Seeding Spartanburg

The following post is written by my friend Phillip Belcher. I asked if I could share. I've been so busy recently…maybe I'll start giving my friends an outlet to vent…that way, I don't feel so guilty for neglecting Seeding Spartanburg while I work on Citizen Spartanburg.

By Phillip Belcher

Dear Members of the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation:

I recently read in the Spartanburg Herald Journal of an effort by two of your members to take from County Council the power to appoint members to the Board of Spartanburg Regional Health System. The rationale for the effort seems to be that state representatives should have the ability to appoint board members to organizations that receive state dollars through Medicaid. 

This is a curious development. First, as far as I know, Spartanburg Regional is a well-run, efficient, award-winning health system. It provides millions of dollars of free care annually to uninsured residents of Spartanburg County and beyond. I am not sure what improvements your appointees will bring to the table. Secondly, please bear with my annoying tendency to take arguments to their logical conclusions. So, if your concern is that the legislative delegation should have some say in the governance of organizations that receive state dollars, I suppose that corporations receiving tax subsidies, tax breaks, fee-in-lieu agreements and similar forms of what some have called “corporate welfare” should beware. They, too, could become targets for legislators who want a seat at the boards of all organizations that get tax breaks. This is a message that should probably be included in corporate recruiting materials so that companies like BMW and Boeing will have all the information they need to make relocation decisions.

If the issue is one of cost control, here are a few recommendations that would decrease the amount of money the state spends on health care:

1. Support efforts to expand health insurance coverage. If everyone in the state were insured, then S.C. residents would not be forced to seek their primary care at the most expensive location possible—hospital emergency rooms.
 
2. Restore and increase funding to the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Hospital costs increase when babies are born prematurely or without adequate prenatal care. And, while you’re at this, mandate science-based pregnancy prevention curricula as part of the health education programs in all public schools. Health education is already taught. There’s no reason not to teach what’s proven to be effective.

3. Support efforts to create a rating system for early childhood development centers in South Carolina. Parents have a right to know the quality of the child development centers in which they enroll their children. High quality early learning has been proven through longitudinal studies to improve health outcomes, reduce crime and recidivism, increase home ownership, and increase employment. The Federal Reserve has calculated that every dollar devoted to high quality early care and education of young children produces an approximate 16% return on investment. South Carolina’s current rating scheme is woefully inadequate—sort of like the constitutional guarantee of a “minimally adequate” education. You’ll need to ignore the for-profit child care lobbyists who will complain that increasing standards will put them out of business. Many of the same for-profit chains operate in our neighboring states. Those states have rating systems, and the for-profit centers appear to be doing just fine. And, you might want to look at survey data from Spartanburg County which shows that cost is not the most significant factor for parents choosing child development centers anyway. Parents have as much a right to know the quality of child development centers as they do the quality of the restaurants where they take their families to eat. One more thing.  If you want to attract high-paying white collar and high-end manufacturing jobs to South Carolina, you should pay attention to the quality of child development centers. Those employers are.

4. If you want to reduce Medicaid and other health expenses, raise the tax on tobacco.  This is a proven way to reduce smoking, and smoking is a major health problem in South Carolina and the source of much of the expenditure of state money on health care.

5. Do what you can at the state level to promote sensible land use planning. Automobile emissions are higher in poorly planned communities, and poor air quality is a significant contributor to the skyrocketing number of asthma cases.
 
This is just a start. The data show these steps to be effective. If cost is the issue, be bold and take actions that will really make a difference. Of course, if the real issue is aggregating power, then maybe your two members are on the right track.

Everyday when I leave work to drive home, I witness the Liberty Tax Service guy dressed in his Statue of Liberty outfit dancing on the corner of 176 in Union. He makes me smile. Big. From ear-to-ear. Sometimes, I smile so big and laugh…tears come to my eyes. He just makes me THAT happy.

Why? I bet you're asking.

