DARLA MOORE SPEECH TO THE SUMMER MEETING OF

THE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES OF SC, INC.

Charleston, SC

June 6, 2006

I was honored to receive the letter from Mike asking me to speak to this outstanding group today.  As you may imagine, I get more than a couple of invites every week.  I don’t accept many invitations but I always jump at the chance to address a group that plays such a major role in this state’s future.  According to a study performed by a highly respected institution, The Moore School of Business, the Electric Cooperatives are responsible for:

· $1.4 billion contributed to the South Carolina economy each year;

· Helping to bring over $5.5 billion in capital investment to South Carolina which created more than 27,000 new jobs; and

· Generating tens of millions in tax revenue each year.

These are impressive and commendable numbers and when you add them to the reports of new jobs and new capital investment being recruited by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, you have got to believe that South Carolina is really doing great.  But, unfortunately, they do not present the full picture of our state.  According to the 2004 U.S. Census numbers, South Carolina has 635,000 individuals or 15.7% of its population living in poverty.  In many counties, particularly the rural poor counties, we have unemployment in double digits.  Even more alarming is that in 2000, 18.8% of persons under 18 years of age were classified as poor, but by 2004 that number had risen to 21%.   Fully one-fifth of our future workers may be lost and unable to participate in any meaningful way in this state’s future.  Now, add those statistics to the U.S. Census numbers that indicate 600,000 of our state’s workforce, or one-third of our working population, do not have a high school diploma or the literacy or the technical skills necessary to hold a meaningful job for at least three years, and you will understand the problem we face. 

Seeking solutions to the problems presented by these figures is difficult enough, but, unfortunately, we must face them in the context of a changing global economy – an economy that dramatically changes the rules of competition.  We can no longer talk about being competitive in terms of how Charleston is competing with Greenville or Lexington with Columbia. We cannot address our competitiveness by only talking about how we are competing with our neighboring states of Georgia and North Carolina.  And you certainly cannot limit your discussion to how you are competing with investor-owned utilities.  I am sorry but, today, we face a global, knowledge-based economy where we no longer have the fruits of capitalism to ourselves.  Even more challenging is the fact that we no longer have access to abundant low-cost energy as a basis for our economy.  Think about that for a second.  The foundation of our economy, which is based on the distribution of goods over long distances supported by a wide network of interstate highways, air and rail connections, is in jeopardy at a time when the Third World countries are now competing for our businesses and our jobs.  Make no mistake, ambitious, hardworking people in China and India and other countries want our jobs and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get them.

So, there you have it – 3 critical areas that really need our attention:

· The growing disparity between our more prosperous counties and our poor rural counties,

· The concern for a workforce that is not prepared to compete for the jobs of the 21^st        Century, and

· A state that must become more competitive in a global, knowledge-based economy. 

If you can solve these problems for me, I promise you I will go back to my little farm in Lake City, dig in my garden and raise my chickens and goats, and not say another word.  All of us understand that these challenges are much too great for a single entity, public or private, to meet and overcome.  That is why I am here today – I believe your organization has the power and the vision and the grassroots to play a much larger role in the success of South Carolina.  You are close to the rural communities.  You understand the importance of economic development and the importance of our state being competitive.  You have the leadership and energy to be a real player.  I need you to consider being a partner with the Palmetto Institute and other organizations to find solutions to improve the competitiveness of South Carolina. 

As Mike said earlier, The Palmetto Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent research foundation.  The Institute’s mission is simple.  We want to increase the wealth of all South Carolinians.  Even though we track a multitude of metrics on a regular basis, our key measurement is per capita income.  We use per capita income because we know to succeed in raising such measurement, we have to be concerned with the income of all South Carolinians, not just certain segments.  Our only other caveat is that, even though we have superb Board members who do not mind sharing their opinions, we will not take a public position unless it is supported by comprehensive, thoughtful, independent research. 

We began our efforts at the Institute with a study to determine the comparative economic position of South Carolina in the new global, knowledge-based economy.  The results, confirmed that South Carolina is not very competitive with its existing mix of industries and the quality of our economic foundations, particularly workforce quality. This led us to retain Professor Michael Porter from Harvard, a leading expert on regional competitiveness and whose family, by the way, grew up in Chesterfield County.  His research told us we had to change from our traditional  economic development approach of recruiting foreign industries solely on the basis of abundant low-cost labor, low taxes, and high financial incentives to an approach of building upon our own assets through industry clustering.  We needed to find ways to add value to our products and services.  We had to look to ourselves to find new and innovative approaches to building our economy.   As a result of the research, Professor Porter helped us develop a long-term strategy for economic development.  The Council on Competitiveness has been established to help with its implementation.  But, that has been just the beginning of our work.

The Institute also has done research on the need to expand our four-year-old kindergarten program as well as the implementation of the Education and Economic Development Act, and the need to strengthen commercialization of research at our research universities.  The Institute commissioned a comprehensive review of our state’s revenue system to determine how it can better support efforts to attract people and industries to live, invest, and grow in South Carolina.  We are currently working on a review of our workforce investment assistance programs and how we can strengthen these programs to help improve workforce quality. 

I mention these projects just to give you a little background on the Institute, but I really want to focus on the issue we struggle with daily.  All across the state we see pockets of excellence.  We see communities who understand the only way to achieve a competitive advantage is to build upon their assets, strengthen their economic foundations, and collaborate to overcome their weaknesses.  But, when we attempt to expand their successes statewide, the same old parochial interests get in the way.  You know what I am talking about – the turf battles – the fight over a piece of the pie rather than trying to make the pie bigger – the lack of non-partisan efforts to address critical issues and the ever present question of who gets credit.  It is these hurdles we must find ways to overcome to make our state more competitive.

