Thursday THRASH Award: The "SC" Policy Council

Ever wonder what it would be like if the Palmetto State had a “council” of sorts, that promoted sound policy from the perspective of the actual needs and values of South Carolinians? A “policy council” if you will. But just for South Carolina. A South Carolina policy council.

That would be awesome. Perhaps at one time such an entity existed. But those days are gone.

That’s because ever since around 2004, the SC Policy Council seems to do nothing but (a) shill for vouchers, like here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here; (b) fight early childhood education, like here and here and here; or (c) fight public school choice initiatives, like here and here and here.

So what gives? South Carolina has actual education issues to deal with, like deteriorating school buses and equitable funding, so why is the SC Policy Council parroting the agenda of the out-of-state voucher lobby? Why so hostile to early childhood education and public school choice? Why so hostile towards South Carolina's schools?

Why indeed.

I thought the answer might be found in the group’s tax returns. But all I found there was that the Policy Council, which for years got by on a meager $300,000 a year, suddenly started getting a ton of money. Right around 2004.

But that couldn’t have anything to do with it.

Money talks, you see, but policy councils don’t listen. “Policy councils ain’t for sale,” as they used to say back in the day, unless that was just a dream I had.

Still, Gervais got his janitor’s key and his flashlight and did his darndest to find out where in the Palmetto State this extra money was coming from.

Was is Gilbert? Nope.

Gaffney? Nope.

Greer, Greenville, Goose Creek? Nope, nope, nope.

It wasn’t even Gyrtle Beach.

Like the rest of the folks flapping their traps about private school vouchers in our state, the SCPC is just shillin’ for out-of-state villains. Have a look:

2004
$148,000 from Alliance for School Choice, Inc. (Arizona)
$60,000 from Friedman Foundation (Indiana)
$13,000 from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (DC)
$25,000 from the Jacueline Hume Foundation (San Francisco)

2005
$120,000 from Alliance for School Choice, Inc. (Arizona)
$70,000 from Friedman Foundation (Indiana)
$20,000 from the JM (Jeremiah Milbank) Foundation (NYC)
$2,000 from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (DC)
$25,000 from the Jaqueline Hume Foundation (San Francisco)
$5,000 from Claude R. Lamb Foundation (Kansas)

2006
$90,000 from CATO Institute (DC)
$10,000 from the Heartland Institute (Chicago)
$50,000 from Friedman Foundation (Indidana)
$30,000 from State Policy Network (California)
$30,000 from the JM Foundation (NYC)
$25,000 from the Jaqueline Hume Foundation (San Francisco)
$150,000 from Walton Foundation (Arkansas)

That’s just the money I found. I’m sure there’s more. And it’s probably no coincidence that the Godfather of the South Carolina voucher farce, New York millionaire Howard Rich, sits on the board of the Friedman Foundation and the CATO Institute.

Hoo boy. Ain’t that something? An actual “South Carolina” policy council pimping itself out to narrow, out-of-state interests, and churning out tons of voucher lobby talking points under a Palmetto Tree letterhead.

Gervais says, congratulations, SC Policy Council. You may have lost your credibility as a representation of real Sandlapper values, but in the end you’re a winner ... of a Thursday THRASH Award.

The Howard Rich Advocacy & Shilling for Hire (THRASH) awards were created to honor South Carolina political advocacy groups that are controlled by, funded by, or specifically created by out of state interests under the guise of representing the actual interests and values of actual South Carolinians.