OPINION: We need to learn from Irish, not GOP

A recently released federal report on the 50 state’s economic growth rates during the past 10 years brought more depressing news for us in the Palmetto state.

It shows the damage done when our state’s political leadership is guided by shallow ideological platitudes instead for a solid long-term economic vision and plan.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis study, South Carolina’s growth rate from 2000 to 2010 was 10.9 percent, or more than a third below the national average of 16.7 percent. Our growth rate was ranked 44th and when compared to the other Southern states, the news is event worse. They averaged 18.2 percent growth with S.C. ranking 11th out of the 12 states.

These numbers show a huge gap and they are not just abstract numbers of some fuzzyheaded government economist. They are real numbers that mean less money in our citizens pocket’s, fewer and lower paying jobs, and a state that is falling further behind.

In short, the numbers paint a picture of a state that is failing to compete effectively and win in the increasingly competitive global economy of the 21st century.

Who is responsible?

For the past eight of these 10 years we have had a Republican governor, all nine statewide offices are Republican, both the state House and Senate have had Republican majorities for all 10 years. The Republicans are in charge.

Instead of a clear economic vision for our whole state to rally behind, they have given us nothing but buzz words and corrupt special interest politics. All we hear is “cut taxes, cut the size government, cut education funding, give tax exemptions to those who hire the best lobbyist, private school vouchers”….on and on it goes.

The results have been political success for the Republicans – we are now essentially a one party state – but it has meant relative economic stagnation for our state and suffering for our people.

Let me offer a better alternative – Ireland.

Why Ireland? In 2007-08, the Moore School of Business at USC did several comparative studies and found we were similar in both economic and political terms. The two are roughly the same size in land mass and population; both historically had a low-income agricultural base; and both suffered under ‘foreign domination’ – the Irish had the English and we had the ...Yankees.

Though in recent years they have run into some economic troubles, beginning in the early 1990s, their unprecedented economic growth saw the Irish real GDP double in size over the course of a little more than a decade. Ireland grew its per capita income from 81 percent of European average to 137 percent of the average in 15 years

Two factors accounted for this amazing economic growth: 1) a clear economic vision shared by the whole country and 2) a consistent strong commitment to education.

During this mid-90’s period, I spoke at an international conference in Dublin and the leaders of all three of Ireland’s major political parties made speeches to the conference about their vision for the future. Amazingly, each of the three cited essentially the same five economic goals and strategies.

The Irish also made huge and sustained investment in education at all levels and especially higher education. By the middle of the last decade, Ireland led all of Europe, by a wide margin, in per capita science and engineering graduates.

At it’s most basic level, the people of Ireland simply grew tired of always being on the bottom (sound familiar) and demanded that their politicians set aside their partisan rhetoric and work together to come up with a sound economic strategy.

They did. And when the voters perceived that a politician or party was “playing politics” instead of sticking to the plan, they punished him or it at the polls.

This was basic democracy at work, and something we desperately need in South Carolina today.

We need to learn from the Irish. We must find a way to break through the shallow political rhetoric of the Republicans that robs our people of the strong and vibrant economy vision for our state.

We need to all get serious and work together and develop a shared economic and education vision for our state.

We can do better. We deserve better.

Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and president of the SC New Democrats, an independent reform group started by former Gov. Richard Riley. phil@SCNewDemocrats.org, www.SCNewDemocrats.org.