Legislature To Face Budget Problems In January

As anybody who's been following news on our economic situation could have easily predicted, Alabama's fiscal situation for next year is going to be a problem. The severe impact the recession has had on our State has resulted in very high unemployment and falling tax revenue. In other words, the State will have to either reduce spending or raise taxes.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091220/NEWS02/912200322/1009

When lawmakers begin assembling the budget for the 2011 fiscal year, the Legislative Fiscal Office predicts there will be a more than $600 million hole in the General Fund budget that is used to operate state prisons and fund state troopers, Medicaid and most other non-education state government functions.

But the department heads who went before lawmakers to make their case during hearings last week requested several hundred million dollars in new funding.

I hate to be the one to break the news, but this state cannot AFFORD "several hundred million dollars in new funding."


Start making plans to cut funding. Raising taxes in our current economic climate will make things worse, not better. So drop the plans for spending increases and start looking at ways to reduce expenditures.

If you look at the announcements from department heads, they're playing the scare game again. Take, for example, this statement on the education system.

Joe Morton, state superintendent of education, said K-12 education will need $235 million in additional funding or the state would be forced to cut 3,543 state-funded teaching positions and increase class sizes.

Firing teachers is one of the top "scare the parents" tactics they can use, second only behind "eliminate sports programs." But notice there is no mention of trimming administrators or cutting costs by eliminating non-educational programs. Nope, they forecast the "scariest" plan to maybe convince taxpayers it's time to cough up some more dough.

Next year is going to be a tough one. We'll have to keep on eye on our own Legislature as well as Congress to make sure they don't sock it to us in a major way.