Don't Our Legislators Have Anything Better to Do?

As a threshold matter, the requirement that our state employees say "It's a great day in South Carolina." is silly. I understand the idea behind it, but honestly, it's style over substance. In any event, I would be annoyed at this requirement if I were a state employee. However, work (and life) is full of stupid rules that don't make a practical difference. Accordingly, I wouldn't waste my time arguing with the Governor about it if I were an employee, and I certainly wouldn't waste time on it if I were an elected official. The issue is entirely non-substantive.

However, two of our esteemed legislators (representing York and Charleston) have decided they have nothing more important to do. Here is what they propose:

Democratic state Reps. John Richard King and Wendell Gilliard have filed legislation saying no state agency can force its employees to answer the phone with, "It's a great day in South Carolina," as long as state unemployment is 5 percent or higher. Their bill also would prohibit requiring the greeting as long as all South Carolinians don't have health insurance.

This is a colossal waste of time and legislative resources. They're not arguing that our Governor can't make state employees say silly greetings. They want to put certain quantifiable benchmarks in place before silly greetings are spoken. This is not a serious legislative idea - it's the political version of schoolchildren calling each other names during recess.

Figure out something better to do, guys. You're an elected member of the South Carolina legislature, not a third-grader. Act like an adult. Get something substantive done.