As we would say in the Carolinas (my family has lived in both North and South Carolina for generations): it’s no good to have foxes guarding the henhouse. Well, except for the foxes.
As a rather poor state overall, the good citizens of South Carolina would appreciate knowing that someone like Dr. Fulton is volunteering his time to watch out for their hard-earned money. The minutes of this meeting clearly demonstrate that the regulatory body (Board of Funeral Service) that is charged with safeguarding them is ignoring proof that many
Let’s go further with the old saying: looks like the foxes are being paid by the chicken’s tax dollars to assure th8 that they are taking good care of them. Chicken stew, anyone?
If the Board were actually dedicated to upholding integrity, they would have welcomed Dr. Fulton’s findings as help to their mission. At the least, the findings should have raised alarm from them to look much deeper into the problems. Instead, the minutes of this meeting show that they responsed to this by mocking him and discrediting him.
What struck me most is Mr. Crawford’s flawed reasoning he uses to ignore findings that a large percentage of funeral homes consistently violate state regulations: since no system can guarantee that 100% compliance can be met, he encourages the Board to do nothing at all.
Why even fund a Board that has decided that there is no reason to fix things for the better? Any improvement would help and there’s definitely room for improvement. Each unfair funeral home in each small community that is brought back in line to do business fairly is a good thing for that many more people of South Carolina.
So, it appears that the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation are now looking at this. Since those entrusted with the job of protecting consumers are not willing to do their job, maybe the Department will review the qualifications for sitting on the Board. Having industry insiders control the board is clearly not working for the interests of the everyday people.