Here's this guy who has a job–as crazy as it may seem to many of us…and damn…if he ain't making the best of it. Life is hard. Times are depressing. And he's doing what he can. He puts on that outfit and draws customers to the Liberty Tax place.

I hope he wins the lottery one day. He deserves it. I appreciate how much he puts life into perspective for me.

t

OKAY…who's tired of politicians who whine about the media sensationalizing everything when in reality what is happening to them in the media is THEIR OWN fault? Me, me, me!! Over the past year, I've come to the conclusion that one true sign of a sorry politician is when they always blame the media for their problems. Hello. YOU made the decision…the media is doing their job to share with the rest of us what you're doing…even when you're doing bad or stupid stuff that doesn't make you look so good…they still tell. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR…   anyhoo…

Part of being a good politician is knowing what/how much to say because you NEVER know how the electorate will take it. Regardless of what message you *think* you are sending you are speaking to a bunch of very different people…all of which will interpret something in their own way so my advice to politicians…don't EVER say things that require you to "explain" yourself because you'll always end up digging yourself in a deeper hole.

So here's a good example…I'm guessing y'all heard about what's going on with Andre Bauer…I would say, NOT a good politician considering he obviously didn't think before he started running his mouth, perpetuating stereotypes that don't even reflect the truth. Luckily, today, the Herald Journal did a little "sensationalizing" by pointing out how ignorant this guy really is about the topic at hand.   

Knowledge Would Help 

Bauer: "there is no end" to how long people can receive welfare in South Carolina

Fact: South Carolinians can receive welfare payments for a maximum of 24 months.

Bauer: welfare recipients should have to do something for the money

Fact: welfare recipients must perform 30 hours of worker training every week or lose their benefits

Asked repeatedly whether he had learned anything from this incident, Bauer repeatedly said "no," then added, "I learned that the media sensationalizes what they hear. I learned that no one wants to have a serious conversation about the issues."

But a serious conversation on these issues would have to involve facts.

What he should learn is how many people get these benefits, and under what circumstances. What he should learn is to think before he speaks. What he should learn is how to apologize sincerely for a mistake.

Amen. Good Job EVIL media.

And to think this whole mess stemmed from a conversation he had with his Grandmother. Really? I don't know what kind of conversations Andre had with his Grandmother where the justification of starving animals ever became the topic of conversation but my Grandma usually stuck to simple stuff like…"Shut up while you're ahead."

Now that is some good Grandma advice.

t

p.s. Really Andre…thanks for bringing more of the same onto our state.

City Council is going to start holding workshops every fourth Monday during City Council meetings. The purpose of the workshop is for Council and the public to have an in-depth learning experience about a particular issue facing the City. The workshop will last about 30 minutes. This week's workshop is about Stormwater Utility.

Now…you may think to yourself…that doesn't sound very interesting and well…hey, it may not be. BUT, if you want to understand more about what's going on in your community learning about stormwater utility is important because it is something that MUST be addressed and it is expensive and it's even more expensive if we're not proactive. Here's a good example I received:

Why is a Stormwater Utility important?

Currently, there is no stable funding stream for Stormwater Management in the City of Spartanburg. The City spends nearly $700,000 per year on maintenance and repairs. However, projects like the replacement of culverts are not within this budget and can be extraordinarily expensive. An example of this is the Garner Road culvert replacement in 2007, which cost upwards of $1 million. Our Stormwater infrastructure in the City is aging, with some culverts approaching 100 years old. Replacing a culvert that has failed can sometimes cost 50% more than if it was simply maintained or replaced in a timely fashion.

See? That IS important! Many thanks to City Staff for offering and Council for supporting these educational workshops. We need them.

City Council meetings are the 2nd & 4th Monday of every month at 5:30pm in Council Chambers at City Hall.

t

I was chatting with a friend the other day who commented that I never travel. I don’t. Ever. Hardly ever. I rarely leave Spartanburg to take a "vacation".

