u gotta love it
Sanford's effort has even irked some Republican lawmakers in the state, who had made plans to use at least $350 million of the money for state budget items before learning of the governor's decision.
"What I think's happening here is he has made headlines again, national headlines, and that is what he is after," said state Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, a Republican who introduced a measure Thursday that would allow the Legislature to circumvent Sanford's actions.
In rural South Carolina, jobs -- and hope -- fade
Friday March 13, 3:29 pm ET
By Bruce Smith, Associated Press Writer
In hard-hit South Carolina, hope and jobs fade in many small towns, but faith remains
ALLENDALE, S.C. (AP) -- On most days, freight trains rumble past vacant storefronts in the center of town, seldom ever stopping anymore. The rail spurs leading to a shuttered grain elevator are brown with rust, the buildings closed off by a chain-link fence.
ADVERTISEMENT
Along nearby U.S. Highway 301, the gutted remains of a half-dozen motels recall the days four decades ago when 17 million motorists passed through each year on their way to Florida. That ended when Interstate 95 opened to the east, bypassing Allendale altogether.
Allendale has been suffering for a long time, but now the recession has worsened its woes, and the town -- with a crippling 23.4 percent unemployment rate -- stands as perhaps the most distressed spot in one of the most distressed states in America. South Carolina's jobless rate is 10.4 percent, second only to Michigan's 11.6 percent.
In fact, it's getting so bad across the state that rural places like Allendale don't feel so left behind anymore.
"We here in Allendale County -- and the four or five counties around -- we're used to it to a certain extent," said Carl Gooding, a county councilman who owns a small radio station. "Some of the other people in the world and in the metropolitan areas of this state are lately finding out there is such a thing as a recession and having to really go out and scramble."
Economists say several factors have contributed to South Carolina's problems. Unlike, say, North Carolina, South Carolina is not a banking center or home to a cluster of colleges and high-tech companies. Unlike Georgia, it does not have a big city like Atlanta that can attract college graduates to white-collar jobs.
The state relies heavily on manufacturing -- including BMW automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, textiles and Vought aircraft -- as well as trade, transportation and retail. But many of the manufacturing jobs have been going overseas or disappearing altogether over the past few decades, and the trend has accelerated during this recession, especially in rural areas.
Amid forecasts of a feeble summer of tourism, the state's largest industry, some economists are predicting South Carolina's unemployment rate will hit 14 percent.
Before federal bailout money, the state had to cut $1 billion from a $7 billion budget because of a drop-off in tax revenue. Government workers have been ordered to take unpaid days off. About 135,000 people are collecting some $20 million a week in unemployment benefits, and the state is borrowing federal cash to foot the bill.
Job fairs draw hundreds more applicants than the number of positions available. Food pantries run short of food.
One small town announced this week it is canceling its annual festival and considering a giant yard sale instead. But it is unclear who has money to spend.
Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is a leading critic of federal stimulus money and is pushing to use the cash over which he has some say to pay off debt. State lawmakers plan to fight him on that. Sanford instead has called for tax cuts to help the economy.
What is clear is that the economic downturn has slammed South Carolina's rural areas and the state's industrialized, western I-85 corridor, said Bruce Yandle, retired dean of Clemson University's College of Business and Behavorial Science.
In Allendale, in the far southeastern corner of South Carolina, unemployment rose when a nearby textile plant closed 15 months ago, throwing hundreds out of work. Two other plants in neighboring Barnwell County are to close by June. Elsewhere around the state, a sock plant in Whitmire (pop. 1,500) recently closed at a cost of 570 jobs.
Allendale County, with a population of 10,400, has lost about 1,300 people since 1990, and some say it is getting tougher to stay.
Billy Hill, 33, drives several hours to Columbia or Aiken when nursing jobs become available. "I know I'll have to leave Allendale," he said. "You almost don't have a choice. There isn't much around here. But Allendale isn't the only county that is facing this."
Those still here, like 62-year-old Helen Ritter, are learning to cope with less.
"We cut back on things we buy and going places. Going to Barnwell to the Wal-Mart, that's a no-no," said Ritter, who worked at a local carpet mill for more than 35 years but lost her job in late 2007 when the place closed. Now, through a federal program for older people, she puts in 18 hours a week at $6.55 an hour doing clerical and custodial work.
Hermeione Flowers said her family -- three children, including a son in college -- has cut back on cell phone service and eating out since she lost her state job. Her husband is still drawing a paycheck from a lumber mill.
"Thank God he's still working and hasn't heard anything about any layoffs, but you just have to trust in the Lord," said Flowers, who added that she is giving more time to her church. "I think this is a test of our faith and people need to learn to look to God and not to things."
500,000 house in florida went for 28,000
u can say goodbye to that repig in sc!