The answer to SC unemployment is…dumping sand into the ocean

The following remarks by Senator Harvey Peeler were ordered printed in the SC Senate Journal of April 29, 2010.

…This amendment I have before you now just suspends the beach nourishment program for one year and here’s why. I’m serious about this when I tell you about this. Don’t let this be you in a few years:

“Granddaddy,”

“Yes son.”

“My teacher tells me that you were a South Carolina State Senator.”

“Well, yes son, I was.”

“I understand you were a Senator in 2010.”

“Yes, son, I was.”

“Our teacher told us that it was the toughest economic time in the State of South Carolina since the War and since a thing called the Great Depression.”

“Yes, son, it was a very, very tough time in the State of South Carolina. It was a terrible recession. People were out of work. School teachers were losing their jobs. Sick, hungry children were left unattended. Mean people were walking the streets.”

“Well, Granddaddy, what did you do when you were in the Senate?”

“Well, let me tell you what I did, son. I paid millions of dollars to dump sand into the ocean.”

“You did what, Granddaddy?”

“I spent millions of dollars of hard earned, tax payers’ money to dump sand into the ocean.”

“Granddaddy, you mean like when we go to the beach and we make this thing called a sandcastle and it’s so pretty and then after a few hours, no matter how hard we work and no matter how hard we try to protect that castle, that ocean comes up and washes that sand away?”

“Millions of dollars, in the toughest economic time in the State and we dumped sand into the ocean.”

“Well, Granddaddy, why aren’t you still in the Senate?”

“Well, son, I think I just gave you the answer.”

Now, you’re going to hear how great dumping sand in the ocean is and what it’s going to do to our tourism in the State of South Carolina. I don’t care how pretty a sandcastle you build tonight; that ocean’s going to wash it away. I’ve put that just as plain as I can put it. If you can vote against this amendment and get re-elected, I’ll worry about your constituents.

Thank you.