SC Sanford’s stimulus rejection would cost 4,700 jobs

Thinkprogress:

Today, State Rep. Dan Cooper (R) said Sanford’s proposal would result in 4,000 teachers losing their jobs, along with 700 prison guards:

He said the state budget — already cut from $7.1 billion to $5.6 billion in less than a year — would have to be slashed another 8 percent to 9 percent if the stimulus money is used as Sanford proposes.
He said that would trigger the layoffs of 4,000 teachers and the emergency closures of three to five prisons, with 3,400 inmates freed early and 700 guards losing their jobs.

This morning, Ronnie Jackson, the mayor of Allendale, SC -- a town with a more than 24 percent unemployment rate -- went on MSNBC to plead with Sanford to accept the stimulus funds. "We need it. We need it bad," he said.