By John Temple LigonTemple@TheColumbiaStar.com

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S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford spoke to the Columbia Rotary Club Monday, October 2, at lunchtime. He opened his speech with a citation of Thomas L. Friedman's The World is Flat where Friedman wrote "We're seeing changes in our world unimaginable just a generation ago."

Sanford then noted the author David McCullough, who wrote 1776. When McCullough was asked the most pivotal time in history. He said, "2000-2005."

Sanford's question was "How should South Carolina both react to these changes and get ahead at the same time?" He offered four agenda points to structure his answer.

1) Sanford said 30% of all jobs announced in the 1990s are no longer here. Focus on recruiting. Leverage human capacity with investment, as in education. Sanford mentioned his charter school promotions to make his point. In the global race for capital, South Carolina needs to be more productive.

2) Get a hold on governmental spending. State government grew by 25% over the past two years.

3) Continue to nudge the structure of government. A unity of command is needed. The governor has control over just 16% of state agencies. For instance, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster was able to put in place only three or four people out of the 150 at his agency.

4) Give greater voice to every South Carolinian. A change in the S.C. Senate rules is needed. One senator can completely stop an idea with otherwise mass appeal.

Asked if the S.C. Constitution was "out in left field," Sanford said, "Yes, it was. The constitution was written by the white power structure in 1895 as a paranoid counter measure to the possibility a black South Carolinian could become governor. The goal was to reduce the power of the office, regardless who took charge.

Sanford alerted the audience the state retirement system was sailing through dire straits. For the next 20 years, $500,000,000 must be accounted for each year.

A higher education advocate, Sanford warned the Rotarians South Carolina is second in the Southeast for what is allocated to higher education as a percentage of the state budget. At the same time, in-state tuition charges are also in the top tier for the Southeast.