I normally would say at the end of the session that you can release the death grip on your wallet, but this year legislators switched on a time bomb that may explode in November at the General Election. Over one dozen counties may face a local referendum in November on the question of adding to their sales tax, ostensibly for school construction. There will be no such ballot question in Spartanburg County, Greenville County or Union County, but if you travel to other counties like Anderson, you may be paying another cent or two if you make a purchase there.
The saddest part of this last minute slap to the taxpayer is that it was made possible by Republicans in the Senate. Senator Kevin Bryant filibustered this tax increase for four and a half hours on the final day, and he withstood five separate attempts to sit him down. The sixth, though, was successful as nearly all of the Republicans voted to end debate. I tell you this story only to remind you that when I speak of the RINOcrat majority, this perfectly reflects what I mean—the majority of the Senate voting for a likely tax increase. When you wonder why our gun laws violate the Constitution or why our Republican-majority statehouse refuses to stop Obamacare, this is the answer. The only thing worse is that when given the chance, and when pleaded with by conservatives across South Carolina, Governor Nikki Haley nonetheless signed the tax time bomb into law. She could have vetoed this bill and said to the taxpayers that if their so-called Republican representatives wouldn’t stand in front of a tax increase, then she would. Nikki Haley, instead, told local taxpayers that, “you’re on your own” and when the special interests spend thousands to raise your taxes “don’t call me.”
Friends, I cannot fully relay my frustration at this turn of events. All I can do is let you know that the handful of conservatives in Columbia will have to dig deeper into the bag of political tools to stop these things in the future.
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