Justin Bogie: Alabamians deserve more than a one-time tax rebate
“I think they deserve it.” That is what House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) said last week when asked about the possibility of using state government’s record revenue surplus to provide Alabamians with a one-time tax rebate. And he is right. The people of Alabama do deserve relief from over-taxation, near record-high inflation, and high gas prices. It is a good thing that the House Majority Leader recognizes that. But they deserve so much more than only a one-time rebate check that will provide only limited economic relief. They deserve permanent tax reforms that will provide benefits to Alabamians for decades to come. To recap, last month, State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) began floating the idea of giving a one-time tax rebate to Alabamians as a way to “send money back to the people.” Since then, other lawmakers, including Ledbetter, have indicated their support for the proposal. Other than Orr saying the rebates should be “substantial,” there is no indication of the target in mind. According to the Tax Foundation, as of July 2022, 11 state legislatures have chosen to return revenue surpluses to citizens through tax rebates. Rebate amounts ranged from a low of $50 to a high of $850. However, over the same period, 11 states enacted legislation to permanently reduce individual income tax rates, and eight states passed corporate income tax reductions. Fourteen states reduced corporate and/or individual income tax rates in 2021. Four of the states offering tax rebates to citizens also enacted individual income tax cuts in 2022. If Alabama lawmakers are determined to go the tax rebate route, then in conjunction with other long-term tax cuts is the only acceptable way. There are several reasons that Alabamians deserve more relief than one-time rebates alone will provide. First, rebates will not slow the unprecedented growth of state government. By the end of 2022, Alabama’s government is on pace to spend nearly $11.7 billion, 35.5% growth since 2019. Through August, the state already had about $1.7 billion more in cash on hand than it needs to pay existing obligations through September. The last few years have proven that the more money our state government takes from citizens, the more it will put back into itself. That is not what Alabamians, who elected a conservative supermajority to the legislature just four years ago, want. Most would claim that they want a smaller government with less interference in their personal lives or businesses. If steps are not taken to reduce the number of tax dollars flowing into state government, it will continue to grow year after year. What amounts to a one-time stimulus check will not curb the growth of Alabama’s state government. It will merely allow lawmakers to take credit for doing something to provide relief to citizens and then get back to the business of spending your money. Beyond the problem of doing nothing to stop the growth of state government, rebate checks could make economic conditions worse in the short run. The federal government sent out numerous rounds of stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021 under the guise of pandemic relief. However, there is little dispute that the stimulus checks stoked inflation, impacting the same people the money was intended to help. They also provided another disincentive to work. Rebates are a political tool with few consequences for government and little benefit for Alabamians. Kansas lawmakers went so far as to call Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s rebate plan a “gimmick.” Unless Alabama lawmakers use all the available surplus funds in 2023 for rebates, which is unlikely, it will not even stop government from expanding next year. They could also add fuel to the inflation fire, lowering the purchasing power of your money. Of course, more government spending will have the same effect. The best path forward for providing tax relief to Alabamians is through lower tax rates. A rebate could be a complimentary piece to a broader tax reform package but is not a substitute. Last week, the Alabama Policy Institute (API) called on Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature to enact a minimum of $750 million in permanent tax cuts for citizens. This could be achieved through a combination of individual or corporate income tax rate cuts, full elimination of the state’s 4 percent sales tax on groceries, repealing the $.10 gas tax increase, or other options outlined in API’s 2023 policy platform. Revenue surpluses in excess of $750 million each year could be returned to citizens through a rebate. Hardworking Alabamians deserve permanent tax relief that will allow both individuals and industry to flourish for generations to come. They do not want merely a one-time handout. Justin Bogie is the Senior Director of Fiscal Policy for the Alabama Policy Institute.
