Gov. Mark Sanford gives his last State of the State address Wednesday night. Sanford will speak to the media Wednesday morning about his speech, but no doubt it will focus in part on the state’s dismal financial state.

But Board of Economic Advisers Chairman John Rainey has his own very general outlook on the state’s state and its problems, which he asserts go beyond the economy and are not all connected to the current recession. In a recent interview, Rainey told us that South Carolina is loaded with systemic problems that will take many years to change.

Rainey says South Carolina is simply a poor state, and it will take many years of selfless, dedicated leadership to make a difference. He says most of the state’s problems are connected to poverty.  “It’s interesting that we have the highest rate of home ownership in the nation,” says Rainey.  “But it’s because we have the highest number of manufactured homes, not per capita, but on an absolute basis.”

Rainey says the public in general has not acknowledged the struggle felt by so many South Carolina residents, a struggle in place before the recession began.  “Most families in this state, every month line up their bills on the kitchen table,” he says.  “And they pay them in the order of the closeness of the ‘take-back man’ to that particular item.  They use every dollar every month just to make ends meet.  That’s where we are.” [Read more...]