The article “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” appeared in The State which is South Carolina’s daily state newspaper out of Columbia. It has a daily circulation of over 100,000 and is the largest newspaper in SC. The article was posted on the newspapers’ website in the opinion section on January 22nd, 2009. It was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe, who is the associate editor of The State. Cindi Ross Scoppe was born in Burlington, NC and studied Journalism and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining The State she worked for several North Carolina newspapers. She has received the Gonzales Award for her editorials on video poker in SC and was named Journalist of the Year in 1999 by the SC Press Association.
The article is targeted at citizens of South Carolina who are concerned about the state of the economy and the budget crisis facing SC. The articles’ purpose is to convince the readers that the choices the government has to make are not clear cut and that solutions to the current crisis aren’t easy to find. The author makes this point by comparing and contrasting the government with families and businesses. Scoppe explains that while families can make decisions based on what is good for them individually, the government doesn’t have that same luxury. Government has to make decisions based on what is best for all of society. She argues that therefore the solutions which work for families will not necessarily serve the common good. She stresses that there aren’t any easy answers.
