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I see frequent posts in these forums, looking for comparisons between SC and NC. Responses talk about weather, religion, big city or small town, etc. Very few of them address the long-term, philosophical differences between the two states. For anyone considering a move in this direction, I highly recommend an editorial that ran this weekend in the Myrtle Beach SC newspaper. It's lengthy and detailed, so don't bother if you don't really want to know. For those trying to make an informed decision, it's required reading: <Tale of Two States> (http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/03/14/1365096/tale-of-two-states.html - broken link)
For the record, I'm a native South Carolinian and have lived most of my life between the 2 Carolinas. I've come back home but our two kids still live in NC. I love much about SC, but I would do everything in my power to discourage their moving to SC until after their kids are out of college and until they have accumulated sufficient wealth to sustain their lifestyles. Just one opinion...
I find the differences between the two states' leadership very interesting.
I was a life-long North Carolinian until my husband's job took us to SC in 2008. I worked in economic development in NC in the '80's and '90's when SC was kicking NC's butt. At that time NC was resisting being dragged into the incentives game and SC, AL, TN, and KY were all getting large auto mfg plants etc.
When I was growing up, NC was touted as the "good government" state and scandals were few and far between. It saddens me to see the state of politics change so drastically in my lifetime, not just in NC and SC, but everywhere.
As for the editorial cited in the OP's post, I think one must take into account the probable bias of the Myrtle Beach paper, considering Prop 388 has had a major negative impact on real estate tax revenues everywhere on the SC coast. It also cited several new jobs reports in NC, but failed to mention Boeing, BMW and its suppliers, etc. as recent announcements in SC. Nevertheless, I think the paper makes a valid point about the differing tax philosophies between the two states.
I think SC politics are a bloody mess as a result of a lack of sound and visionary leadership in the SC Legislature and Governor's office. While I think Greenville is a great place to live, I don't see calling SC home.
SC's populace is significant more conservative than NC's population; thus, its politics is rather rightwing. In North Carolina, progressives have much more political and social power, as evidenced by its laws and politics. North Carolina has outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants, which is something that won't happen in SC for a long time. SC is in the Deep South, North Carolina is in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the South. The cultural and political chasm between the two states is growing even more as immigration (domestic and international) and urbanization change North Carolina.
i didn't care much for the article. South Carolina is governed by its rural legislature. State law there is driven by individually voting religious social conservatives. NC's politics are much more centrist and urban-friendly, which is really the "central theme" of it, in my mind. that means higher taxes and more services, and more annexation power, etc. for NC, those "services" you pay for are mainly the UNC system. road infrastructure seems pretty sorry in both states, and public transit is missing as well.
although, North Carolina's rural legislators have just enough power to carve out big exemptions for agribusiness, like people who:
I find the differences between the two states' leadership very interesting.
I was a life-long North Carolinian until my husband's job took us to SC in 2008. I worked in economic development in NC in the '80's and '90's when SC was kicking NC's butt. At that time NC was resisting being dragged into the incentives game and SC, AL, TN, and KY were all getting large auto mfg plants etc.
When I was growing up, NC was touted as the "good government" state and scandals were few and far between. It saddens me to see the state of politics change so drastically in my lifetime, not just in NC and SC, but everywhere.
As for the editorial cited in the OP's post, I think one must take into account the probable bias of the Myrtle Beach paper, considering Prop 388 has had a major negative impact on real estate tax revenues everywhere on the SC coast. It also cited several new jobs reports in NC, but failed to mention Boeing, BMW and its suppliers, etc. as recent announcements in SC. Nevertheless, I think the paper makes a valid point about the differing tax philosophies between the two states.
I think SC politics are a bloody mess as a result of a lack of sound and visionary leadership in the SC Legislature and Governor's office. While I think Greenville is a great place to live, I don't see calling SC home.
Politics is actually tame now compared to what used to happen in our country and what happens in other countries is brutal compared to our system. We have problems here, but as long as there are governments with people running them there will be problems.
Today we just here more about the bad stuff that happens in politics because we live in such a media driven society, it's not that there is more corruption, there's actually less. Although I will add that with the death of newspapers coming eventually, you will start to see a lot more corruption at the local and county levels because there won't be as many eyes watching those elected officials.
I found the article interesting. I was born Spartanburg although I don't have much of a memory growing up there. I've spent most of my time in NC, mostly Charlotte although I lived in Raleigh for 5 years. I find that NC is more urban based than SC. I find this odd because SC has some potentially robust urban centers, including the first urban agglomeration in the South in Charleston. The development patterns have been different, and in that NC has passed up SC as well as several other traditional Southern states. I hope SC gets its act together.
I wonder, is there a collective Carolina identity?
Any collective Carolina identity is going to be more or less centered around Charlotte/the Piedmont.
What has separated NC from SC is that NC has made some progressive moves in the past in an attempt to create a more prosperous future (establishing RTP, loosening the banking laws, etc.), whereas SC has been much less proactive and failed to see that manufacturing/textiles wasn't always going to be here and tries to hard to hold on to the past in general. The larger urban areas (Charleston, Columbia, Greenville) do the best they can under the circumstances, but they could really blossom if the state didn't have its foot on their necks with such regressive politics.
^ I see. But even in that, the cities in SC are doing the best they can, as you mention, with Myrtle Beach as an example. I really hope for SC sake that some change is made. It really is a beautiful state, just needs some direction.
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