DARLA MOORE

SPEECH FOR THE

DRUMMOND CENTER EVENT

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA

APRIL 24, 2007

Paula, thank you for such a kind introduction. Let me be right up front with you tonight. When I accept a request to speak, it is usually because a good friend has made the request or it is an audience that can help the Palmetto Institute spread and share its singular mission and message of improving the quality of life in South Carolina. While both of those reasons apply to this occasion, since my Palmetto Institute colleague Paula Harper Bethea asked me to speak, the real reason I accepted this engagement is so I could pay tribute to my hero, John Drummond.

This evening we have rightly honored my dear friend, the Honorable Bill Barnett, and praised him for the service he has rendered as a citizen and as a public official. Fundamentally, I believe we do things such as this for two basic reasons. We do it because it is important to hold up exemplary service and to recognize those who exhibit the very best traits of character, integrity and humanity. And, we do it because it reinforces and renews the life lessons we have been taught through the selfless service, fierce determination, and awesome dedication of men like Bill Barnet and John Drummond.

Bill Barnett has been successful as a business man and is now equally successful as the Mayor of one of our state’s most progressive cities. Bill is a serious and intelligent man, possessed of an extraordinary focus on the future. He wants the very best for his community and region, but he does not want it at the expense of any other area of the state. And even though Barnet serves as Mayor, I still view him as a private citizen who serves the public through both public and private service.

But, John Drummond with his 40 years of service in the South Carolina Senate is truly the public’s servant. I first met John when he invited me to speak to the Senate after I had set up an endowment at the USC School of Business. As Jim Fields reminded me recently, my speech to the Senate was not warm and fussy. In fact, many of the Senators were somewhat taken back by the, let us say, bluntness of my remarks about the condition of South Carolina and the General Assembly’s role in how it got there. But not John Drummond – he came straight up to me after the speech and said, "I have been waiting for someone to make those remarks from the Senate podium for a long time. Thank you." And, since then, I have benefited from the very warm and rich association with the namesake of this institution. John Drummond has seen and done it all. He is a true American hero.

The late Senator Don Holland speaking on the occasion of Senator Drummond’s election as Senate President, Pro Tempore, talked about John Drummond’s military experience. He said of the Senator. "Like a great many of the men and women who are his contemporaries, our new President Pro Tempore served our country on the battle fields of World War II. His mettle has been tested in the stark existence of a prisoner of war camp. There he honed his skills as a relentless and tenacious fighter, one who gives his all for what he believes in. There he also learned the need for conciliation, and the terrible consequences that result when people cannot or will not find common ground."

Those qualities have never left John. Listen to some of his words as President Pro Tempore of the Senate:

"Democracy is not a winner-take-all proposition. It is our job to represent the interests of all South Carolinians, not just those who wind up with the narrow numerical edge…."

"The only mandate any of us have…is the mandate of stewardship. We are entrusted with carrying out the public will and protecting the public interest. That means many things to many people, and it's hard to define. But it's what keeps us functioning as individuals first and members of a political organization second."

John Drummond, you are my hero and as always, I am honored to be in your presence. Thank you for what you have done for South Carolina.

When I made the speech to the Senate in May of 1998, I titled it, "Permanent State of Disrepair." As I told the Senators that day, based on my research assessing the status of education in South Carolina – the condition of its schools, and the fiscal management of its budget, I was surprised we had not finished lower than dead last in the nation on more measures of academic performance. I called it a permanent state of ignorance – a permanent state of inefficiency – and, most important, a permanent state of unrealized promise.

 

Much has happened since that speech. First, to my surprise, I wasn’t booted out of the state even though there have been a few who really wanted to give me the boot. I have learned a great deal more about people of this state – about their problems – their needs – and their fears. But more important, I have also learned about their dreams – their hopes – and, most of all, their willingness to change for the better if just given the direction and guidance and encouraged by capable leadership. Much progress has been made. Slowly, painfully, and with many distractions, our educational attainment is improving.

For me, making South Carolina competitive is the bottom-line. If this state does not have the economic foundations and the mix of industries to be globally competitive, the prosperity we want for all South Carolinians will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. So, when we talk about the quality of our educational system or improving our workforce skills or using our universities to find new and innovative ways to add value to the products we make and the services we offer in South Carolina, it is not because I want us to rank higher or look better than other states – it is because we have to improve these foundations to compete in the global market.

