So. The “real” Governor of Alabama isn't Robert Bentley after all. It's Grover Norquist. How else can you explain the GOP's legislative super-majority's stunning failure to pass a budget that in any way reflects reality?
Let's quickly recap the session:
- They spent the early part handing out tax breaks to any business that
coughed up enough in campaign contributionsheld its hand out. - Clay Scofield's ultrasound bill and Shadrack McGill's abject ignorance of just about every issue held the media transfixed.
- Lawmakers complained that constituent complaints about budget cuts were hurting the Legislature's feelings.
- Redistricting was pushed to a special session while Gerald Dial & Richard Laird pushed through their personal slush fund bill.
But giving priority to passing an actual budget – something Alabama's “budget isolation” rules call for – seemed to be missing from the legislature's agenda this term.
That's because a budget is a statement of values and priorities that requires a person or government to make hard choices. We elect representatives who promise to do just that, but when the time came… they punted and turned it over to the voters.
In a state that last year couldn't find the money to pay tax refunds on time, the Legislature had no problem scheduling a million dollar special election in September. Mike Hubbard & company are asking for a bailout. Constrained by their “no new taxes, no how, no way” pledge, they can't pay the state's bills and plan to ask voters to – as my grandmother would say – eat our seed corn.
The Legislature on May 16 passed a $1.67 billion budget to fund most non-education state services in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The General Fund budget is about $67 million less than the current fiscal year.
Lawmakers debated further cutting Medicaid and prisons, but ended up giving citizens the chance to vote Sept. 18 on a constitutional amendment authorizing the transfer of $145.8 million from an oil and gas trust fund to the General Fund. The same amount would also be transferred in 2013 and 2014.
State Health Officer Donald Williams said failure of the constitutional amendment would wipe out about 10 percent of the revenue for state agencies.
If the amendment doesn't pass, it's a disaster for the state. If the amendment does pass, our vaunted GOP super-majority who said they'd change Montgomery will have done nothing more than rob the Alabama Trust Fund and kick the can down the road until after the 2014 election. It's so breathtakingly stupid that even the Birmingham News editorial board gets it:
Rather than find new revenue to replace the loss of federal stimulus dollars and other one-time spending sources, lawmakers would rather raid the state's savings and leave it to voters to “appropriate” enough money for noneducation agencies to make it through next year. And if voters say no? There likely would be a special session before the fiscal year begins Oct. 1 to figure out a funding source. It is a risky, irresponsible way to write a budget, and legislative leaders should be ashamed.
But of course, they've proved themselves totally shameless so often that we know even that small acknowledgement of their failings is way too much to hope for.
2014 can't some soon enough.
Dr. Gov. Bentley is little more than Norquist's puppet.
At the federal level the Republicans have been busily raiding the Social Security Trust Fund since Reagan's time, now they want to do the same thing in the states, such as this raid on the Alabama Trust Fund. They're crooks at heart. Show them a pot of public money, intended to be used for public good, and they'll immediately set about finding a way to get in into the pockets of themselves and the folks pulling their strings.
BTW, my apologies to countrycat for stomping on this excellent diary this morning. As usual, I was in a hurry to hit post and get out the door and forgot to check for recent posts. Mea culpa.
Now, I just put the earbuds in and listen to music.
I know the ideal solution, stop the gifts of tax breaks, find fair and rational revenue streams, i.e. some new taxes (tobacco?) and increase some on some entities, and remove some taxes, such as taxes on local foods completely, and on some imported such as bananas and kiwi. No taxes on food grown in Alabama and in USA. Tax luxury foods. Tax hell out of tobbacco.
Three tax brackets 20, ten, and 1 percent. Tax income the same no matter the source. Estimate the income of marijuana dealers and moonshiners, then tax them and leave 'em alone after. Tax porn. That'll raise more than enough revenue.
In New York a pack of cigarettes is 12 to 15 dollars, but too many still smoke that herb which does not have delta thc.
“2014 can't come soon enough.”
You're really assuming that the GOP will let us “regular folks” have a meaningful election. My guess is that, just prior to the primary election, the GOP leadership will pass a law that voids any election results if there's a less-than-30% voter turnout. (Of course, the usual suspects who wail “let the people vote” on any “serious” social issue, such as gambling or marriage equality, would have NO problem with having the legislature decide this–all in the name of “for the people's own good.”)
Yeah, I sound pretty pessimistic but with the GOPers in this state, it's really hard to be anything but. (At least there's one good thing coming out of the current GOPers–we're not paying our Governor anything. Though one has to wonder how much he's getting from the Norquist people.)