State of South Carolina Archives: on Budget & Economy
Joe Biden:
Under 2009 Recovery Act, we had one place to call
I hope what they do is what we did in another circumstance when we had a $900 billion Recovery Act. We had one place in the White House, in the vice president's office. I put together an entire team, any governor, mayor, anyone could
contact immediately, know where it's going, know what the money would be, know how it would get there, etc. There has to be management here. That's really critical. It should begin right now [during the pandemic].
Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries
Mar 27, 2020
Jaime Harrison:
Push for aggressive infrastructure investment
Across South Carolina, hundreds of miles of roads are crumbling, bridges need urgent repairs, high-speed broadband internet skips over our rural areas, and sea-level rise threatens our seaports. Together, the failure to invest in infrastructure harms
our quality of life and raises the cost of doing business. Jaime will push for aggressive investments in our infrastructure to ensure that government fulfills its most basic duties.
Source: 2020 S.C. Senate campaign website, JaimeHarrison.com
Dec 12, 2019
Ralph Norman:
Deal with $19 trillion debt by Balanced Budget Amendment
Ralph's Plan: Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. The greatest threat to our national and economic security as a nation is our ever-growing $19 trillion debt. Forcing Congress (like we force our State Legislature)
to have a balanced budget each year will end the out-of-control government spending.Why I Am Running for Congress: I want to put my qualifications to work.
I am the only candidate with a successful business record, as well as proven experience--albeit brief--in the political arena. As a businessman, I have provided jobs for hundreds of people in our community & have helped to strengthen our local economy.
I understand how the economy works, how to balance a checkbook, and how to deliver a product on time and under budget-skills Congress desperately needs.
Source: 2017 S.C. House campaign website, ElectRalphNorman.com
May 16, 2017
Henry McMaster:
Fight the "stimulus" law
2009: Led the Stimulus fight: Issued the opinion which provided the legal roadmap for the
General Assembly and the courts to address questions concerning the federal "stimulus" law.
Source: 2010 S.C. Gubernatorial campaign website HenryMcMaster.com
Jan 11, 2017
Thomas Ravenel:
Government over-reacted to Great Recession: enough is enough
It's no secret government spending is out of control--and has been for decades. Enough is enough: If we don't turn things around now future generations are going to be unable to support themselves. In fact it's getting harder with each passing day--
as government's overreaction to the "Great Recession" has ushered in an era of sustained joblessness and economic lethargy. Cutting government is vital to restoring the competitive balance in our system--and empowering job makers and job seekers in our
consumer economy.My default setting will be to take a machete to Washington's waste, duplication, inefficiency and unnecessary programs. I'll also make you this promise: Any one coming to my office with a plan to spend one additional dime of your tax
money on a new government program better also come with a plan to get rid of an equal amount. We cannot afford to let government to continue its mindless growth.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, RavenelForSenate.com
Sep 1, 2014
Brad Hutto:
It's time for Congress to spend less and cut waste
Just like families all over America are doing, Brad believes it's time for Congress to tighten their belts, spend less and cut waste. He believes we should better prioritize spending to reflect the real needs our country faces within its own borders.
Brad will fight any attempt to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who have already made huge sacrifices for our country. He will oppose any attempt to harm Medicare and Social Security.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, BradHutto.com
Jun 25, 2014
Mark Sanford:
Tipping point as civilization if we don't get spending right
Sanford stressed his efforts to rein in spending as a 3-term member of Congress and 2-term governor, noting that he was the first governor to turn back economic stimulus funds. "It all goes back to Nancy Pelosi and others. They have not pushed for
financial discipline in Washington, D.C.," he said."We're at an incredible tipping point as a civilization and I think if we don't get spending right in Washington, D.C., there will be real consequences," Sanford said. "I've gotten into this race with
the hope of taking what I've learned in Congress, what I learned in the governorship and what I've learned on the way up and on the way down and applying it to what I believe is the great debate of our civilization, which is indeed, how do we get our
financial house in order."
Colbert Busch portrayed things differently. "Here's the fundamental difference. This is not the end of our time as we know it," she said. "The sky is not falling Henny Penny. In fact our best days are ahead of us."
Source: News12 on 2013 S.C. House District 1 debate
Apr 29, 2013
Nikki Haley:
It's time for truth in budgeting; & government spending cap
During the past several years, agencies have faced financial challenges and used fund balances and flexibility to shift money between accounts to cover expenses like rent and payroll. With revenues increasing, state government needs to stop these
non-transparent accounting practices. It's time for truth in budgeting. In my Executive Budget, we have funded agency operations with recurring funds so that taxpayers can see how much and where money is spent. No more agency shell games.
No more one-time money for multi-year expenses. Much of the so-called "growth" in this budget is not growth at all, but simply us being honest about how much it costs to operate state government.To permanently control spending, our government can
and must function within a spending cap. Any General Fund dollars above and beyond that cap must go towards tax relief, debt relief, or reserve funds. We cannot continue to spend every dollar we have. It has to end.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
Jim DeMint:
$13T in debt shows both parties are out of control
The people in Washington have clearly gotten out of control, in both parties. When you have $13 trillion in debt, you've got a big problem. I came into the Senate in the majority: 55 senators; a large majority in the House; Bush in the White House.
