Index Journal - Scott Tells of His Struggles During Stop at Goodwill

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By Ariel Gilreath

Sen. Tim Scott stopped by Greenwood's Goodwill Industries on Monday afternoon during his Upstate visit to Greenwood, Anderson and Abbeville counties to talk to local residents.

Scott, South Carolina's junior senator who was elected during a special election in November to finish previous senator Jim DeMint's term, spoke with employees of Goodwill Industries and students in the adult classes program about his background and any questions they wanted to ask.

Scott said he tasted failure in his life when he flunked out of ninth grade, and it's important to get up after falling down.

"I found that through my time with the Goodwill Industries that getting up is a part of what they do," said Scott, who mentioned that he worked undercover in a Goodwill in Greenville after he first became senator.

Scott said he talked with customers and workers while there and sorted clothes and books while pretending to be an employee.

"It was a great experience for me because it helped me understand firsthand the importance of Goodwill," Scott said. "The importance of having a family of people dedicated and committed to other peoples' success."

Scott told the crowd he grew up in poverty, and his first job was servicing oil at a gas station when a friend told him he could think his way out of poverty with education.

"As a kid growing up in a single-parent household, as a kid mired in poverty, as a kid who just didn't understand that, I really thought that the only way out of poverty for me in my neighborhood were either selling drugs or football, those were the only two options I had," Scott said.

"That is not to suggest that if you're in poverty it's because you're not thinking, that is not the suggestion, but the suggestion is that there are other avenues other than entertainment and illegal activities."

Scott took questions from the crowd, including what are some upcoming items on legislation, which he mentioned defense funding, tax reform, infrastructure needs, prescription drug abuse and information about jobs.

"In the nation we produce about $36 billion for infrastructure, we need about $48 to $50 billion on an annual basis," Scott said. "We have to find a dedicated source for our infrastructure while addressing our anti-competitive environment because of our taxes and regulatory burdens that are growing very quickly."

Scott said South Carolina has done a good job of becoming a hub for high-tech manufacturing, and jobs are beginning to have a sweet spot where workers will need more than a high school degree, but less than a four-year college degree.

"You don't necessarily need a college education -- you do need a sweet spot," Scott said. "The sweet spot of the future is the middle skills jobs, where you need more than a high school diploma but not quite a four-year degree; there is a beautiful market manifesting before our eyes in that sector."

Scott said the reason for his visit was to talk with people and hear from them.

"It gives me a chance to appreciate the specific topics that are important to them as opposed to what I think is important to them," Scott said. "I often say that sometimes elected officials want to speak for people that they haven't spoken to, and so for me it's important to come out and speak to the people so that then I can do a better job of speaking for the people."

Scott said his office will remain objective in regard to the Republican Party presidential candidates, but a town hall series will be done with each candidate starting with Republican Mike Huckabee in Anderson in July.

Patrick Michaels, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Upstate and Midlands South Carolina, said Scott wanted to meet some of the people who work with Goodwill, and there were people who are seeking certificates in their adult education program present as well.

"Piedmont Tech really does the training, but Goodwill helps the people be successful in the training and afterwards," Michaels said, adding the organization has served more than 2,200 people and placed more than 500 in jobs.

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