Written By: Josh Kimbrell.

While they were deliberating an airline incentives bill in the SC Senate, Southwest announced that they’d begin service to Charleston and Greenville by 2011. In an incredibly illustrative example of the self-importance of big-government believers, the airline decided to come to the Palmetto State before SC Senators passed their incentives package, touted as the only way to attract major air carriers to the state. How many times have we heard these sorts of promises before? We’ve been told that the only way South Carolina can get a hand-up is to give a hand-out. That’s the sort of self-defeated thinking that’s wrecking our economy and ruining our culture.

I’ve spent some time working in the banking industry, and I’ve observed that when banks don’t believe in themselves, they make horrible decisions with devastating consequences. For example, a bank where a number of my friends have worked always believed their only competitive advantage was reduced rates and lower credit standards. At first, it appeared this strategy would work, as the bank attracted customers from some of their more steady competitors. Nevertheless, as the current economic downturn ensued, problems facing the self doubting institution compounded quickly. The bank, ultimately, failed to be profitable because it failed to develop a real competitive advantage.

The story of our State, up to the present, has been largely the same. Instead of working to address the underlying issues that hamper our State’s prosperity, the legislature has sought solutions that are half-measures. Returning to the bank example, if the institution had fought to improve its service offering, and its customer relationships, pricing wouldn’t have been its only selling point. The same is true of SC. We should never give away $ millions of taxpayer dollars to prop-up airlines and bail-out businesses. Instead, we ought to believe in the promise of the Palmetto State, not her government.

The decision by Southwest today illustrates that, oftentimes, others believe in our State more than we do. I’m proud of South Carolina, her culture and heritage, her spirit of innovation and optimism. I’m confident that she can succeed without her government pillaging her people to prop-up companies that aren’t interested in us for who we are. It’s high time to stand-up for SC’s greatness and stop giving away the store to attract every business Columbia decides to recruit. The casualty of continued central planning, such as airline subsidies, is no less than our culture. We ought to create an environment where business owners who want to be in SC have an environment conducive to their success. That way, our State has home-grown businesses and out-of-state investors, who are interested in our culture and economy. We don’t need businesses to move here just because they can’t say no to a massive taxpayer funded payday.

God Bless,
-Josh Kimbrell
President & Chairman

Josh Kimbrell is President & Chairman of CEO Round Table of South Carolina. CEO stands for “Christians Empowered & Organized.” Part of the mission of CEO Round Table is “to promote a way of life that embraces faith, family, and freedom.”