Others' Views

South Carolina ranks at the top of the nation in violent crime, according to the FBI. Spartanburg Solicitor Trey Gowdy is right that greater public outrage is the appropriate response. South Carolinians must demand more aggressive law enforcement and a more effective justice system.

Tommy Bowden's resignation Monday ends the up-and-down reign of a coach who came in with much optimism, clearly had a positive impact on many of his players, but failed to live up to high expectations of fans, players and Clemson University. Though Bowden's departure may leave the team in turmoil and make this disappointing season a total loss, it offers hope of a brighter future.

More than 90 percent of all inmates in South Carolina eventually will return to the world outside the prison walls. It's certainly in the state's best interest to make sure those individuals have the skills to get and keep a job.

Act 388, the sales tax/property tax swap passed by the General Assembly two years ago, is unbalancing the tax burden and making it difficult for schools to fund their programs. It should be replaced. It shouldn't have been passed to begin with.

FBI statistics released recently listed South Carolina as the state with the highest rate of violent crime in 2007, the second straight year that depressing distinction has fallen to us. At least we're still ahead of the District of Columbia.

It was only last year that the state took some much-needed new steps to curb underage drinking. It's too early to tell whether the new law, intended to prevent alcohol consumption by teens, is working, although there are some indications that implementation of the new law should be improved. For instance, hand-held alcohol sensors, which can be used to detect whether a young person has been drinking, have been purchased by the state but not widely distributed to law enforcement agencies so far. ...

The popular mantra in South Carolina is that our government is too big and spends too much money. So it's important to take note when a small-government, pro-privatization group says we aren't spending enough money on public services. Specifically, that we aren't making the kinds of investments that could pay off down the road.

The 2008-2009 school year is officially under way, and we have experienced a great beginning. Our greatest challenges have been traffic flow and late buses, but even those issues have been dealt with very effectively by our schools and our community. We are very thankful for the efforts of all district staff members and parents. If you consider the fact that we opened school this year with a first-day enrollment of 9,210 students with three of our five elementary schools frozen in enrollment and the other two elementary schools receiving the overflow from them, we are doing quite well.

South Carolina's version of Chicken Little runs around screaming: "We're being taxed out of house and home! The government is growing out of control! It's going to swallow us whole!"

South Carolina might have a higher percentage of smokers per capita than any state. Based on that alone, a recent proposal by the Budget and Control Board to add a $300 per year surcharge to state employees' insurance premiums could make some headway. But it would be the wrong approach.