law as late as 1937. My girlfriend, meanwhile, found her voice and became a writer, but she remains traumatized, isolated and scapegoated by her family for being “different” and “liberal.”
Why do I repeat these stories? Because I believe whites, in the words of that old song, are not only “carefully taught” to hate, but they are also carefully conditioned to know the consequences if they don’t. The older that one is, the deeper this conditioning runs, and it’s based in part on a well-founded fear of physical harm.
We’re starting to speak openly of the mobs that formed in the 1870s though the 1930s. We’re starting to tell the stories of the African American victims. These are new things, things I didn’t know I’d see in my lifetime. But what we must also acknowledge is that those mobs, their rage and violence, were not just aimed at blacks — the victims included whites as well. Folks who joined the Republican Party, who claimed black kin, or who failed to hide their liking or their loves across the color line, people who were careless, who just didn’t care — these were driven out of the state or defamed, ostracized — disappeared — to create the illusion of a “solid South.”
This, too, is part of the “hidden history” of the South.
As an African American of many generations derivation in South Carolina, there are stories in my family of enslavement and Emancipation, of surviving election riots in the 1870s and ‘90s, of finding the occasional ally, but mostly of out-waiting, outwitting or just enduring the ever-present, ever-implacable hostility of whites. These stories functioned the way the spirituals did, as a psychological armor, helping us to survive and even to thrive with our spirits and souls intact.
But it occurs to me that the taboos surrounding discussions of racial matters in the South — the deeply engrained habits of omission and silence — have left whites not just lacking in command of historical facts or an appropriate vocabulary, they have also left people who profess to be non- or anti-racist without an armor to protect them against a common foe: actual racists.
The “elephant in the room” asks what does the state need to do to move forward. Whites must acknowledge that violence and coercion have been exercised against them, too: an external means of control applied until obedience to the “white code” became internalized, automatic.
This is a form of racial trauma, dealt at the hands of their own people, people, who in many cases, claimed to be acting in the name of love. Whites will be called upon to acknowledge these experiences and to connect them to the discussion that began with #blacklivesmatter, that intensified with the Emanuel Nine, and that encompasses even the outcry over the Atticus Finch of [Harper Lee’s] Go Set a Watchman.
Dr. Kendra Hamilton, a Charleston County native, is a poet and assistant professor of English at Presbyterian College where she is director of the Southern Studies Program.
FEEDBACKHave automatic voter registration
To the editor:
While you have those state senators by the shirt collar, talk them into submitting a bill to change state law to register all citizens to vote automatically when they reach voting age.
Stop the practice of requiring people to register to vote. The voter registration system should be simplified and not require voters to jump through so many loops to practice their “right to vote.” Let’s get rid of the requirement to register to vote.
— Lee Ingle, Sumter, S.C.
Send us a letter. We love hearing from our readers and encourage you to share your opinions. Letters to the editor are published weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. We generally publish all comments about South Carolina politics or policy issues, unless they are libelous or unnecessarily inflammatory. One submission is allowed per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information.
- Send your letters to: feedback@statehousereport.com
The good, bad, ugly and sad
Thumbs up
Greenville Republicans. Hats off to the Upstate city for attracting a national debate on Feb. 13 that will feature the 2016 Republican candidates. More.
Disclosure. A national foundation says the state’s lobbying disclosure laws are among the best in the nation. Hooray — something we do well! More.
Fees. Kudos to U.S District Judge Richard Gergel for ordering the state of South Carolina to pay more than $135,000 in legal fees to the couple who challenged the ban on same-sex marriage. It’s fitting that Attorney General Alan Wilson should get his come-uppance from the court. Many observers agreed he wasted state tax dollars on enforcing the state’s gay marriage ban after a similar ban was found unconstitutional in Virginia, which is in the same federal circuit as South Carolina. More.
In the middle
Domestic violence. It was so tough for state lawmakers to approve tougher penalties for abusers that we have a mixed view of a challenge to the law based on a question of whether it applies to same-sex and unwed couples. Is it cynical to wonder whether some saw this coming, but didn’t try to fix it? More.
Thurmond. We’re saddened to learn that S.C. Sen. Paul Thurmond, R-Charleston, announced he won’t run for election. But his reasoning is good — he and his wife have a fifth child on the way and he needs to be at home more. We’re pretty sure we’ll hear more from Thurmond.
Thumbs down
DHEC Board. Thumbs down to the board of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for heavy handedness. If you don’t believe that business protects business, take a look at how the GOP-heavy board is questioning a $230,000 fine levied by the agency against Sonoco — a fine the company says it will pay — for an unpermitted coal ash dump. What this kind of intrusion does is to chill the agency to chill out on future fines against business. Memo to DHEC board: Put the environment first; that’s your job. More.
Fielding. We’re saddened to learn of the death of former S.C. Sen. Herbert U. Fielding, D-Charleston. A quiet but strong leader, he was the first black elected to the General Assembly after Reconstruction. Rest in peace. More.
NUMBER$898,107,789
That’s the amount of total General Fund tax collections by the state — the highest month of collections in the state’s history, according to S.C. Department of Revenue Director Rick Reames III. Read more in our news story.