Now, I know at this juncture in my remarks, the prudent thing to do would be to just enjoy the company of this outstanding audience and close my remarks with a few general comments on how we can collaborate more closely to address the needs of the poor and the state in general, and, hopefully, everyone could leave with a warm and fuzzy feeling.  Well, for anyone in the audience who knows me, unfortunately, that is not my approach.  I am not about to allow such a distinguished and powerful group leave without suggesting some specific actions.

First and foremost, EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION is the key to getting out and staying out of poverty and fundamental to our state’s ability to be more competitive. 

I understand housing, health care, and reliable infrastructure are also critical -- please do not think I am ignoring these needs.  But, look around at the world today – there is a convergence of fierce competition for jobs with a diminishing supply of inexpensive, abundant energy.  To stay competitive, we must ratchet-up our efforts to employ innovation, to build technical skills, to encourage self-reliance, and to instill in our youth the life-changing importance of obtaining a quality education.

In a report entitled “The State of the South 2004” published by MDC, a North Carolina research foundation, the basic theme was: “Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, race still matters; but, poverty matters even more.”  Their solution was even more to the point:  “The only road out of poverty runs by the schoolhouse.”

That means you have to become involved in your communities at a much higher level.  As an organization, you have to demand better educational opportunities.  While an independent study by the business community clearly showed we are improving in key measurements of math and reading, we still were last in graduation rates.  This is unacceptable.  We must find ways to connect the dots between the education and business communities.  This means we cannot compartmentalize our efforts.  Too many times I have heard, “Education is not our responsibility.  It is the responsibility of educators.”  Hogwash!  Show me a vibrant community with strong economic development, and I will show you a community that is involved with the education system. 

Last session, the General Assembly adopted the Education and Economic Development Act.  The legislation gives South Carolina the opportunity to fundamentally change the framework of our education system so we can connect our young people to the education pathway that will prepare them with the knowledge and skills to find and fill higher wage jobs all across the state.  It integrates academic and career-technical education into a unified system that helps students connect education to careers of their choice – a choice made with appropriate counseling and parental involvement with the student.

In other words, early in their education, students will have a vision or goal of how to achieve a successful career of their choice.  The legislation also increases the number of guidance and career counselors to achieve a 300 students to 1 counselor ratio.  Today the state average is closer to 600 to 1.  I truly believe the legislation is a new framework for success, particularly when you add it to our recent successes in improving our student’s basic math and reading skills.  But, we cannot just rely on the education community to implement it.  If we do, the resistance from those who do not want change will slow our progress, and the one thing we do not have in the fight to be more competitive is time.  I want you to understand the urgency of our effort to compete with China and India and other countries.   

Remember when your Mama told you to clean your plate because there were little children in China who were starving to death?  Well, I suggest the message today is either compete more aggressively in the global economy or those same little starving children in China will be taking your jobs.  The implementation of this new approach to economic development is very critical for that very reason.  We cannot compete unless we find ways to increase the quality of our workforce.  It is a crucial element of our economic wellbeing.  I hope you will take the time to learn more about this approach and support it strongly in your community.

Second, we must demand more of our leaders.  As business people, you understand – either continue to be competitive or fail.   Excuses and blame do not bring successes.  We cannot accept the economic indignity of those left behind in our rural communities or those who do not have the skills to make a decent living.  We have to address the problems now and if our leaders are not willing to support this effort, we need to get new leaders. 

And, finally, we must think outside the box.  WE have to be smarter.  We have to be more innovative.  WE have to be more technology-driven.  It is not an option.  When you face a crisis, you do not continue to do the same thing, even if you do it better.  You change.  If someone can make the same shirt cheaper and you cannot compete at that price, you find a way to make the shirt better or more unique.  It is the same with our economy.  Look at our agricultural economy.  As an example, since 1980 we have lost over 1.6 million acres of farm land.  Our number one crop, tobacco, is gone.  International markets continue to force down prices for our farm products.  Our farmers have become much more productive, more efficient, but they still are fighting an uphill battle to survive.  When they suffer, our rural economy suffers even more.  Yet, we look at Brazil where ethanol is being produced from sugar cane in quantities sufficient to supply its automotive fuel needs.  Through innovation and new technology, they are not only providing fuel for their transportation needs, but are giving their farmers a new market for their products.  If we supported the building of ethanol plants in rural South Carolina, could we give our farmers a market to keep their farms going?  Could we produce new jobs for our workforce?  Could we export the ethanol to provide more revenue for our economy?  This is the thought process we must take to survive.  I do not know the answers to these questions, but I know we must ask them.  As I said earlier, we must be innovative in our approach to making South Carolina more competitive.  Using yesterday’s template as a guide for  today’s economy is just not acceptable. 

I noticed that among the seven principles that govern the Cooperatives, one is “Concern for Community” and another is “Education, Training and Information”; these could not have greater meaning than they do now.  For this state to have any chance to survive in this global economy, we have to build partnerships between communities – between organizations like the Palmetto Institute and the Electric Cooperatives – between the different faiths – between the private and public sectors – and between all segments of our diverse population.   We must then use these partnerships to improve our education, training, and information.  This is our challenge – it is our calling. 

As I close, let me leave you with the incredible charge given to all of us by one of South Carolina’s greatest native sons, Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays.

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal.  The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.  It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture.  It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.  Not failure, but low aim is a sin. 

I thank you for the opportunity to be here today.