A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Lawmakers who avoid the truth The only legitimate reason the Alabama Legislature has for not reforming payday lending laws is because lawmakers think it’s OK for lenders to stick it to customers with exorbitant, if not inhuman, interest rates. It can’t be because lawmakers are not aware of the problem. And it can’t be because they think the problem is blown out of proportion by do-gooders and overzealous critics. What other excuse could legislators have for not increasing regulations on a legal industry that has proven it has no problem taking advantage of thousands of low-income Alabamians? The hope in Montgomery this spring has been that the annual debate over predatory lending in Alabama would finally force the Legislature to act. It’s not as if the problem has diminished. Birmingham News – Fairfield is doomed; should Birmingham save it? Fairfield is done. Face it. The council meetings are the kind of things you see on news reports from the Eastern Bloc, where Roberts Rules of Order is overruled by those with the loudest voices. Or the strongest right hook. It is dead. Face it. Gone the way of U.S. Steel and of Larry Langford. Of the bingo halls that used to fill its coffers. Killed by time, and change, and ineptitude. And dependence on Walmart. Fairfield is in the death throes today. The city council held an emergency meeting to lay off the entire police department because, since the closing of U.S. Steel’s Fairfield Works and Walmart, the city is broker than a seven-dollar hooker. Decatur Daily – Shelby hearings a good sign When asked last month when he would break the logjam of banking nominees awaiting hearings before the Senate Banking Committee, its chairman was unusually candid. “My primary is Tuesday!” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. “We can talk about this later!” While Shelby’s power in Washington, D.C., had much to do with his overwhelming victory in the March 1 primary, he had used that power to obstruct efficient government as chairman of the banking committee. The committee had the dubious distinction of being the only Senate committee that had not acted on a single nominee in this Congress. Shelby’s refusal to even hold hearings on 16 nominees critical to the imposition of economic sanctions and to the work of the Federal Reserve and the Export-Import Bank may have been politically expedient, but it was harmful to the nation. In endorsing Shelby in the Republican primary, The Decatur Daily expressed hope the 81-year-old senator would embrace the freedom of what almost certainly will be his final term in office by ending his pandering to a base that still views President Barack Obama as an Africa-born Muslim, and instead applying his skills to the betterment of the state and nation. Dothan Eagle – States’ rights and refugees Last fall, President Barack Obama outlined a goal to welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States, where about 2,200 have been placed in the last four years. Members of Congress, including many Democrats, quickly moved to do whatever they could to create impediments to the plan. While Obama urged compassion for the fleeing Syrians, Congress acted in accordance with the feelings of their constituents who feared an influx of refugees from a Muslim country could harbor radicals intent on doing harm to our nation and way of life. In short order, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the state would not accept Syrian refugees, despite a missive from the White House saying states did not have that option, and that failure to accept refugees would violate the Civil Rights Act of 1965, and that there would be repercussions for states refusing refugees. However, it appears that’s not the only law that could come into play in the matter. In January, Bentley filed suit against the federal government on behalf of Alabama, saying the federal government had not complied with the Refugee Act of 1980, which “specifically requires the federal government to consult with the state regarding the placement of refugees before those refugees are placed within its borders.” “That consultation with Alabama has not occurred,” Bentley stated. Enterprise Ledger – Are the Eighties really over for good? Nancy Reagan’s death on Sunday had me reminiscing about the Eighties all day, I guess because that’s when her husband, Ronald, was leading the country, and for all practical purposes, the world – “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Yes, we had the space shuttle “Challenger” disaster, the worst recession since the Great Depression, and a handful of scandals during his time in office, but he also knocked “the evil empire” Soviet Union to its knees during his time at the Oval Office. All in all, he was among the most popular presidents in the 20th century. Originally a Democrat, Reagan eventually registered as a Republican (1962) although he had voted for Republican Dwight Eisenhower as president a decade earlier. Elected as U.S. President in November 1980, Reagan booted Jimmy Carter back to Plains, Georgia, following his four-year term. Ronald’s wife, Nancy, seemed to be a first-class First Lady until we learned that she was an avid Horoscope follower and often made decisions based on such readings. That brought a collective, “hmmm,” from most of us. TimesDaily – Lawmakers meddling in education again Stumped on how to manage their core responsibilities with a General Fund that is inadequate to maintain even minimal services, Alabama legislators increasingly are figuring out novel ways to spend money from the Education Trust Fund. Years ago they exceeded all reasonable limits on how to apply ETF money to expenditures only tangentially related to education, so now they are focusing their efforts on revamping the state’s education system. They may have the power to impose education policy, but they lack the training. And it’s not as if the state has a shortage of people with such experience. In addition to an elected state Board of Education, there is a fully staffed state education department, including