Wanted two sets of rules?
In a story in The New York Times about the state being forced to pay $135,000 in legal fees to attorneys for a same-sex couple seeking a marriage license, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel took S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson to task for criticizing opposing attorneys’ work as excessive:
“If that is so, one might reasonably ask why the state filed a 57-page brief raising a broad array of procedural and substantive issues, including a methodical attack on recent Fourth Circuit precedent. [The attorney general] “cannot engage in a no holds bar defense and then complain,” [that the opposing counsel spent too much time responding.]
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIAPrisons and penitentiaries
S.C. Encyclopedia | The first significant jail in South Carolina, a twelve-foot square designed to accommodate sixteen prisoners, was built in Charleston in 1769. Additional jails were built following the division of South Carolina into judicial districts. According to one account, “These jails were forbidding structures, reared to prevent escape and make life gloomy for their inmates.”
South Carolina was slow to join the national penal reform movement taking place in antebellum America, and prison confinement as punishment remained relatively rare in the state. As late as 1813 the death penalty remained the standard punishment for no fewer than 165 crimes, although this harsh sentence was seldom carried out. Fines were by far the most popular method of punishment, followed by corporal punishments such as whipping or branding. Confinement in county jails seldom exceeded thirty days, and prison terms of more than three years were extremely rare. Overcrowding in county jails was the rule, and escapes were frequent. Nor were criminals sorted by offense, and offenders ranging from petty thieves to murderers could frequently be found in the same cell.
Although calls to reform the criminal code and establish a state penitentiary were commonplace in antebellum South Carolina, the General Assembly failed to take any concrete action until after the Civil War. In September 1866 the General Assembly passed an act establishing a state penitentiary. Situated on the banks of the Columbia Canal in the capital city, the facility began accepting prisoners in April 1868. Renamed in 1965 as the Central Correctional Institution (CCI), it became the most notorious of the state’s prisons.
At the time of its construction, the new state penitentiary was considered revolutionary in its humanity, despite the fact that the original tiered cell block did not have a roof. Inmates slept on straw and climbed to their cells on ladders. The most infamous characteristic of the prison was a quarter-mile-long tunnel that started at the chapel and ended at the living areas. It was necessary to use this tunnel to move to any location within the prison. The inmates referred to it as “purgatory” because it was between “heaven” (the chapel) and “hell” (the living quarters). This area saw frequent outbreaks of violence, including a near riot between 200 black and white inmates in 1981.
Another significant feature was the death house, which operated between 1912 and 1986. During that time 195 blacks and 48 whites were put to death in the electric chair. The original Cell Block One was still in use at the time of the prison’s closure. Since the building did not meet state fire codes, inmates had to volunteer to be housed in the five-feet by eight-feet cells that were locked with large padlocks. CCI was closed in 1994 when it was replaced by the 1,468-bed, $45 million Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville. During 127 years of operation CCI housed 80,000 inmates and had 243 executions performed within its walls.
As of 2002, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (established in 1960) operated twenty-nine prisons. Combined, they housed more than 21,000 inmates. Each facility is categorized into one of four divisions. Division I institutions are minimum security, meaning that inmates are housed in double-bunk cubicles or open-bay wards and the perimeters of the facility are not fenced. These institutions are usually for inmates who have been convicted of nonviolent offenses and who have been given relatively short sentences.
There are two varieties of this type of institution—prerelease centers and prisons. Prerelease centers prepare inmates for the transition back into society through specialized programs. Inmates are usually transferred from another prison to the prerelease center no more than thirty-six months prior to their scheduled release. There are seven of these centers scattered among Aiken, Florence, Richland, York, Charleston, and Spartanburg Counties. Additionally, there are four minimum-security prisons variously located in both Richland and Spartanburg Counties.
Division II institutions are considered to be medium security. This means that most of the facilities double bunk inmates in cells, while a few use double-bunk cubicles. Usually there is a single fence around the perimeter of the institution. The seven Division II prisons are in Clarendon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Jasper, Richland, Spartanburg, and Sumter Counties.
The highest security levels are Division III prisons, in which violent offenders with long sentences are housed. The inmates are single or double bunked with close supervision and limited movement. The perimeters of these facilities are double fenced and staffed with armed guards and electronic security. There are nine such institutions in the state in Allendale, Anderson, Dorchester, Lancaster, Lee, Marlboro, McCormick, and Richland Counties.
Women’s facilities constitute a separate division (IV) but have the same security levels as the men’s facilities. There are two maximum-security facilities for women: the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, located at the Broad River correctional complex in Columbia; and Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood. A third facility, Goodman Correctional Institution, is minimum security and is in Columbia. In addition to state prisons, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has two facilities in the state, one in Edgefield and one in Estill. These prisons house inmates who have been convicted of federal crimes.
– Excerpted from the entry by Reid C. Toth. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)
CREDITSEditor and Publisher: Andy Brack
Senior Editor: Bill Davis
Contributing Photographers: Michael Kaynard, Linda W. Brown
Phone: 843.670.3996
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