Issues

Henry is running for governor because our state needs executive leadership committed and focused on putting South Carolina back on the Path to Prosperity. In officially announcing his campaign for governor in August 2009, Henry became the first candidate to unveil a detailed economic development plan – called the Path to Prosperity – to put South Carolina back to work.

The Path to Prosperity is an energetic and optimistic strategic plan of action that will build on South Carolina’s existing assets to launch a new era of prosperity and growth.

Read more about Henry’s Path to Prosperity:
http://www.henrymcmaster.com/pathtoprosperity

Henry knows safe streets, neighborhoods and classrooms are key to our state’s future prosperity. For Henry, that begins with closing the revolving doors of our prisons and jails by enacting truth in sentencing by abolishing parole. We need new sentencing programs for non violent, first time offenders that require work and drug testing in order to stay out of jail. And we must continue our efforts on Internet predators, domestic violence and gangs.

To be competitive with other states, Henry believes we must have comprehensive tax reform from top to bottom that lowers taxes, making our tax code flatter, fairer, and friendlier to economic development. Currently, our personal income taxes are the highest in the Southeast. Taxes on manufacturing are the highest in the nation, and we have the seventh highest commercial property taxes. This puts our state at a disadvantage.

Traditional South Carolina values are the foundation for strong families, safe communities and prosperous states. Throughout his career in public service, including two terms as attorney general, Henry McMaster has defended traditional South Carolina values. He led the statewide effort to constitutionally define traditional marriage as a union between one man and one woman. He defended our right to express religious faith publicly on “I Believe” license plates. He stood up to ACLU lawyers who said we can’t pray to Jesus Christ in public. And he cracked down on websites that peddle pornography and prostitution. Henry McMaster will be a governor who champions traditional values.

Henry McMaster has always believed that human life begins at conception and should be protected from conception to natural death. Henry will be a pro-life governor. In 1986, Henry became the first candidate ever endorsed by South Carolina Citizens for Life. As South Carolina Republican Party state chairman, Henry McMaster ensured that the pro-life plank in the state and national party platform was never undermined.

Henry believes improving and reforming our education delivery system is also critical to our state’s economic success. And he wants every South Carolina child to be able to read at grade level by the third grade. Parents must have the opportunities for their children that choice and competition provides. Teachers who meet or exceed goals should be paid and promoted based on merit, free of burdensome red tape and paperwork. And our classrooms must be safe and properly funded.

Henry McMaster is an avid sportsman and proud gun owner. For decades, Henry has worked with the National Rifle Association to protect our 2nd Amendment rights. But government at every level continues to intrude on gun owners’ rights. That’s why Henry has passionately defended our 2nd amendment rights in state and federal courts across America. Henry was instrumental in clearing the way for concealed weapons reciprocity with other states. When local government officials have attempted to encroach gun owners constitutional rights, the attorney general took action to protect gun owners’ rights.

Restructuring state government is important. Henry believes strongly that state government should be as transparent, efficient, accountable and responsive as possible. Taxpayers deserve to know how state government spends every dime. As governor, Henry McMaster will push for every state government agency, board and commission to make all spending, official decision and actions available online in real time. Henry also supports on-the-record voting in the General Assembly, all state government boards, commissions and committees. But technical issues of government structure should not distract the state’s chief executive. In South Carolina, there is not so much a restructuring problem as there is a leadership problem. The governor has all the power he needs to grow the economy and create jobs. The Path to Prosperity for South Carolina requires leadership working overtime to unleash the free market and re-ignite South Carolina’s greatness. That’s what Henry would do as governor.

Today, agribusiness has a $34 billion impact on our state and has the potential to reshape the economy of the I-95 corridor and expand to a $50 billion dollar impact in twenty years. Henry believes a fully integrated effort by the Department of Commerce and the Agriculture Commissioner can market existing agribusiness opportunities and explore value-added technological ones like bio-fuels and alternative uses of traditional crops.