Issue Position: Economy

Issue Position

South Carolina began with the promise of opportunity. In 1670, Charleston was settled with the goal of becoming "a great port town," and to this day, Charleston is still a gateway of commerce to the world. But rather than cultivate and strengthen this promise of prosperity and hope, our governor has allowed much of South Carolina to descend into economic collapse, with almost one quarter of our residents living in poverty.

I know we can do better. My approach to delivering economic opportunity for all South Carolinians will require us to reform the three pillars that support a healthy economy: our neglected public education system; our crumbling roads, bridges and infrastructure; and our antiquated ethics laws.

It was a proud moment for South Carolina when Boeing selected our state for expansion. But the headlines fail to mention that many of the jobs created will not be filled by South Carolinians. Why? Because we haven't developed the workforce to fill those new jobs. If we are going to prepare our students for the jobs of the future, we must begin preparing them before they enter first grade. This means guaranteeing every child access to a quality pre-K education.

The jobs of the future are not just in engineering and science, like with Boeing, but in the creative arts that support them. Our schools must provide for STEAM education -- science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Diverse education through STEAM will create the technological and artistic communities needed to improve our quality of life and attract more investment into the state.

But let's not put the cart before the horse. We cannot expect our children to pursue higher education unless it is affordable and accessible. That's why I have a plan to lock in college tuition for all incoming freshmen at our state's colleges and universities.

As industry expands, so does the need for reliable infrastructure to support the business of doing business. To bring our state to the minimum threshold for safety and efficient commerce, we must have a dedicated funding source to fix our roads and bridges.

Through a repeal of the personal income tax and marginal increases in the fuel tax, we can bypass Columbia politicians and fund infrastructure projects by priority of need rather than pork. Lastly, the Port of Charleston directly impacts one in every five jobs in South Carolina. As governor, I'll see that we fund the expansion and dredging of Charleston Harbor so that we can continue to be a gateway for world commerce.

Improvements in education and infrastructure will yield long-term results, but we also need to increase economic growth in the short term. I support increasing the state's minimum wage and offsetting the increase with small business tax credits. Study after study shows that raising the minimum wage reduces poverty. It is also an economic catalyst as those additional wages are directly spent in state. But with almost a quarter of South Carolinians living in poverty, I think that it's the fair thing to do -- plain and simple common sense.

Finally, we must reform our ethics laws. The cozy relationship between special interests and government is not good for you -- the consumer. It results in government picking winners and losers in the marketplace, causing businesses to move cautiously and ultimately stifling innovation. Through comprehensive ethics reform, term limits and changes to our campaign finance laws, we can deliver a clear message that we will nurture entrepreneurism and help small and existing businesses succeed.

These common sense reforms will bring prosperity to all of our residents and not just a chosen few. As an independent, I don't serve party bosses; I serve you the people of our great state. This is an economic plan for our state to build an inclusive economy for all. On November 4th, you will have a choice. You can choose between two career politicians who have represented only special interests, or you can choose Tom Ervin, a truly independent reformer. I will be a governor for all of South Carolina.

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