Alabama's Choices

The Decatur Daily published an editorial on Alabama's coming legislative session, one in which heavy budget cuts are anticipated, with lawmakers taking particular aim at programs benefiting children.  Education and healthcare are the most prominent targets.  The editorial raises the question: how much more can the budget be cut?  Alabama, as of 2006, has the lowest per capita taxes in the country, with the poor bearing a high portion of the burden.  Why do we emphasize low taxes at the cost of the future of our state?  Is it because the policy makers know that their children will be well educated in private or suburban schools, with gracious health insurance plans to protect them as they mature into the roles their parents now hold?  Hits to rural and urban school systems and to Medicaid and the SCHIP program serve to ensure that kids depending on those programs will not be competing for power positions.

I completely understand populist resistance to taxes, but what is amazing is how the wealthy can so easily sell the middle class on a tax structure that blatantly benefits high-income earners.  Perhaps the promise of the American Dream is sufficient to convince blue collar social conservatives that they need to resist tax reform so that once they arrive they can reap the benefits.  The sad part of that promise is that it is a lie.  The income gap between the wealthiest Americans and the middle class has grown drastically over the past 25 years, and trends show no signs of relenting.  Why do we refuse to demand a political system that promotes justice?

Props to Clark Powell for passing along this link: The New Normal

The Education Manifesto

Outgoing Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) and Michelle Rhees, the Chancellor of Schools in his administration, implemented radical changes in the system's schools during his term in office.  Resistance from unions and old-guard Democrats led to his ouster in a primary election earlier this fall.  Together they authored this article entitled, "The Education Manifesto."  Here's to politicians willing to make good decisions that risk their careers.  Click on the post title to see the article.