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2003 offers the best chance for reform |
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Tom Scarritt News Staff Writer January 5, 2003 The year we all have feared could offer Alabama's best chance yet for reform. Students of state government agree that 2003 will be a year of crisis in Alabama. We simply don't have the money to pay for even the inadequate schools and services we now provide for our citizens, and we really need to do more. The schools could be facing a cutback of about 7 percent, or $300 million less than the current school year. No wonder Robert Morton, the assistant superintendent of schools, says the next school year "is probably going to be the worst year in education in memory." Meanwhile, every state service from the programs to help poor and abused children to the understaffed prison system is suffering from a lack of money. The national economy is bringing cuts to state budgets around the nation, but most of those states had expanded their services during the good times. They have room to cut back without tremendous pain. We don't. We also have a state that increasingly is recognizing that its taxes are unfair and its constitution is an outdated obstacle to progress. We don't have a lot of faith in the status quo. All this has put us on the path to a crisis in funding and a crisis of confidence in state government. Such a crisis may be just what we need. Bob Riley, the incoming governor, has said it may take a sweeping crisis to enable and empower us to make real reforms in Montgomery. We can only hope he understands the full depth of our predicament and that he has the will to make the fundamental changes that are needed. Hope is our most powerful weapon in this fight. The people and powers of this state will have a choice. They can pretend the problems don't exist and fight over the few crumbs that are left on the state's plate, or they can decide to become part of the solution. To do that, they will have to give up the selfishness and cynicism that have defined too many of the special interests, and embrace the hope that shared sacrifice can bring greater rewards for all. For more than a dozen years, this newspaper has pushed for reform of Alabama's unfair and inadequate taxes. This year, reform must happen. We have run out of Band-Aids and splints; the patient needs major surgery. We simply must move the burden for supporting our society off the backs of those who can least afford it and onto those who have benefited most abundantly. The gap between what the state needs and what it can get by further tweaking the existing tax system is so great that it may force reform. Likewise, we may find that we cannot address the big problems the state and local governments will face in 2003 within the constraints of the current constitution. A grass-roots movement to fix the fundamental law of the state is gaining momentum. This may be the year the governor and the Legislature have no choice but to join in the reform. There is no doubt that 2003 will be a challenging year for Alabama. Those very challenges, though, may help us find the strength and unity to overcome the structural constraints and selfish interests that have brought us to this time of crisis. This could be a very fine year after all. Return to: Constitutional Reform ~ In the News Return to: Editorial Index |
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| Alabama
Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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