South Carolina teems with remote-clenching, sleepy-eyed, unproductive people who rarely exercise and work a mere three hours and 26 minutes a day.
Or so says the latest BusinessWeek ranking.
The magazine rolled together various government studies that examined the nation's sleeping habits, exercise patterns and overall time spent working. The report declared the Palmetto State the eighth-laziest in the country.
Louisiana ranked as the country's laziest state, but South Carolinians spend more time watching TV than any other state -- averaging three hours and seven minutes per day. The typical South Carolinian also spends eight hours and 42 minutes a day sleeping.
The Top 10
According to the ranking based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, here are the laziest states in the country:
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Delaware
"I would like to know where these people live," said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who chuckled when asked the last time he got more than eight hours of sleep. "I got to move."
How exactly do you declare an entire state lazy?
South Carolina likely took the biggest hit in the health- ranking category. BusinessWeek factored in statistics from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control that showed only half the adults in the state get enough physical activity, only one-third of residents have sidewalks in their neighborhoods and only 37.4 percent use outdoor facilities for physical activity.
That judgment would seem unfair, given the state's oppressive summer heat.
"When it's 120 degrees outside, what are you going to do but sit around?" asked Mary Graham of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.
Graham and other local economic development officials deny that the "lazy" characteristic applies to the state's workforce. She pointed to a recent survey that singled out the Port of Charleston as one of the most productive in the world, citing its quick freighter ship unloading time.
And Jim Maxon of ReadySC, a state-sponsored workforce training program, said less than 3 percent of workers who enroll in its Boeing training program drop out. Most of the program's 2,000-plus graduates are self-starters, he said.
The BusinessWeek article
"It's not like we have to do motivational videos," he said. "People come in motivated and ready."
Summey pointed to the latest string of economic development announcements that are expected to bring jobs to the region. Would those company executives choose to open up major operations in South Carolina if the state's workforce didn't work?
"That would not be the case if we were the eighth-laziest state in the country," he said.
Berkeley Chamber of Commerce CEO Elaine Morgan concurred. "How can they say that when we have so many industries moving here? They can move anywhere in the world and they chose here."
The problem with it is that it's the sort of pop-media story that will get endless traction. As such it's just another in the endless series of nails SC's outdated economic development policies keep driving into their own coffin.
The story illustrates, too, why so many economic development officials here just aren't ready for prime time:
- "'When it's 120 degrees outside, what are you going to do but sit around?' asked Mary Graham of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce."
Now there's an endorsement! And in the next breath:
- "She pointed to a recent survey that singled out the Port of Charleston as one of the most productive in the world, citing its quick freighter ship unloading time."
For the record: The highest temperature recorded in South Carolina is 111°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on June 28, 1954 at Camden. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 91.9 degrees to a low of 31.2 degrees. Graham must not have been around 40 years ago when most people didn't have air conditioning. We just got on with bidness.
- "Berkeley Chamber of Commerce CEO Elaine Morgan concurred. 'How can they say that when we have so many industries moving here? They can move anywhere in the world and they chose here.'
In two words: air conditioning. Apparently a key tenet of economic development-speak is, "Quick! Change the subject!"
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