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AGENDA
FOR A BETTER SOUTH
NOVEMBER
2009 -- Imagine an American South in which every child is safe and
healthy, nurtured by a loving family, receives a high-quality education,
graduates from high school and achieves a post-secondary education.
Imagine
an American South in which all adults have career opportunities
in diverse industries with opportunities for advancement, live in
reasonably-priced housing in safe communities, and have accessible
and affordable health care.
Imagine
an American South with a thriving business climate that supports
entrepreneurial innovation, the growth of small businesses and corporate
expansion.
Imagine
a South whose citizens are fully engaged in the democratic process
and turn out in large numbers to make their voices heard. And imagine
an American South that preserves and respects its bountiful natural
resources, while also leading the country in energy conservation
and the efficient use of renewable resources.
Just
imagine.
BACKGROUND
More
than 20 Southern leaders and thinkers imagined these possibilities
for a better South during a conference held at Davidson College
in North Carolina in November 2009. The result? An eight-point Agenda
for a Better South that showcases "measurable visions"
for Southern leaders to act upon now to make significant changes
in people's lives as the region embraces the knowledge-based economy.
The
Agenda doesn't address every challenge for or opportunity offered
in the American South. Rather, it seeks to outline major areas on
which Southern leaders should concentrate leadership efforts now
to have meaningful impacts to improve the quality of Southern lives.
By using the priorities offered in this Agenda, Southern leaders
can develop innovative solutions that will have rippling effects
across generational regional problems such as poverty, health care
and education.
The
Agenda for a Better South is a bold vision of how things can be
if Southern leaders grapple with major issues instead of continuing
a narrow, short-term focus to policy alternatives that don't have
big impacts. Implementing the visions of the Agenda for a Better
South won't be easy, but imagine how much stronger the region would
be if Southern leaders welcome the challenge to make major changes.
THE
AGENDA FOR A BETTER SOUTH
The
purpose of offering an Agenda for a Better South is to provide legislators
and leaders with short, measurable visions that frame the serious
policy issues in the South in the near term. During the development
of the Agenda, participants felt some additional context would be
helpful in framing each Agenda item. Below in bold is the Agenda
Policy Goal; below each is additional information that seeks to
provide context.
NURTURING
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
To
compete in a 21st century global economy, each Southern state must
increase its high school graduation rate and have 60 percent of
native Southerners and new residents with post-secondary degrees,
including associates' degrees from technical colleges, by 2020.
More:
The international benchmark for competitiveness is for a nation
to have 55 percent of its adult citizens with at least an associate's
degree, according to a 2007 report by the National Council on
Adult Literacy, "Mounting Pressures Facing the U.S. Workforce
and the Increasing Need for Adult Education and Literacy."
The group at Davidson strongly believed that for the South to
compete actively in the global economy, it was important for Southern
states to set a goal of better than the international benchmark
for post-secondary education, including associates' degrees, advanced
technical education, college degrees and post-graduate degrees.
BOOSTING
WELLNESS
Each
Southern state should increase life expectancy to levels on par
with Canada.
More:
The group found it important to compare life expectancy rates
in the South to a neighboring country, rather than another American
state. Life expectancy for children born in neighboring Canada
in 2006 was 78.4 years for boys and 83 years for girls, according
to Statistics
Canada. According to the most recent figures by the U.S. Census,
the highest life expectancy in any Southern state was Florida
- 74.6 years for boys born in 2000 and 80.3 years for girls born
in 2000. More
info.
IMPROVING
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Each
Southern state should develop a state energy plan that improves
per capita energy efficiency by 20 percent in 2020.
More:
In 2007, the European Union set a 20-20-20 energy policy that
included the goal of improving energy efficiency by 20 percent
by 2020. The group at Davidson discussed the importance of improving
energy efficiency throughout the South, which tends to have lower
rates but higher usage rates, because boosting efficiencies would
allow the region to take significant strides in reducing greenhouse
gases and its carbon footprint. Reduced electricity use, for example,
likely would lessen the need for new coal-fired power plants.
REFORMING
TAXES
Each
Southern state should adopt or change tax structures by 2015 that
expand the tax base while lowering the rate to help ensure revenue
sources match or exceed the state's growth rate in the state's overall
economy.
More:
Group members agreed states should take serious looks at how they
tax citizens to ensure that tax structures are fair, balanced
and as progressive as possible. Among the ideas discussed were
for states to conduct performance reviews to improve efficiencies
and modernize government, and to review sales tax exemptions to
ensure they made sense in a knowledge-based economy. The group,
however, did not believe in providing prescriptive strategies
to states. Rather, it encourage state leaders to develop modern
tax structures that are based on having broad tax bases to spread
the burden and ensure rates are as low as possible for states
to operate effectively. Additionally, the group believed revenue
sources should match or exceed a state's growth rate to ensure
that it had adequate capacity to operate.