Kay Ivey announces August unemployment rate still at a record low 2.6%
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced on Friday that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate held steady at just 2.6 percent. August’s rate is well below August 2021’s rate of 3.3%. Ivey has focused on jobs and economic growth as well as improving Alabama’s infrastructure during her tenure as governor. The number of unemployed in Alabama continues to drop as August’s rate represents 58,958 unemployed persons, a new record low, compared to 59,359 in July and 74,505 in August 2021. “Alabama continues to maintain its record-setting recovery with this month’s numbers,” said Gov. Ivey. “All of our metrics continue to move in the right direction, and we’re seeing more and more people joining our labor force. This positive news displays that Alabamians are confident they can land a job. Opportunities are abound in Alabama, and we’re proud of our continued progress.” The number of people counted as employed also reached a new record high, increasing by 67,881 over the year to 2,234,669. An increase in the civilian labor force in August also raised its level to a new record high, gaining 52,334 people over the year to total 2,293,627. “We continue to add jobs to our economy at a good pace,” said Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “Right now, there are around two available jobs for every unemployed person. Our construction industry is thriving, and growing construction employment generally tends to predict positive economic growth.” Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 36,800, with gains in the construction sector (+9,800), the education and health services sector (+9,300), and the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+7,100), among others. Total wage and salary employment increased in August by 1,500 from the month before. Monthly gains were seen in the professional and business services sector (+3,100), the education and health services sector (+2,700), and the government sector (+2,300), among others. All 67 counties saw their unemployment rates decline over the year, and all counties saw their unemployment rates hold steady or decline over the month of August. The Alabama Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 2.0%, Marshall and Cullman Counties at 2.2%, and Morgan, Limestone, Chilton, and Blount Counties at 2.3%. The Counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 10.0%, Lowndes County at 7.4%, and Perry County at 7.2%. The major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are Vestavia Hills at 1.6%, Homewood and Trussville at 1.8%, and Alabaster and Hoover at 1.9%. The major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 8.5%, Prichard at 6.5%, and Anniston at 4.6%. The roaring economy combined with inflation is drawing more and more Americans back into the labor force. August’s labor force participation rate was 62.4% in August, which is up from 62.1% in July and up from 61.7% in August a year ago. Alabama’s labor force participation held steady over the course of the month at 57.2%. Nationally the unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in August from 3.5% in July. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Terri Sewell commemorates the 59th Anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
Thursday was the 59th anniversary of the bombing of the 16 Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four little girls during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Congresswoman Terri Sewell spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate this tragic incident of domestic terrorism. On September 15, 1963, white supremacists detonated nineteen sticks of dynamite under the church, killing Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Morris Wesley. “Four precious Little Girls—Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Morris Wesley—who died in the sacred walls of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama fifty-nine years ago,” Sewell said. “On September 15, 1963, as the Four Little Girls were getting dressed in the bathroom of the church basement, preparing to sing in the choir, nineteen sticks of dynamite placed under the church detonated. They totally exploded, causing the interior walls to actually fall in.” “The crowd of about 200 people who gathered for the 11:00 a.m. service, they evacuated the church,” Sewell continued. “But the church was filled with smoke, and underneath the debris laid Four Little Girls. Along with the little girls who lost their lives, dozens of others were injured that day, including Sarah Collins Rudolph, the younger sister of Addie Mae Collins, who was in the basement with her sister and the other girls preparing for church that day.” The senseless violence led to more protest marches and eventually the passage of civil rights legislation. “Due to the violently racist nature of the attack, thousands of African Americans protested across the State of Alabama, and in response, George Wallace called the police to break up the demonstrations,” Sewell said. “The violent clashes between the protesters and police resulted in massive arrests and the tragic loss of two more lives, two little boys that died that day, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware. The two boys, one sixteen and the other thirteen, were killed within hours of the church bombing.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described the bombing as one of the most vicious, tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity, “Although we will never replace the lives lost or injuries suffered, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 proved that their sacrifices were not in vain,” Sewell said. “Today, as we reflect on our painful history, we are reminded that every gain in the battle for Civil Rights has come at a high cost, paid by those who sacrificed everything for a vision and a dream bigger than themselves.” “As a direct beneficiary of the legacy of the Four Little Girls, I was honored that the very first bill that I passed in this body posthumously bestowed upon them the Congressional Gold Medal to ensure that this nation will never forget their sacrifice,” Sewell said. The story of the 4 Little Girls was made into a Spike Lee documentary in 1997 by the same name. Terri Sewell represents Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Marshall leads opposition to transit authority denying religious group’s First Amendment rights
