Many of you must see the headlines generated by DOGE and Elon Musk in Washington, D.C. While there can always be debate about tactics, there should be no debate about the need for a rapid shrinking of the federal bureaucracy, and ultimately state and local bureaucracies. At the federal level, the budget has ballooned from $4 trillion pre-COVID to $7 trillion today. Unfortunately, the increase of $3 trillion in expenses comes with only a $1 trillion increase in revenue, adding $2 trillion to the national debt annually. The national debt has ballooned to an unsustainable $36 trillion. There are only two ways out of this: grow revenue dramatically or shrink costs dramatically, which is what DOGE is doing at the federal level.
At the state level, South Carolina’s general fund spending is up an unsustainable 60 percent in the last four years. Where has this money gone? Improving education? No, our K-12 is ranked 42nd out of 50 states. Roads? Heck no! Improving the income of working South Carolinians? Nope. We are 39th in median family income. It has largely gone to growing the unelected agency state, a fourth branch of government not sanctioned in the Constitution. South Carolina has four times the number of full-time agency employees on a per capita basis as Florida. How do we pay for all this? The highest marginal income tax rate of any red state in the nation.
Many of you have asked me about the new DOGESC (www.dogesc.com). The mission of DOGESC is to slash and restructure South Carolina agency spending by half or more, cut down the 36,000 pages of state regulations by half or more, and return the money to the citizens by eliminating the state income tax, like our southeastern neighbors Florida and Tennessee. DOGESC will sponsor legislation to this end in 2026 and will get involved in the 2026 statewide races—from governor down to local races—to elect leaders who support this agenda. DOGESC will also oppose all rules and legislation that do not promote transparency in government. The public’s business is best done in public, whether you are in state, county, or city government.
The country was founded on a unique dream—a self-governing nation whose rights and freedom come from God, not government. Faith can be unifying. As we approach our 250th anniversary, it is DOGESC’s intent to follow the president’s lead and help put us back on track to sustain our founders' dream. Please join us in this journey at dogesc.com, as we ramp up our efforts in the next six months.