The Story On Beason And Birmingham Taxes

There is one legislative day left in the current session, and this fact is contributing to a rather heated and overly-hyped confrontation in our State Legislature.

Here's what has happened so far. Jefferson County behaved stupidly and got their county mired in a massive amount of debt that they couldn't pay off. Then they lost quite a bit of revenue when their occupational tax was tossed out by a judge as being unconstitutional, i.e. illegal. They convinced the Legislature to pass a new occupational tax... and at the time I warned that it would ALSO be unconstitutional. Lo and behold, it too was tossed out.

So here we are, with the County crying poor mouth and pinning their hopes on a "limited home rule" bill that would allow them to levy huge new taxes on those who work and/or reside in the County.

Which brings us to Scott Beason. The bill in question, that would allow Jefferson County political figures who largely caused these problems in the first place to penalize the citizens of Jefferson County by taxing them heavily, was delayed again and again and is on a tight schedule. If it isn't passed on Thursday, the last day of the session, it dies and Jefferson County has to start laying off employees.

Which, if you ask me, is only right. The County screws up massively and continues business as usual while the unwitting taxpayers have to foot the bill? Whatever happened to consequences for actions?


Anyway, Senator Beason has "contested" the bill, which basically puts it on hold. Any Senator can contest a local bill for their area, which means no action can be taken on it. The bill probably has the votes to pass if Beason backs down, and this has led to a little hysteria.

What do I mean by hysteria? How about an editorial in the Birmingham News calling Beason's actions treasonous?
http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/06/our_view_sen_scott_beasons_tre.html

They call Beason's actions treasonous. They claim he is "abusing" the Senatorial power to contest bills. They claim the sky will fall without this new money.

How can it be treasonous to oppose a bill? As to abusing the "contest maneuver," as they put it, this is precisely what the power is there for, to allow a single Senator to slow down or stop a bill he or she thinks is bad or wrong. Flipping this argument around, local bills require unanimous consent of the local delegation to sail through, and all Beason is doing is removing that unanimous consent. And as to the sky falling without new tax revenue... We hear that every time some politician wants to raise taxes, but when the tax increases are defeated the world continues on pretty much as usual. Who got a bump on the noggin when Riley's massive Amendment One was defeated? Despite all the scare tactics and predictions of doom and disaster, nothing happened.

If the people responsible for getting the County into this mess don't feel the pain they earned with their own irresponsible actions, how will they learn better? With no consequences, what incentive do ellected officials have to govern responsibly?

I'm sorry, but Beason's actions do not bother me at all. If he decides NOT to lift his contest of the bill, that would be fine with me.

So here's my advice to you, Senator Beason. If you honestly and truly believe the bill is a bad one, if you honestly feel that the bill should not pass, then feel free to maintain your contest.

The people of this state need some protections from politicians who are proving far too willing to raise taxes instead of living with the reality of the situation. Whether it's Jefferson County trying to lay their own mistakes off on the backs of taxpayers or any of a dozen cities raising taxes rather than cut their budgets because of (how would our President like us to think of this? Hmmm...) this little economic hiccup we're currently experiencing... Alabama politicians are ignoring the well-being of their constituents in favor of their own well-being.

In a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty, at a time when families across this state are tightening their belts and spending less, Alabama politicians are taxing us more so they can keep up their normal spending habits. This makes no sense, and Alabama citizens need SOME protection against this kind of economically destructive behavior by our elected officials.

Politicians should be required to make the case for tax increases to the voting public each and every time they want to raise taxes. Lacking that, we shouldn't punish one of the few politicians with the guts to stand up for his constituents and get in the way of massive tax increases.

We'll see if Beason holds the line or if he caves. But this is a fight that should be fought.