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led 21 attorneys general in filing a brief opposing the Hillsborough County Florida transit authority’s policy denying the First Amendment rights of a religious group to advertise on public transportation. The case of Young Israel of Tampa, Inc. v. the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority is currently in a federal appeals court. “Whenever a violation of religious speech occurs, it is of serious concern to all who are dedicated to the preservation of the First Amendment,” stated Marshall. “When a government-run transit authority allows advertising on its public buses but specifically bans any advertising the government deems too religious, the government clearly violates the First Amendment. We rightfully support the plaintiff, Young Israel of Tampa, Inc., in their challenge of the unconstitutional practice of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) prohibiting religious advertising on its buses.” Marshall and the 20 other attorneys general claim in their brief that HART’s policy of banning religious speech violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and previous Supreme Court precedents. “First, HART lumps in ‘religious affiliation advertising’ with other forms of advertising it forbids: ads for ‘tobacco, alcohol, or related products’ and ads containing ‘profane language, obscene materials,’ ‘images of nudity,’ or ‘depiction[s] of graphic violence,’ among others,” Marshall et. al. wrote in their brief. “But one of these things is not like the others. By treating them alike, HART sends the perverse message that religious speech is too controversial, too taboo, and too dangerous for public discussion—a notion that flies in the face of our nation’s history and tradition celebrating religious discourse and the First Amendment’s dual guarantee of the freedoms of speech and religious exercise.” The conservative AGs’ brief continued, “Second, HART’s policy defies a trilogy of Supreme Court cases holding that blanket bans on religious messaging is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. That remains true even if the advertising space on HART’s buses is considered a ‘nonpublic forum’ as HART contends. No matter the forum, religious viewpoint discrimination is never permitted.” “Third, even if HART’s policy were not viewpoint discriminatory, it fails as an unreasonable content-based restriction,” the brief added. “HART presented no evidence that allowing religious advertisements will impact its goals of maximizing revenue or operating a safe transit system. And there is no reasonable way it can conduct the line drawing necessary to implement its policy without running afoul of the Constitution—a fact this case demonstrates.” Marshall was joined by the attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia in their brief that was filed on September 14, 2022, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Judicial Circuit. Young Israel of Tampa is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue that submitted an ad to the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) seeking to advertise its annual celebration of Chanukah. HART rejected the ad because it was religious—and it has a policy banning all ads that promote alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, obscenity, nudity, pornography, politics, and religion. After Young Israel appealed to HART’s CEO, HART said it would run the ad only if it censored all references to a central feature of the Jewish celebration of Chanukah: the menorah. Young Israel refused the demand that it strips its religious symbol from the ad, so HART refused to run it. The Becket Fund is representing Young Israel in its lawsuit against HART. Becket argued that HART’s Advertising Policy is not only religiously offensive but also violates the First Amendment. On February 5, 2021, Young Israel of Tampa filed a lawsuit against HART in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On January 26, 2022, the federal district court granted summary judgment to Young Israel. The court found that HART’s ban on religious advertisements was both discriminatory and standardless. The court also ordered that HART’s religious-ad ban should be permanently prevented from being enforced. HART has appealed that judgment to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mike Rogers announces grant for Cleburne County first responders
Congressman Mike Rogers announced on Wednesday that the Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $29,523.80 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The funding will help the fire department purchase new operations and safety equipment. “Cleburne County’s first responders work around the clock to keep the community safe,” Rogers said. “This grant will provide Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department with funding to continue to protect the community.” The grant was awarded under the Fiscal Year 2021 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). This essential federal program supports first responders across Alabama and the nation. “It’s our goal to always provide the best equipment and the best response as possible to the community we serve,” the Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire department said on social media. “We are excited to have preliminary plans to expand and