Do you remember when we were losing so many textile jobs to foreign countries? Everybody wanted to build industrial parks or offer strong financial incentives to replace those low-skilled jobs. Now, we know it was not buildings we had to replace, but it was the workers we had to retrain. Unfortunately, today, the competition is not only for low-skilled jobs but for engineers, architects, radiologists, and other professional jobs. And, here is the challenge – a company can have those professionals anywhere in the world, just as well educated, at fraction of the cost. So, while we are improving, everybody else is improving too.  

It is a terrific challenge – one that the Palmetto Institute works on daily. The Institute’s first baseline study told us we were not competitive and we were not positioned to be competitive in the future. We have committed substantial resources and energy to conducting detailed research on ways, means and methods to improve our economic foundations and add value to our industrial clusters. I am extremely proud of the work the Institute has accomplished, but just like South Carolina, we have a long journey before we can declare success.

Presently, we are partnering with the Technical Education College System and the Lumina Foundation to implement the "Achieving the Dream" program in four of our technical colleges in South Carolina. It is a program that targets individual student achievement, particularly for students in disadvantaged areas and students of color. Right now, 40% of students entering the TEC system have to take remedial courses. They get lost in the system and eventually drop out. For many technical education colleges, their graduation rate is less than 50%. The purpose of the program is to address this problem and to find ways to help these students graduate. If we simply increase the percentage of students graduating by 5%, the economic impact is substantial to the state. Let me emphasize by giving you another statistic. The Alliance for Excellence in Education projects – in South Carolina – that the estimated loss of lifetime income from high school dropouts not graduating with their class in 2005-2006 is more than $7.7 billion.

We are also working with the agriculture and agribusiness community to map out a strategy for them to become an even greater economic engine for the state. From our research, we see strong evidence that the need for agricultural projects, both for food and energy, will dramatically increase in the future global economy. Already we see both China and India becoming grain deficient countries. Look at the price of corn because of its use for both food and ethanol. If we can strategically give our agricultural economy a competitive advantage, then we will dramatically benefit the economy of South Carolina, particularly rural areas that need our help. We are undertaking a project to research and map all of the state’s agricultural assets to determine how we can add value to their production. We are paying special attention to the development of alternative, renewable fuels using agricultural products grown in South Carolina. We also believe we need an energy plan for South Carolina as part of our effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve our economy.

These are just a few of our projects but at least they give you an idea of our focus and direction. Right now, I would like to talk about one of our initial projects to emphasize the points I want to leave with you with tonight. With the realization that SC had to change the direction of its economy, we enticed Professor Michael Porter of Harvard, a leading authority on regional competitiveness, to help develop a long-term economic strategy for the state. The effort to implement this strategy is now in the very capable hands of Ed Sellers and the Council on Competitiveness, which is now called "New Carolina." It is a most difficult task, particularly in a state that does not accept change easily. However, they are making progress, and I am very proud of their work. After the first year of this effort, we asked Professor Porter to come back to assess the progress of our work. In a speech in Greenville, he told us we were making progress, we did have the assets to build a competitive economy, but the only question still to be answered was, "Do we have the will?" Can we persevere against the naysayers and the recalcitrant groups who are not willing to change? Can we overcome the parochial anchor of "My interest first, and the state’s interest last?" Do we realize that we will never get any where continuing to fight over the division of the pie rather than trying to figure out how to make it bigger for everyone? That is our challenge, and it is something we have to battle every day. The good thing, however, is we are making progress and as we continue to fight our battles, we are learning some very important lessons.

I now know that we cannot lay the blame for all our ills at the doorstep of the General Assembly. Just as they did not create all of the problems that South Carolina faces today, they cannot solve all of the problems. The General Assembly is only as good as the private sector helps it to be. If we simply dump the problems at their doorstep without being a partner in finding a solution, we will fail. It is that simple. It is our responsibility to collaborate in both finding and implementing change that will help all of our citizens. And, if our solutions do not work, we need to find better solutions rather than simply spending time finding someone to blame. And, finally, if you want a good partnership with our government, then elect good people to public office. When you vote, don’t let the political consultants sway you with empty promises of "no taxes" but great schools and great roads and great ports. Make them tell you how they are going to make our state competitive. How are they going to make this state one of great promise rather than hollow promises? And, most important, think about the dedication, the statesmanship, and the perseverance of John Drummond. If you need a model, think about him – I do.

Thank you.