Governor may want to reasses her telephone answering mandate, learn from booming career fair
Social and news media alike exploded with excitement Wednesday about Gov. Nikki Haley's decree that all state employees answer their phones with the phrase: "It's a great day in South Carolina. How can I help you?"
The State newspaper's front page perfectly outlined the reason for the outrage — the headline of the lead story, a Columbia area census report entitled "Income down, poverty up," ran right next to the Haley article, labeled "'It's a great day in South Carolina.'"
Governor, it's not a great day in South Carolina.
Ask the 11.1% of families living below the poverty level in the Columbia area. How about the roughly 239,170 unemployed South Carolinians?
The state's arts programs and public universities, losing more and more funding due to state budget cuts, could probably also attest they're not seeing sunshine.
Quirky greetings aren't going to change people's days for the better. If you want to boost morale, you might start by boosting the economy and increasing jobs.
We're thankful though, that our university, as backwards as it may seem at times, is taking steps forward for those of us who will soon enter the less-than-ideal job market.
It's heartening to know USC's career fair Wednesday saw an increase of 34 percent in interested businesses wanting to hire college graduates since last year. More than 130 employers appeared at this year's fair, including big name businesses like Fritos and CNN.
This drastic increase in prospective employers is great news for both USC students and for South Carolina. It's a dim glow on a bleak horizon, but for a few of us, it may even be a reason to have a great day.