In yet another example of why South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is the real deal, he’s hitting the road with the state’s comptroller general and several legislators to push for a tax & spending limitation (perhaps better known as a TABOR, taxpayer bill of rights), capping annual revenue and expenditure growth to no faster than the combined increase in population and inflation.
Governor Mark Sanford plans to make stops across South Carolina Wednesday and Thursday to push for spending limits. Sanford will join the state’s comptroller general and legislators in calling for spending to stay in line with inflation and population growth. The group will stop in Greenwood, Anderson, Seneca, and Easley. State lawmakers plan to return to Columbia on Monday to decide on major budget cuts. According to ‘The State’ newspaper hundreds of state jobs could be cut.
The basic premise of TABOR is that it’s a fiscal tool designed to constrain the growth in government. If a stringent limit is imposed, such as spending rising no faster than the combination of inflation and population growth, then government will grow less rapidly than the private sector. For more on TABOR, check out this article by Dr. Barry Poulson—one of the foremost experts on tax and spending limitations—from Reason’s Annual Privatization Report 2006.