EPISODE · Apr 22, 2026 · 7 MIN
SC legislature approves its own tax raises; Gov forum last night; Virginia
from The Charlie James Show Podcast
In the opening segment of The Charlie James Show on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Charlie James dives into the latest political friction in South Carolina and Virginia. He starts by slamming the South Carolina Senate's recent 21-20 vote to bypass a previous court ruling and increase their own monthly expense allowances from $1,000 to $2,500, a move critics are calling a self-approved pay raise tucked into the state budget. The discussion then shifts to the previous night's GOP Gubernatorial Forum in Charleston, where six candidates—including debuts from Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Rom Reddy—clashed over abortion, infrastructure, and data centers as they seek to distinguish themselves in the 2026 primary race. Finally, the segment touches on Virginia, where James critiques Governor Abigail Spanberger's move to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as a "power grab" while local voters just approved a major redistricting referendum.
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What this episode covers
00:00 And welcome to the program on your Wednesday afternoon. It's a lovely Wednesday, but boy, we need some rain. We have got so very much to talk about today. So you guys buckle up because it's going to be a barn burner this afternoon as we join you. Well, yesterday, I got some good news. Yesterday in Columbia at 5.03, yesterday afternoon, 00:30 Our state Senate voted to give themselves a pay raise. I know. I know. I feel the same way. I know. Yes, I get it. I get it. I tell you what. I tell you what. These men and women in our South Carolina legislature, they have worked hard for this pay raise. They really have. mean, look, all you got to do is look at it. Our roads are 01:00 Gorgeous. Man, it's like driving on glass. It is unbelievable. Our bridges, m pristine. No better bridges anywhere in the world than South Carolina. All of our infrastructure is just doing so well. mean, my gosh, they've got a handle on growth that's happening responsibly. Our taxes are wonderful. In fact, we love paying our South Carolina taxes. 01:29 Hey, our Department of Social Services, that's working great. uh you know, Department of Education, that's humming right along. Man, I don't know. Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina. In the morning. And here they are giving themselves a pay raise. For what? Could you see, if you were really horrible at your job, 02:00 If you were horrible at your job, if you did, 02:06 If you did absolutely either equal to or slightly less than the worst you could do at your job. 02:19 You only show up and perform at a level where you don't really, you're not getting fired because they need the warm body. 02:30 I'm telling you radio, I've known a lot of people like that throughout the years. We need the body. 02:36 But if you showed up at your boss after doing less than, than, what's, what is expected of you, you would have some nerve to show up to your boss and say, Hey, I, uh, you know what? I need some more money. I need more money. got, and listen, this whole thing about, and I, I've heard the, uh, the argument, well, you know, inflation, listen, if you need this $10,000 job, 03:05 then maybe you shouldn't be serving. 03:08 in the legislature, either House or Senate here in South Carolina. If you need this job to make ends meet. So yes, congratulations. You guys just, what was it, an 80 % pay raise? You guys got an 80, hoo-wee. I think that does beat the level of inflation, right? Yeah, good job. Let's go to Walter and Anderson. What do you feel about it, Walter? Hello, Charlie, how are you doing today? I'm great, man. What's up? 03:38 So I think it's great to be able to give yourself a raise like that because my boss told me, my boss told me if I want to raise other than my annual raise, I better find another job. That's right. You're exactly right. And I've been on this job for years, never called off sick, always done what I was supposed to have done and done it the right way. And that's what I was told. Now, if I could get away with doing nothing and get a raise, maybe I should think about that a little bit. Maybe so. 04:05 Maybe just, I appreciate it Walter, thank you. So 21 people in the Senate voted yes for a pay raise, 20 people voted no. Now here's the thing, you had three people with excused absence. You had Larry Grooms, Josh Kimbrel, I think he was excused because he had the debate last night, and you had Mike Rickenback. 04:29 I'm just throwing this out here. Okay. I don't know if Mike Rickenback wanted to be associated with a pay raise bill because he's running with Alan Wilson as Lieutenant Governor. Larry Grooms, who knows what his reason was? Maybe it was personal, but anyway, there you go. So we got Josh Kimball who did not vote yesterday because it was at the event um down in Charleston. Mike Rickenback um running with Alan Wilson. 04:58 That's interesting because we also last night had the governor's debate down in Charleston at the Satilly Theater. Lots o ...
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SC legislature approves its own tax raises; Gov forum last night; Virginia
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