AL tax reform defeated

[trof]

Just FYI
We lost 2 to 1.
No big surprise.
<sigh>

[SoCalDem]

1. But of course.. Everything in "Murka is FREEEEEEE

So when they start laying off more teachers, and do not fix the roads, and cut back on fire protection and police protection, I wonder who will get the blame...


I wish there was a way that the "pet projects" and the special interest goodies could be hit and hit HARD.. Maybe when their own ox is gored, so to speak, they would be singing a new tune..


Of course, as always, the poor and the children will be hit the hardest..

:(

[kentuck]

2. Now the Governor should ask the voters for their recommendations...

For what programs he should cut since they don't wish to have their wealthier friends pay more taxes? Let's see, we could start with food stamps and unemployment insurance...not really, but there will have to be tough choices.

[bamademo]

3. They could start by taxing Churches

After all, they're the ones that defeated the lottery.

[kentuck]

4. good point....

Would the Governor propose such an idea?

[Muddleoftheroad]

6. Sure, the hell with that Constitution thingie

nt

[trof]

5. Is Alabama unique?

"We" don't trust our legislature. They're all a bunch of crooked grafting pork barrelers except OUR GUY. OUR GUY brings home the bacon and helps out the district and he's just peachy, but THEIR GUYS are ALL crooks and on the take etc. etc. etc.

I think we're in a death spiral.
:-(

[jody]

7. Alabama voters don't trust politicians because of the long history

of waste. Riley touted "accountability" in his tax package but he did not establish goals to which government would be accountable. That's a major reason Alabama earmarks so much of its budget.

Riley wanted to eliminate "pork" but his bills simply shifted "pork" from the legislators to the governor's office.

Riley used education as a major scare tactic because Alabama students score below average on SAT, ACT, and other tests. Unfortunately, just a few daya before the vote, Riley finaly promised to put reading coaches in each school and that was the only proposed solution to the education problem. Many voters asked for specifics on improvements to education, but the Department of Education doesn't have a clue as to what to do.

Riley like AWOL had an excellent PR team but like AWOL, it was mostly talk and little substance.

[southpaw]

8. LOTTERY!!!

Now that Riley's reform package is in the dustbin (in Shaftsbury?)
Alabamians need to start making noise about a new Lottery Referendum! It is up to the legislature to bring such a vote before the public. To my knowledge, the state legislature can call for a lottery referendum without the pproval of the executive branch, and the executive is powerless to veto the result of the vote, whether the governor likes the idea of a lottery or not.

I say we Alabamians need to start making noise about a lottery and really work to get it passed. Screw the religious crowd that voted it out 4 years ago. We can pass it if we work harder than they do. Plus, the general public would rather have a lottery than higher taxes.

But we must get this thing going BEFORE Billy Joe Jim Bob Public has time to forget about the scary tax-man that almost got him!

[AlabamaYankee]

9. A Lottery is the last thing we need

Not only is it bad fiscal policy, in merely continues to place the burden of financing state government on the backs of the poor.

Alabama's fical problems are deeply structural, a direct result of its constitution which was passed by a fraudulent vote (things never change) in 1901. It stripped local governments of most of their ability to govern their own affairs, shifting that over to the legislature in Montgmery which is controlled by the power elite. Property taxes are capped at ridiculously low millages, particularly for farm and timber land, and require a constitutional amendment to increase. The situation is so ridiculous that in order for a county to change the pension rules for its deputy sheriffs, an constitutional amendment must be voted on by the entire state.

[Liberator_Rev]

10. Exactly right, AlabamaYankee.

While the poor fritter away what little money they have on lotteries - which are nothing but a "tax on those who flunked math" - the rich are smart enough to invest their money where it gets real returns, like bribing politicians to push lotteries rather than taxes.

http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/GODvsGreed .



See what Christ might say about the "Christian Coalition" & "Religious Right" imposters.