INVESTING
IN INFRASTRUCTURE
Each
Southern state must invest 90 percent of its capital budget spending
on priorities identified in its infrastructure capital planning
process.
More:
The group highlighted in discussion that "infrastructure"
should be broadly based to include roads, rail, airports, water,
wastewater, electricity and communication. In an effort to reduce
development of different kinds of infrastructure separately, states
should strive to link improvements to all types of infrastructure
to achieve efficiency. Planning includes a needs assessment and
identification of deferred maintenance. The planning process must
be transparent and include regional cooperation. Each state should
identify sources of revenue to meet its infrastructure needs.
CULTIVATING
GOVERNANCE
Each
Southern state should develop and implement a benchmark citizen
trust survey by 2011. By 2015, each state's levels of trust in state
government should increase by 20 percent over the benchmark.
More:
The group outlined how it was important for Southern states to
work diligently to repair citizens' trust in government by enhancing
standards of professionalism, improving accountability, conducting
performance reviews and strengthening ethics laws to improve citizens'
experiences, perceptions and participation in civic institutions.
This set of values is not to be viewed as a means to shrink or
grow government, but to restore people's faith that the civilizing
institution that they "own" is working on their behalf
to deal with challenges, promote economic development and expand
opportunities for a better quality of life.
ENSURING
OPPORTUNITIES
Southern
states should reduce disparities in the treatment and well-being
of different groups to foster a more inclusive, creative, productive
and prosperous South. By 2012, each Southern state should adopt
measures to drive significant reduction in identified disparities
within at least five major categories.
More:
The group believed each Southern state should take a look in the
mirror at social indicators it faces and take significant steps
to reduce disparities. One state, for example, might look at its
rate of low birthweight babies and other health measures, while
another might focus on economic indicators. Whatever indicators
are selected by a state, the likelihood is great that improvements
on at least five indicators will generate improvements in several
other areas too.
FOSTERING
SAFE COMMUNITIES
Each
Southern state should reduce the rates of violent crime to below
the national average by 2020.
More:
Violence is endemic in today's South, just as it has been for
centuries. Four of the nation's top five states for violent crime
are in the South: South Carolina (1), Tennessee (2), Florida (4)
and Louisiana (5), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To ensure
communities are safer and people feel safer, Southern leaders
need to take extraordinary steps to reduce violence in the South,
which will improve the region's quality of life.
PARTICIPANTS
More
than two dozen Southern academics, elected officials, business leaders
and thinkers met Nov. 6-8, 2009, at Davidson College for a conference,
"Setting the Agenda for a Better South."
While participants agreed on the general Agenda Priorities listed
above and debated the wording of each, participation should not
be construed to be an endorsement of any Agenda item by any individual
participant. That being noted, participants included:
- Alabama:
Publisher H. Brandt Ayers, Anniston; Prof. Stephen Black, Tuscaloosa;
former U.S. Rep. Glen Browder, Birmingham; Editor Bob Davis, Anniston;
and advocate Sarah Louise Smith, Birmingham.
- Arkansas:
Prof. Jay Barth, Little Rock; advocate Richard Huddleston, Little
Rock; and publisher Warwick Sabin, Little Rock.
- Florida:
Nonprofit leader Laura Deaton, Tallahassee.
- Georgia:
Editor Tom Baxter, Atlanta; Publisher Elliott Brack, Norcross;
analyst Sarah Beth Gehl, Atlanta; Sen. Doug Stoner, Smyrna.
- Mississippi:
Foundation leader Ivye Allen, Jackson; columnist Phil Hardwick,
Jackson; analyst Ed Sivak, Jackson.
- North
Carolina:
Prof. Ferrel Guillory, Chapel Hill; businessman Bryant Kinney,
Charlotte; consultant Pope "Mac" McCorkle, Chapel Hill;
former councilman Bruce McMillen, Davidson; editor Mary Newsom,
Charlotte; Prof. Mary Thornberry, Davidson.
- South
Carolina:
Prof. Adolphus Belk, Rock Hill; Better South Chairman Andy Brack,
Charleston; Executive Michael Couick, Cayce; Better South Director
Leo Fishman, Kiawah Island; Sen. Phil Leventis, Sumter; analyst
Mike Shealy, Irmo.
- Other:
Analytical writer Richard Greene, New York, New York.
MORE
INFORMATION
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