grow! However, with growth, there are growing pains, ours is limited revenues.” In addition to this grant, the Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department recently took possession of a Stewart Stevenson military truck provided by the Alabama Forestry Commission. This truck, once completed, will serve as a brush truck serving the rural areas where road conditions may not be accessible easily as well as the off-road terrain near residences that other trucks simply cannot reach. The Department of Homeland Security administers the grant program. The purpose of the program is to award funding directly to fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, and state fire training academies. These awards aim to enhance first responders’ ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel, with respect to fire-related hazards. As of September 14, 2022, FEMA has made 1442 awards totaling $260.9 million. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. Congressman Rogers is serving in his tenth term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to his congressional service, Rogers represented Calhoun County in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Calhoun County Commission. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Libertarian Ruth Page-Nelson running for Lieutenant Governor
Libertarian nominee for Lieutenant Governor Ruth Page-Nelson addressed a gathering of Libertarian candidates in Homewood on Tuesday night at Jim’ N Nick’s barbecue restaurant. Jimmy Blake, the Libertarian candidate for Governor, introduced Nelson. Blake said, “We have a very sharp Black lady Ruth Nelson. Her opponent is Will Ainsworth. He is sort of a pudgy rich kid. He has more money than any other candidate on the ballot.” “My opponent Will Ainsworth is a very rich man. I have no Democratic opponent,” Nelson said. “I want you to vote for me because I will fight for rules that will make you free. Vote for me, Ruth Page Nelson, for Lieutenant Governor; I will not let you down.” “I opened a green jobs training center in Dothan,” Page-Nelson said. “They decided to tear it down to build a parking lot. I was opening it so we could have local jobs. We were funded and ready to roll. The EPA stepped in and said you can’t tear it down. Then it burned down.” Nelson said that she had been active with Dothan for Justice Now, a group that fights for racial equity. “I ran on the Republican ticket for U.S. Senate (in 2020),” Nelson stated. “The Republicans tried to throw Republican. They left me on the ballot, but there was a media blackout of my campaign.” Nelson discussed her views on Medicaid expansion and women’s health issues. “I am for expanding Medicaid,” Nelson said. “That is key to having a healthy population.” “I almost died during childbirth,” Nelson continued. “I will fight for a woman’s right to choose. I will never tell a woman that she does not have a right to make her own decisions about her own body.” Nelson accused the federal government of picking winners and losers with the funds that they provide for energy projects. “That $600 million went to the people in that room,” Nelson commented, recalling an Obama administration green energy initiative. “I am a strong proponent of green technology,” Nelson said. “We have been under the Alabama Power monopoly for far too long. I am a big believer in solar. I believe the sun that lands on your property is yours to use.” Nelson promised to fight corruption if she is elected. “We have proof that people were having drugs and guns planted on them in Dothan,” Nelson recounted. “We took that up to the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI to start an investigation. We waited, and nothing happened.” “Our state is using mass incarceration as a business,” Nelson argued. “When you see corruption, we have to root it out. I will root out corruption.” “I am not a cult; I am a candidate,” Nelson said. “You need to be OK with who you are voting for. You can bubble me in even if you straight ticket vote.” Nelson will face incumbent Lt. Gov. Ainsworth in the Nov. 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Oyster harvest opens October 3
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Marine Resources Division (MRD) announced on Thursday that the state will open limited areas of public oyster bottoms for weekday harvest beginning on Monday, October 3, 2022. Oyster harvesting will begin at 7:00 a.m. and close each weekday at 2 p.m. The state will allow weekend harvesting on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon on October 8, 15, 22, and 29. Oysters, whose population had declined from previous decades, are making a comeback. 50,000 sacks of oysters were harvested in the 2021-2022 season – more than double what it was the previous year. Better management is being credited for this improvement. “Alabama’s wild oyster population is in fair condition and improving. Improvement is a multi-faceted issue,” MRD Director Scott Bannon said. “Some things in nature are rebounding to levels they need to be. They are reaching a balance. Also, some practices have changed in how we address oysters harvest to catch maximum yield but leave enough to impact water quality.” Harvesters can view their locations and the open harvest areas with Alabama’s Oyster Management Station (OMS) Oyster Grid Map. Harvesters are reminded to visit the Oyster Management Stations located across from Jemison’s Bait and Tackle at 16871 Dauphin Island Parkway, Coden, Alabama 36523) or Delta Port Marina at 5080 Green Drive, Coden, Alabama 36523) to drop off their OMS ID cards and confirm which grids are open for harvest prior to the start of their harvesting trip. Heron Bay, Cedar Point East, and Cedar Point West grids will open on Monday, October 3. Grids will close based on evaluations of the harvest by the MRD staff. In order to be a legal recreational oyster harvester, you must report your catch and purchase a recreational