Mayor Joe Riley has expressed his support of President Obama’s stimulus package and is saying Governor Mark Sanford should drop his opposition in light of the climbing unemployment rate, which is now nearing 10%.

Here's a word from the Charleston City Paper on the topic:
Gov. Mark Sanford has been a high-profile opponent of the jobs plan, claiming it will only grow the nation’s deficit. But Riley said Tuesday that, in light of the state’s unemployment rate nearing 10 percent, Sanford’s first priority should be in securing pay checks for South Carolinians.

Mayor Riley said:
The governor needs to feel responsible for the economic health of his state and the people of his state.

The New York Times has a good description of the stimulus package in case you were unaware:
Without a single Republican vote, President Obama won House approval on Wednesday (January 28, 2009) for an $819 billion economic recovery plan as Congressional Democrats sought to temper their own differences over the enormous package of tax cuts and spending.

As a piece of legislation, the two-year package is among the biggest in history, reflecting a broad view in Congress that urgent fiscal help is needed for an economy in crisis, at a time when the Federal Reserve has already cut interest rates almost to zero.

With unemployment rates continuing to escalate, Gov. Sanford should support our fresh president’s new effort to mend this economic crisis, because his people are among the Americans that are hurting the most.