Columns

If you’re the person who keeps up with bills and balances your family checkbook, you can definitely relate to the role of a comptroller general.
That’s my title, state comptroller general. Many folks in state government simply refer to me as “the CG.”
That’s a peculiar title, even a little old fashioned. So it’s not surprising when I meet people outside state government who ask about the responsibilities of my job and the agency I direct, the Office of Comptroller General.

Many Lancaster Republicans have contacted me to express their displeasure at the recent column by Phil Noble, which attacked Republican legislators for their opposition to Obamacare.
 Noble has a long history as a paid political operative and past Democratic candidate for several offices, so one would suppose he has a bias.
While that is understandable, trying to suggest that those opposed to Obamacare are on the same level as racists and those who provoked a bloody civil war, is inexcusable and just plain wrong.

Transparency has become just another buzzword to some in government these days.
A few years ago, before it ever became a government buzzword, I launched a project to make the details of how government spends money readily available and transparent to citizens in South Carolina.
As the state’s comptroller general – more commonly described as its chief financial officer – it seemed only natural to me that South Carolinians ought to be able to see the full picture of how government officials are spending the public’s hard-earned tax dollars.

The South Carolina state budget is split into two major pieces, part 1A and part 1B. While both parts are excruciatingly boring to read, the first part, 1A, is at least understandable. At least it looks like a budget.
Each agency has its own chart of line items showing how much money is allocated to each agency, program, function, etc. That’s why, when members of the news media talk about “the budget,” they’re almost always talking about that portion of the budget they can read, part 1A.