It came to my attention last night after discussing the filming of the movie Nailed in South Carolina that the Commerce Secretary actually tried to prevent the filming of Nailed from occurring in South Carolina because the script, which is a sexual comedy, didn't jive with his morals.
It actually took maneuvering around the Secretary and confronting the legislature directly that was crucial in landing the film in Columbia.
It was so bad that last week the Senate apparently had to have a committee meeting calling members of the Film Commission, the Commerce Department and the film itself to count before it to discuss the film - including the Film's Director.
This is part of the systemic problem that is plaguing the Commerce Department. Joe Taylor the Commerce Chief who is supported by the Governor and appears to subscribe to his very libertarian view on politics and economics is atrophying the department through asinine policies and out dated philosophies, in pursuit of reducing the bottom line. We've even seen the creation of a private version of the Commerce Department that is picking up the slack in trying to progress South Carolina into the 21st Century. We've seen regional economic development organizations and Community Development Groups revolt against the Commerce Department and are refusing to work in concert with the State Agency that is supposed to be filled with experts, is unable or unwilling to enact policies or decisions to foster that concert. And now the Film Industry which creates a huge economic impact on this state - we are discovering is actually the bane of Mr. Taylor's secretariat. He appears to castigate these valuable efforts for economic development and cultural relevance as boondoggles because the incentives don't jive up with his libertarian scruples.
God help the folks that are working hard to produce economic development and progress in the State while this man is still at the helm. It is unfortunate that he's not going anywhere for the remainder of the lifetime of the current regime, and it's unfortunate for the people of South Carolina to have such a misguided ideologue demoting our state.
We'll just see how they act when the Stars Descend upon Columbia.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Commerce head fights to keep "Nailed" out of SC
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1 comment:
It's scary how accurate this article is. And it's sad how one misguided man with a little bit of power can take something that was working for the whole state and render it useless.
And the Governor does nothing...
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