Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
The Index-Journal
February 23
US surpasses another somber COVID-19 death mark
500,000 or more.
That’s where the United States’ COVID-19 death toll is. It is an impressive number, to which the counties of Lakelands have contributed, albeit fortunately on a smaller scale.
At the time of writing, the death toll in Greenwood County was 140, Abbeville’s was 28, Saluda was 37, Laurens was 135, and McCormick County was 16 deaths.
Who would have thought that our great nation with its incalculable resources would have reached the half million mark? But we have, and it’s not over yet. Vaccines are coming into people’s arms and there appears to be a general decline in the scope of the pandemic nationally; still, the numbers are mind-boggling.
No matter how tragic any death, the pandemic has led many people to the path of death in the most cruel way. Very often, people get sick and go to the hospital, never to be seen or touched again by a spouse or loved one in person.
In addition, COVID-19 is not so selective. He knows no age limits. Sure, people of certain ages and who have certain pre-existing illnesses are probably more susceptible, but this is not a virus that takes the life out of who – how to say it softly? – maybe you should know that your years are limited and therefore you should have your business in order.
Case after case after case, it has been a sad story of people who end up in the hospital and not only do not leave alive, but also do not have their business in order. And it was too late to fix this, since they entered the hospital and spent their last days on a respirator. …
Death and everything it brings about those left behind is a terrible tragedy at any time. But the most tragic thing is when those left behind are left with little or no guidance from their loved ones. Wills, powers of attorney, financial planning, access to bank accounts, evasion of the probate court – these are things that people can take care of well before their sudden death, whether from COVID-19 or anyone else. But during the pandemic, this became an increasingly necessary point for returning home.
We all like to think “it can’t happen to me”, but this is denial or, at least, wrong thinking.
Start getting your business in order. It will be great if the pandemic comes and goes without affecting you and your family, but it will also be great to take care of this business in the more distant future.
It is not morbid; in fact, getting your business in order is really an act of love.
The Times and Democrat
February 22
The role of the state senator in supporting small businesses during the pandemic
South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott and Minnesota Democratic Senator and Former Presidential Candidate Amy Klobuchar may not be seen as allies on many issues, but they are emphasizing the main problems facing small businesses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. .
During the recent National Entrepreneurship Week, the two reintroduced the bipartisan Entrepreneurship Improvement Act for the 21st Century. The law would require the secretary of commerce to work with partners in all relevant government agencies to conduct a comprehensive study of the underlying factors that drive the current “startup crisis”.
“There is a difference between being rich and creating wealth, and as a former small business owner, I was able to make a living and help others reach their full potential,” said Scott. “As we emerge from the pandemic, our job in Congress will be to implement common sense policies that will allow our nation’s entrepreneurs to rebuild our economy. My bipartisan Entrepreneurship Improvement Act for the 21st Century is just one of many tools we can approve to get the American economy back on track. “
The latest NFIB Optimism Index for Small Business shows that entrepreneurs have their doubts about the future. The index fell in January to 95.0, down 0.9 from December and three points below the 47-year average of 98.
Owners who expect better business conditions in the next six months fell seven points to a negative 23% net, the lowest level since November 2013. The net percentage of owners who expect better business conditions has dropped 55 points in the last four months.
“While Congress is debating another stimulus package, small employers welcome any additional relief that provides a powerful fiscal boost, as their expectations for the future are uncertain,” said the chief economist of the National Business Federation. Independents, Bill Dunkelberg. “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dictate how small businesses operate, and owners are concerned about future business and sales conditions.”
State-specific data are not available, but NFIB SC director Ben Homeyer said: “These are frustrating and difficult times for small businesses and other employers, but owners are hoping that the worst of the pandemic is over and things will return to normal sooner or later. “
Senators are at the front, pushing for earlier.
As Klobuchar says: “Entrepreneurship and innovation are essential to our economic prosperity and are needed more than ever as we rebuild our economy and put the pandemic behind us.”
The Post and Courier
February 21st
Lawmakers must get rid of politically appointed county election commissions
On the way to the 2020 general election, nine SC counties had a process in place to verify the voter’s signature on absentee ballots – each slightly different; the other counties did not have a standard process or did nothing to verify signatures. Likewise, electoral authorities in some counties contacted voters to give them an opportunity to resolve problems that would have caused their absentee ballots to be rejected; others do not. And those were just the irregularities that were highlighted in the lawsuits.
The problem was not that one way was right and the other was wrong; was that there was no uniformity – which means that the votes that would be counted in one county were being eliminated in another.
The biggest problem: this was not exclusive to the 2020 election. It is embedded in our system, the inevitable result of a state law that allows 46 autonomous county electoral commissions to decide for themselves how to implement laws that explain what, without always explaining how. Although the State Electoral Commission is empowered to ensure local compliance with its policies, this only works when policies are in place and the application process is not simple.
H.3444 aims to change that, empowering the State Election Commission to “oversee and standardize the performance, conduct and practices” of county election commissions, to ensure that votes are counted in the same way in Greenville County as they are counted in County Charleston and in the same way in Charleston County as in Aiken County.
It is a long-awaited change.
It may make sense to allow all county electoral commissions to interpret and apply state electoral laws as you see fit, if only county council, sheriff, school council and other single county elections are affected. But people in all counties voted for president, governor and US Senate. People in various counties vote in each race for the United States House and Solicitor and for most legislative seats. Having different interpretations of what state law requires and allows – not to mention that there are very different degrees of competence between committees – makes absolutely no sense.
Of course, if it doesn’t make sense to let each county decide how votes are cast and counted, it also makes no sense to let legislators in each county choose their election commissioners. Or to make district councils pay for the positions of electoral commissions over which they have no control. What would make sense would be to get rid of politically appointed county election commissions completely and allow the State Election Commission to hire state officials – paid by the state – to compose the county’s election offices.
If lawmakers are not willing to go that far now, they need to make this the next step to professionalize and standardize our elections – and ensure that the next step comes soon.
What they do not need to do is to inject themselves into the functioning of the State Electoral Commission, as does the project of the Mayor, Jay Lucas. Under current law, the governor appoints the five members of the commission, but H.3444 would add four more commissioners, appointed by legislative leaders. This shouldn’t be a good start.
The problem with this proposal is not – as Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee complained bizarrely (last) Tuesday – that the bill allows the governor to appoint up to four commissioners from his party; he can do this under current law. The legislation passed by the committee actually increases the representation of minority parties on the commission, requiring that Legislative nominations be split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats – changing the current Republican advantage from 4-1 to 6-3.
The problem is that allowing lawmakers to appoint electoral commissioners violates a central principle of our system of representative democracy: dividing power between three branches of government, so that they can control and balance each other. The Legislative’s job is to write the laws. The job of the executive branch of government – headed by the governor – is to enforce these laws.
If the legislature does not like the way the laws are being implemented, it has the power and the duty to change them. There is no reason to change individuals who comply with these laws.