Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina continues believe that it is more important to engage in ideological posturing than to help the citizens of his state. Rejecting stimulus money, which is intended to help South Carolina’s economy and educational system, has become a kind of crusade for the governor. He’d rather look like a true believer in the eyes of Grover Norquist types, apparently, than use federal funds to improve the lives of real people in his state.
He recently told an unemployed South Carolinian that rather than take stimulus money, he’d say some prayers for the unemployed. He also wants to reject stimulus money dedicated for educational purposes, even if it costs 4,000 S.C. teachers their jobs. For Governor Sanford, it doesn’t matter if your school is falling apart, or if your class sizes are getting out of control; what matters is that he makes a point about his dedication to his morally and economically bankrupt principles.
Sanford goes as far as to say that accepting federal aid for his state’s school system would be “fiscal child abuse” because it results from deficit spending and therefore isn’t sustainable. So if you are a teacher in South Carolina, and you find yourself unemployed, or if you are a student in a crumbling school, things may be pretty grim for you. But you can rest assured that your governor sleeps well at night, knowing that he is sticking to his belief that the magical market and small government will solve all of our problems. The fact that is isn’t true doesn’t seem to matter to Sanford at all.
h/t: D