Dear Stan Smith,

Thank you for replying to our 2010 voter guide questionnaire. We appreciate your cooperation. Here is a copy of your submission:

Age: 60

Family:

Married - with a daughter and son - and 3 grandchildren.

Education/Degrees:

BA George Mason University
MSW Virginia Commonwealth University

Experience:

Understanding of government, of leadership, of planning, of group facilitation, of relationship building.

Why are you running for office?:

It is time to clean house. I love our State and Country and Constitution and I will legislate ethically and with integrity. We have been exploited by political opportunists and lobbyists for too long. It is time!

The State of South Carolina is facing difficult economic times. How do you think the state can make up the serious shortfall in revenue expected in the coming year?:

The phrasing of the question shows the bias of the questioner toward taxation and other governmental interventions. The State should spend only what income it gets - just as citizens do. We must cut away what fat we can. If we are still short, we sell assets - or we do public/private partnerships - or we figure out something we can produce that can bring in income. But this is not easy. It is silly and misleading to advocate tourism or gambling or recruiting businesses as a blanket solution. Many folks who are recovering from a binge think - "if only I can hit the jackpot." Come on! Let's be real! It is gonna hurt - and it doesn't help for the League to frame a question that tries to "make up" a shortfall. You cut back when you have a shortfall. Let's get the government out of the way by reducing stupid regulations so our little businesses and small farms can grow into big ones.

Do you support the Tax Realignment Commission's proposals to broaden the base of the sales tax by eliminating some exemptions, phasing out the sales tax cap on cars and boats, and exploring some extension of the sales tax to services?:

There you go again. You implicitly would impoverish the citizens of the State to fund the profligacy of the State. "Broadening the base" is code for "going on a taxing frenzy." Now, if the question is "How should we tax, since we have to tax?" - one answer is to go after the businesses that have bought loopholes for themselves and to close these up. Another is to fine polluters. Another is to impose fees that reflect fair value on businesses that draw down our natural resources and utilities. Stop funding infrastructure for Developers. Let them pay for infrastructure that increases their land value. In every case, we should follow the money, track inequities, and then fix the inequities. Only after that should we collect from the average citizen. I currently believe we should consider some sort of value added tax, but I have much more to learn if I am going to legislate on this matter.

What steps will you take to make sure our citizens have the education to attract high tech industries to South Carolina that offer quality jobs and wages?:

We know that a kid who can't read and write and calculate by the end of the 4th grade has little hope of success later in life. Skills in reading and writing and calculation and use of internet resources enable folks to continue their own learning. So we have to focus on the early years. If we have to cut, we should cut after the 4th grade.

We know that schools and teachers and parents and students make up the learning community and that school districts and administrative units are leftovers from empire building and delusions that "big government" can educate kids. Vouchers by parents to an INDIVIDUAL school they trust makes sense. We spend around 12K per student. That should buy a pretty good education if parents are free to decide who should educate their kids.

What makes the League think that high tech industries are a good idea? The issue is good businesses, whether they manufacture, or are craft based, or are high tech, or something else.

What do you think is the biggest environmental challenge we face in South Carolina?:

Now here is another stupid question! We face lots of environmental challenges. If we address the biggest one beautifully - we still end up in the tank! The issue is to stop the poisoning and the depletion by making it too expensive to continue to do it. This is not a South Carolina issue alone - the "environment" doesn't stop at our borders. We have to do this as a country. South Carolina can offer ideas and programs and tax and fine the dickens out of the BP's in our midst, but unless we all act together, they'll just slip over the border. Have you seen the border communities between Texas and Mexico?