There's a battle being fought in Columbia - a battle between those who want to reform state government to make it work better for the people and a "Good Ol' Boy" system that prefers things the way they are.

To my mind, government reform is an important step toward curing many of South Carolina's ills. Whenever government can improve efficiency by eliminating waste, duplication and overhead, taxpayers are able to keep more of their own money - which helps the overall economy as well as the taxpayers. And it frees up limited resources to be used where they're genuinely needed.

Here are five specific reforms we do well to adopt:

1) End across-the-board budget cuts. When revenue shortfalls occur, state government has developed a bad habit of cutting all state agencies the same percentage. We must begin to target these cuts, sparing programs which represent core functions of government (such as law enforcement) while reducing spending on things which are not.

2) Continue to increase government transparency. In recent years, we've made much progress in the area of transparency. (In 2008 my office took the initiative to create a spending transparency Web site which shows individual expenditures by state government, and we're continually working to provide even more transparency.) But South Carolina still has a long way to go. For example, state-supported colleges and universities don't post their spending details on the Web, and they should post them. Whenever government operates with transparency and accountability, those in positions of public trust tend to be responsive to the needs of the citizens.

3) Enact transparency for lobbyists. Lobbyists have much influence in Columbia. Information about who hires them and how much they're paid should be made available on the Web, just as campaign contributions for political candidates are.

4) End the use of "one-time funds" to cover recurring expenses or expand programs. When we use any one-time infusion of cash to pay for ongoing budget costs, we violate a fundamental rule of good business and good government. When the cash goes away, the recurring costs continue, sending state government over a "funding cliff;" policy-makers must then decide whether to cut programs and services, or find new ways to pay for them -- but finding new ways to pay for them often means digging too deep into taxpayers' pockets.

5) Eliminate the Budget and Control Board. This is the powerful five-member panel that oversees much state spending and serves as the "landlord" for state government agencies. We should replace it with a Department of Administration directly controlled by the governor. Hopefully this would be part of a broader restructuring effort to streamline costs, combine overlapping agencies and create accountability.

These changes won't solve all of our problems overnight, but each one would certainly improve the quality of government and help move our state forward.

Eckstrom is the state Comptroller General, which is somewhat like the chief financial officer for South Carolina. His office is charged with handling and distributing public money in the state.