The problem is our Legislature sought a quick fix for balancing this year's budget and how to pay the money owed by Education Trust Fund. But it comes at the price of hurting the best thing Alabamians have had to help lower their taxes for years--to be destroyed by a vote when people are so panicked to vote for their own "only help" in the budget shortfalls--the Alabama Trust Fund.
This indeed is rather fishy when this amendment was read on the first day of the legislative session on Feb 7th. It is really about the Rich Man vs Poor Man scenario.
We have heard a legislator say it is really putting money back in the ATF and it appears what they are saying is it is re-shufflling the money as they are going to pay back money owed to the ATF anyway. However--they are talking about in essense borrowing the 437.5 million to pay back 437.5 million owed (as constitutionally required as in earlier borrowings wording) but this time around there is no wording for payback. Wow--and then they berate citizens into passing this as the sky is falling and there will be loss of jobs, loss of care for elderly,mothers and children and release of prisoners when all it takes is their look at the proposals already given by the Governor's Commission done in January such as:
1. Letting eligible state employees have early retirement--84 million save if 1,500 employees retire out of 11,000 eligible
2. By state making electronic payments vs check payments --can save 40 + million!
Here are articles that should convince reasonable people to voting No on September 18th