After our conversation, I thought more about it. There was a time in my life when I loved to go, go, go. There was a time in my life when I didn’t think I could get out of Spartanburg fast enough. So I moved away…to Atlanta, Wilmington, NC, Boone, NC then Los Angeles. The only time I traveled when I lived in those places…I traveled to Spartanburg. And now that I’m back in Spartanburg…I go nowhere.

I’m almost 40 and I don’t have a passport. I’ve never even been to New York City. Sometimes I think that is sad. I mean…NYC?!?! How is it that I lived in Los Angeles for almost 3 years yet I’ve never visited NYC? Who knows.

Anyhoo, I started thinking of how happy it makes me that I’m happy where I am. I spent so many years searching for happy. I always thought it would be somewhere besides here. And it wasn’t.  I finally figured out happy is whatever I make it to be.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying I’ll never travel. I enjoy our yearly family beach trip to Edisto although we never stay the whole week because I’m always ready to get home. This past year, we spent a long weekend up in the NC mountains and although I tried to convince David on the first night we should go home the next day…we stayed. And had a blast. We managed to meet some locals and they invited us to their neighborhood party and I loved that, of course. I even met a former Greenville City Councilman there and we talked politics. I guess I’m just drawn to community and politics wherever I go.

And I’ve always wanted to visit the Forbidden City and Eastern Europe to see the concentration camps. But, visiting those places takes a lot of money not to mention it will also mean I have to overcome the fear of flying I’ve developed since my children were born.

I used to love to fly. I loved to get to the airport early, hang out at the bar, meet people, watch people and fly off but I’ve only flown once since my children were born and I swore if I ever got off that plane I’d never leave my kids again.

I know, I know. Planes are safer, etc. etc. But, for some reason, I was scared the last time I flew.

So, all those things…I just don’t travel. Which leads me to yet another conversation with a friend.

I was chatting with my buddy Ned over coffee last week when he told me about a presentation he recently saw where the speaker said he believed happiness was linked to community pride—love of community. So I put that conversation with the travel conversation and came to the conclusion that maybe I’m just where I need to be. I see the good in what is around me and it makes my life good. It took me a while to realize that. I spent a lot of time and money searching and while I wouldn’t take anything for those experiences, I am now surrounded by family, great friends and a place that I am willing to work my butt off to make it better…and I couldn’t be happier.

And all the traveling in the world can’t top that because at the end of the day…you always have to come back home.

t

When someone sends me something like this it sends a chill down my spine to learn that there are people in SC working on something so important and I didn't even know about it.

And now that I do..it's like a little gift. That I love. Many thanks to the folks who put this together. I love this gift.

TELL THEM SC!!

Join thousands of men and women from around the state as we email our legislators to let them know: The majority of South Carolinians support age appropriate, medically accurate sexual health information and access to counseling and clinical services.

There are lots of statistics on the site as to why it is so important we talk about this issue like adults. But my favorite statistic is this one:

Births to young mothers cost South Carolina taxpayers $156 million annually.

WOW. Annually is every year y'all. Just want to make sure that is clear. That's a lot of money we could save if we were a little proactive. Someone remind me why we don't properly educate young people again???

We have got to do better in this state. Visit the website to learn more.

t

Downtown Spartanburg will finally be getting a bookstore via the Hub City Writers Project. This is SUCH exciting news for our Downtown. What a way to start the new year!

You can read more HERE.

t

Man…New Years Eve ain’t what it used to be. Here I sit…struggling to see my computer screen…not because I’ve had too much to drink but because my eyes have gone to pot over the past year. WHAT is UP with that? My eye doctor calls it ‘forty-eye-tus’. I call it ‘it sucks.’ I’d like to think I can eat some carrots or exercise a little more and save my eyesight. She says…no. It is getting old. Well..boo on that.

Anyhoo, as I watch the crazy kids on TV enjoying Green Day live at the Los Angeles New Years Eve party, I’m happy to be in the comfort of my own home, sipping a glass of wine and waiting for 2010. Earlier tonight I stared at my baby girl’s, who just turned 4, feet and thought…these are not the feet of a baby anymore. And this is my New Years Eve and I love it.

