quote: MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Gov. Bob Riley is tired of seeing Alabama near the bottom in the national rankings. He says it is time voters demand as much from their public schools and state government as they do from their college football teams.
The price of change: a $1.2 billion tax increase that would be the biggest in Alabama history and the largest in percentage terms of any state this year.
quote: "For all my life, we've been 47th, 48th or 49th. I have never understood why," said the 58-year-old Republican. "Is there something about us that says we can't excel at something other than football? I don't believe that."
With Tax Plan Rejected, Alabama Braces for Cuts By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
MONTGOMERY, Ala., Sept. 10 — On Tuesday, as his prized $1.2 billion tax plan was going down in flames in a statewide referendum, Gov. Bob Riley quietly unveiled a plaque depicting the Ten Commandments in an exhibit room of the state Capitol.
Coming 10 days after a granite monument to the Ten Commandments had been removed from the rotunda of the Alabama judicial building, angering many Christian conservatives, Mr. Riley's gesture sent a clear signal: He may have suffered a humiliating defeat in the tax vote, but he has hardly given up his political base in the right wing of the Republican Party.
Today, as legislative leaders emerged ashen-faced from a meeting with Mr. Riley on the extent of the fiscal crisis, it appeared that his dire forecasts would come about: prisoners turned loose, nursing-home patients turned out and schoolchildren denied textbooks.
"What's going to happen is horrendous," Senator Larry Dixon, Republican of Montgomery, said.
Representative Ken Guin, Democrat of Carbon Hill, said Mr. Riley was trying to soften the blow as much as possible. Still, he said, "You just kind of sit there with your mouth open where the cuts are going to be."
So, bad things might happen as a result of budget cuts.
I think it will be interesting to see the outcome of this in three years time. Depending on the outcome, I think Alabama will be pointed at as an indication of what happens when taxes are kept low by fiscal conservatives or fiscal liberals.
The articles that I have given are both pessimistic towards the budget cuts. I would be interested to see what articles people can find that paint a rosier picture.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
It sounds like his heart is in the right place, political rhetoric aside. I'd be sick of running a bottom-of-the-barrel state too.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
The tax cuts as a solution to everything/supply siders need to learn that fiscal conservatism means cutting spending before cutting taxes. Cutting taxes without proper planning and forethought is just as disastrous as raising taxes without a good reason to spend.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I believe tax cuts can stimulate an economy but at the same time I think its ridiculous to say that you can't raise taxes when you need to pay for something. Although I do wonder if $1.2 billion was really necessary.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I couldn't decide whether I was for or against so I abstained. I'm not sad about not having a tax increase. It's always when everyone is hurting that the state wants more of what we don't have. I worked for the state at one time (UAB hospital) and I don't feel that state funds are so very well spent, all things considered. As for Alabama being 49th at everything, that's just a trick to keep people from moving here.
To tell the truth, my first post summed it up. I have very little interest in local politics. Ask my sister. She's the local political creature. I'm all about saving the world. Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
