"Why, some of my best friends are....uh....poor"

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald


The Palmetto Scoop tests this hypothesis with back to back posts of the sort only a smug, white, steadily employed man can post:

Mo money, mo problems

By Adam Fogle | Thu, Jan 29, 2009 - 10:03 am | Posted in U.S. Congress

CLYBURN TO SEND $3.2 BILLION IN ‘STIMULUS’ PORK TO SC

As prophetic rapper Notorious B.I.G. once said in his hit single “Mo Money Mo Problems,” its like the more money we come across, the more problems we see.
I’m not sure what exactly the song meant because I have trouble understanding the rap music the kids are listening to these days, but I think he meant that you can’t just throw money at things. At least that’s what he meant for the purpose of this post, anyway.
So word that South Carolina’s King of Pork, Rep. James Clyburn, secured $3.2 billion from Congress’ $1 trillion “economic stimulus package” isn’t exactly sending a Chris Matthews-style shiver up my leg. If anything, this is extremely disheartening.
Not only is government intervention via tax dollars the exact WRONG way to try to jump-start a failing economy, but the kind of crap we’re getting is essentially a giant plate of useless pork.
Stuff like $905 million to aid an already-exorbitant state budget rather than implementing fiscal discipline. Or $6.6 million for low-income energy assistance. What the hell does that do for the economy? And $291 million MORE for ourhighly-funded but failing public schools? Come on, money is not the answer.

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At least we’re not Michigan

By Adam Fogle | Wed, Jan 28, 2009 - 5:06 pm | Posted in Around the state

WOLVERINE STATE REPORTS ONLY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HIGHER THAN SC

Yesterday’s news that the unemployment rate in South Carolina had shot up to 9.5 percent was pretty grim. More than 200,000 people are out of work for the first time in state history.
But just like California’s tax boondoggle, the silver lining is that there’s actually a state worse off than us. Michigan reported a staggering 10.6 percent unemployment rate, meaning South Carolina came in second.
And this confirms my theory that Michigan is the worst place in the world. Even worse than Ohio or Saudi Arabia.
(Keep reading this story >>)