Dec 31, 2008

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South Carolina Gov. Relents on Unemployment Funding

The New York Times is reporting that South Carolina Governor Mark Stanford has backed off his staunch refusal to seek federal aid to shore up the state’s jobless insurance.  His change in heart comes none too soon – South Carolina’s unemployment fund was reportedly hours away from being empty.  

From the Times:

For weeks Mr. Sanford, known for a philosophy in favor of a free market and against government aid, stuck to his stand, questioning the probity of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and demanding an audit of the agency. He has said in that past that he did not trust the agency’s calculation of the state’s unemployment rate.

The state is currently tied with California for the 3rd-highest unemployment rate in the country at 8.4%.  The article says Governor Sanford has taken a lot of heat for his refusal of help – from the newspapers and even his own party in the state legislature.  

He is still calling for an audit, but said he doesn’t want to penalize the 177,000 residents of his state for the agency’s “incompetence”.