THEIR VIEWS

The main reason is to price

kids out of the market

A lot of people are unhappy that the House ended up voting to use money from a higher cigarette tax to reduce grocery taxes, rather than spending it to pay for health care for the poor.

But that decision actually crystallized the essential point that too often gets overlooked in this debate: The main reason to raise the cigarette tax isn't to increase state revenue. It's to price kids out of the market. That's so important that raising the tax would be a good move even if we burned the money.

It's reasonable to debate whether to use cigarette tax money to offset other tax cuts or pay for health care initiatives, as senators intend to do. And yes, there are political realities to consider, since Gov. Mark Sanford won't accept a tax increase that isn't offset by a tax cut. As long as that baseline is met, though - with a plan that either satisfies the governor's demand or has enough support to override a veto - how the money is spent is really a secondary matter. ...

A lot of representatives stepped outside of their comfort zone to get this bill (H.3567) through the House. ...

Now it's up to senators to build on the legislation, to turn it into something that makes a major difference in the lives of children and the life of our state - into something that goes beyond the absolute minimum that we've grown far too accustomed to settling for.

The (Columbia) State

Seven years is a long time

to leave a job unfinished

South Carolina left a job undone in 2000 when it moved the Confederate battle flag from atop the Statehouse dome to a prominent spot on the Capitol grounds.

To know why, one need only look at photos of brown-shirted neo-Nazis rallying April 21 on our Statehouse steps, proudly displaying the Confederate flag next to another adorned with a swastika.

Whatever honorable history the Confederate flag might have had was coopted long ago by hate-filled groups that pander to our worst natures, and the flag's supporters have to recognize it. ...

Seven years is a long time to leave a job unfinished. And under state law, it is up to the legislature to finish it. It takes a twothirds vote of both houses of the General Assembly to change the status quo.

But as is too often the case in the General Assembly, difficult jobs get put aside. Our state's record on a host of economic and social issues reflects that. Even mundane jobs like road building suffer; witness what passes for ''reform'' of the state Department of Transportation.

If lawmakers won't take up the debate, then let's bring the debate to them. A broad coalition brought the flag down from the dome. If we stay silent again or take the easy way out, we're just as culpable as our lawmakers.

The (Hilton Head) Island Packet

Immediacy should be

a primary element

South Carolina officials should take a page from California when it comes to reacting to a transportation crisis. Immediacy should be a primary element.

Easy solutions to a pair of transcontinental bridge accidents were elusive as commuters on Lady's, Port Royal and St. Helena islands and San Francisco faced similar predicaments: stalled traffic, missed appoints and lost wages, revenue and patience.

But a major point here is that government officials in California took immediate steps to relieve stress in a crisis ...

South Carolina Department of Transportation officials knew that the 26- year-old McTeer Bridge was severely damaged. The bridge should have been blocked off then, but traffic was allowed to flow as crews checked the damage. ...

Few people have concrete answers, but we do know that a bridge being closed will touch all facet of community life: business, churches, courts, emergency services, public meetings, social gatherings and more. ...

... Most of all this should serve as a message to county, municipal and state officials to start thinking about terminal gridlock that could happen because of the tremendous number of development and building permits that have been issued in Beaufort and Jasper counties and the inadequate infrastructure that plagues the region.

The Beaufort Gazette