I guess I am getting old. The last time I REALLY went out and celebrated NYEve was before Jack was born (7 or 8 years ago).  D and I went to Gville, got a hotel room, went out with friends, watched the Root Doctors, ran up a $300 bar tab and I ended up walking the streets of downtown Gville in a white furry hat telling people I was the Blair Witch. And growling at them. Sweet.

Needless to say…tonight will NOT be that kinda night and I will feel MUCH better tomorrow than I did on that New Years Day. Thank goodness.

I’m looking forward to 2010. 2009 has been pretty okay for us compared to so many of our friends and neighbors and we are thankful for that but so sorry for them. We’ve learned a lot from watching others struggle with job loss, illness and tough times in other ways. It has made us step back and reevaluate how we live our own lives, work to be more frugal, cherish those we love and live everyday to the fullest. It goes by so quick and can all change so fast. Life is so exciting yet so scary.

I’m optimistic about what is to come for Spartanburg in the new year. I feel confident that we will come together to work harder to move our community forward.  We must start focusing locally. We’ve all let ourselves become so consumed with the national battle of R vs. D and conservative vs. liberal…being played like pawns in a game. We need to put a stop to that in 2010.

We’ve forgotten what it is to take care of what is right around us and our communities are suffering. If we take care of what is around us…I truly believe all that will spread and start to heal the rest of it.

So like everyone…I have New Years resolutions. One—I need to exercise more. Okay…A LOT more than I’m doing now…which is practically none. I gave up years ago on attaining my college weight again. Now, I’d just like to fit comfortably in the pants I own because right now…I’m not comfortable in these jeans. Two—I want my family to reduce our waste. I want us to reduce our overall impact on all the systems we use. The landfill, gas, electric, oil. All of it. Use less. Three—be better consumers and support our local economies as much as we can. We need to keep our money in our local economy and need to think about that with every purchase we make. It does matter. And Four…grow some of our own food. I’ve tried this for the past couple of years and failed miserably. Thank goodness for the Farmers Market and other local growers but I really want to do some of my own and will try again this year.

I think those are ‘doable’ goals. I need to set goals that I can accomplish all on my own. All of us do because when we see little successes it sets us up to accomplish more.

One thing I’ve learned after doing this blog for ALMOST 5 years (Seeding Spartanburg turns 5 in January) is that I can talk state and national politics ALL day and accomplish nothing. But that maybe…just maybe…I can focus on local and influence my fellow citizens to get involved and care about our own community. What happens local effects our everyday life and people want better lives but we won’t get that unless we work for it. So I hope to do more of that in 2010 for no other reason than because I care about this place. And I know if you’re bothering to read what I’m typing…so do you. So thank you.

And Happy New Year. Cheers to a great one.

t

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Hours after my Christmas Eve post I awoke to a nice stomach virus gift from my kids. It hurt. All day. And kinda through Christmas. Man…I don't bounce back from those like I used to…

But, I did get a holiday treat from two positive Spartanburg articles that I wanted to make sure others get to read…

Downtown Spartanburg Takes On New Vibrancy

By Continuing to act as a TEAM we will keep moving forward

"There is no 'I' in T-E-A-M."

woohoo.

t

It's Christmas Eve. It's-it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we-we-we smile a little easier, we-w-w-we-we-we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

–Frank Cross, Scrooged

I love, love, love that movie. If you've never seen it…watch it. It's one of my favorites. But that quote…love it. At my very first job…at The Fudgery at Wacammaw Pottery…i always loved working the holidays because people were nicer. It is sad that I volunteered to work on a holiday as kid because I thought people would actually be nicer to me as I served them a cup of strawberry yogurt or some chocolate covered peanuts or some of those jelly fruit slices…but…alas…they were. And I was SO thrilled to receive that little holiday smile.

Geez…

We should be nice all the time y'all!!!

2010 resolution…be nice to people. Go out of your way. Smile. Give a hug. Why not?  Life is short.

Happy Christmas everybody.

 :) t