And Republicans didn't do what we said we were going to do. We spent too much. We borrowed too much. And, frankly, if we get the majority again, even if it's just in the House and we don't do what we say, I think the Republican Party is dead.
Source: CNN "State of the Union" coverage: 2010 S.C. Senate debate
Sep 19, 2010
Fred Thompson:
Consider stimulus package targeted to low-income people
Q: Do you support a short-run government stimulus package or should we just leave the economy alone?A: Unemployment is up to five percent. That used to be considered full employment, but we’re going in the wrong direction with regard to that.
It’s not just the subprime market now. It’s poured over into the general housing market. Credit is scarce. It’s affected the consumer credit market in general. If you’re talking about automobile loans or you’re talking about credit card thieves
or anything like that, the money is getting tighter and tighter. We still have a bunch of two-handed economists in Washington. On the one hand, we may go into recession, and, on the other hand, we may not. Nobody knows.
We had a stimulus package back in ‘01. It’s targeted toward the lower income people. I think that has to be considered somewhere along the line if the economy calls for it, not today, but perhaps a little later on.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
John McCain:
To avoid recession, stop out-of-control spending
Q: If we’re talking about a recession in the next few months, in 2008, what kind of short-term, more immediate government fixes would you propose to try to keep the slowdown diminished or to reverse it? And would you support them even if they added to th
government deficit?A: The first thing we need to do is stop the out-of-control spending. Out-of-control spending is what caused the interest rates to rise. It causes people to be less able to afford to own their own homes. We need to stop the spending
And the way we can get our budget under control is to have strong, fundamental fiscal underpinnings. The second thing that we need to do, of course, is stop spending $400 billion a year overseas to oil-producing countries that come right out of our
economy immediately. Some of that money goes, unfortunately, to fund terrorist organizations. We’ve got to develop technologies to reduce this dependency on foreign oil, and eventually eliminate it, and stop this outflow of some $400 billion a year.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
Fuel prices & subprime mortgages possibly cause recession
I hope we’re not headed toward recession, but if we are, there’s four factors that will be the reason.- Fuel prices: Everything costs more because it took more money to transport it. With our dependency upon foreign oil, if we don’t begin to revers
that and become energy independent, we well could continue this enslavement to foreign oil, and ultimately wreck our economy.
- Subprime mortgages: Two million people today in America risk losing their homes. Now, there’s culpability on both lender, as
well as a lot of borrowers who bought more home than they could.
- Health care costs
- Education costs. All those factors together.
And a lot of people are working harder this year than a year ago, and yet they’re not getting ahead. Even if they
make more money, they’re not making enough money to make up. So the first thing is not raise taxes, cut the marginal tax rates, if anything, and eventually go to a fair tax which really does stop the penalties on people’s productivity.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
Mitt Romney:
To avoid recession, deal with housing crisis & gas prices
What do we have to do at the federal level to keep a recession from occurring? - We’re going to have to make sure that we stop the housing crisis.
- We’re going to have to reduce taxes on middle-income Americans immediately.
- We’re going to have
to deal with gas prices. We’re going to have to finally become energy independent and make the investments in new technology that will allow us to get there.
- And, finally, R&D, investments in science and technology. That’s an area where America can
continue to lead the world.
It’s time for us not just to talk about improving our economy; we’re going to have to do the hard work of rebuilding our economy, strengthening it. And I know that there are some people who think that some jobs have left
that are never coming back. I disagree. I’m going to fight for every single job, in every state in this country. We’re going to fight for jobs & make sure that our future is bright. We’re going to protect the jobs of Americans and grow this economy again
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
Ron Paul:
Lower interest rates CAUSED housing bubble & can’t solve it
The housing market’s already in depression and a lot of people are hurt and the standing of living in this country is going down. Look at what’s happening to the dollar.And what is being offered? Lower interest rates. Well, lower interest rates is the
problem. Artificially low interest rates is the artificial stimulus which causes the bubble, which allows the inevitable recession to come.
We need to deal with monetary policy and not pretend that artificial stimulus by more spending is going to help.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
Ron Paul:
The longer the Fed delays recession, the worse the recession
I believe we’re in a recession. I think it’s going to get a lot worse if we continue to do the wrong things that we’ve done in the past. You have to understand that over-stimulation in an economy by artificially low interest rates by the Federal
Reserve is the source of the recession. The recession has been predictable. We just don’t know exactly when it will come. If you do the wrong thing, it’s going to last for a long time. The boom period comes when they just pour out easy credit
and it teaches people to do the wrong things. There’s a lot of malinvestment, debt that goes in the wrong direction, consumers who do the wrong things, and businessmen who do the wrong thing.
So we have to attack this and understand the importance of
Austrian theory of the business cycle. If you don’t, we’re going to continue to do this and the longer you delay the recession, the worse the recession is, and we’ve delayed a serious recession for a long time.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News
Jan 10, 2008
Page last updated: Oct 14, 2021