harvest tag at the OMS station. Recreational harvesters are allowed to harvest up to 100 legal-size (minimum 3 inches) oysters in the same areas and during the same times as commercial harvest. No license is required, but commercial and recreational oysters may not be transported together on a vessel. All commercial oyster catchers, regardless of age, must have a commercial oyster catcher’s license in order to participate in the harvest. Commercial oyster catchers may harvest up to six sacks per person/vessel per day regardless of how many licensed harvesters are aboard. Recreational oyster catchers may harvest 100 legal-size oysters per person per day. Recreational harvest may only occur in areas and at times that are open for commercial harvest. The approved harvest methods are tong and hand only. The Management Station is located at the Cedar Point Cutoff across from Jemison’s Bait and Tackle and Delta Port Marina. The Management Station will open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. When selected Saturdays are open to harvest, only the OMS at Jemison’s Bait and Tackle will be open. To contact the Management Station by phone: 251-257-9966 For more information about licensing and regulations, please contact the MRD by calling 251 861-2882 or visit the MRD office located at 2 North Iberville Drive on Dauphin Island. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
New Census data reveals how good policy choices can cut poverty, keep Alabamians healthier
People-friendly federal policies reduced poverty and made it easier for people to get health care in 2021, U.S. Census figures released this week show. Perhaps the most eye-opening improvement was a dramatic reduction in child poverty nationwide. The recent Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion alone kept 5.3 million Americans above the poverty line. The one-year expansion under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) made the full CTC available to children living in families with low or no earnings. It increased the maximum credit to $3,000 per child and $3,600 per child under age 6. And it extended the credit to 17-year-olds. The expansion expired in 2022 after Congress failed to renew it, but lawmakers could revisit that decision later this year.Child Tax Credit improvements fuel record drop in U.S. child poverty CTC expansion helped reduce disparities for Black and Hispanic children. It also drove the U.S. child poverty rate to a record low of 5.2% under the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). Unlike the traditional poverty measure, the SPM reflects the poverty-reducing effects of tax credits and non-cash benefits like food assistance. Alabama’s official child poverty rate was 22% last year under the American Community Survey (ACS), a more traditional measure that accounts for fewer factors than the SPM. That was an apparent increase from the pre-pandemic level of 21.1% in 2019, though within the margin of error. (ACS data for 2020 is unavailable due to pandemic-related data collection disruptions.) SPM data paints a fuller picture of the poverty-reducing power of supports like the expanded CTC. Alabama’s three-year average overall poverty rate under the SPM was 10.3% in 2019-21. By contrast, the state’s overall ACS poverty rate moved from 15.5% in 2019 to 16.1% in 2021. That change was not statistically significant. “The success of the Child Tax Credit expansion was undeniable,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “This policy slashed child poverty and helped families make ends meet across our state and our country. Congress needs to renew the Child Tax Credit expansion and make it permanent. And our state lawmakers should do their part to help Alabama families keep food on the table by ending the state grocery tax and replacing the revenue in a responsible way.” Uninsured rates fall nationally despite tumult of COVID-19 pandemic Federal policy choices also fueled a slight reduction in the number of uninsured Americans last year. The U.S. uninsured rate dropped to 8.6% last year, down from 9.2% in 2019. Alabama’s uninsured rate stayed relatively flat, moving from 9.7% in 2019 to 9.9% in 2021. That change was within the margin of error. Alabama continued a years-long pattern of outperforming the national average in insuring children in 2021. The state’s rate of uninsured children (4%) remained the best in the Deep South last year. Much of that sustained success is attributable to ALL Kids, the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) created in 1998. ALL Kids has played a crucial role in reducing Alabama’s rate of uninsured children from 20% in the late 1990s. A key factor in the overall health coverage improvements was the federal requirement for state Medicaid programs to keep participants covered throughout the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. That declaration may end later this year, underscoring the importance of helping many enrollees transition to new coverage. Enhanced subsidies under ARPA also helped make health coverage more affordable for millions of Americans with private plans. This includes many of the 219,000 Alabamians with marketplace plans through the Affordable Care Act. Congress renewed subsidy enhancements through 2025 in the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last month. “Medicaid, ALL Kids, and ACA marketplace coverage have saved and improved the lives of millions of Alabamians,” Hyden said. “Alabama should build on these successes by expanding Medicaid to help more than 340,000 people who are uninsured or struggling to afford health insurance. “It’s time for Gov. Kay Ivey to say yes to the generous federal incentives for Medicaid expansion. It’s time for her to say yes to a healthier future for Alabama.” Alabama Arise is a statewide, member-led nonprofit organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty. Arise’s membership includes faith-based, community, nonprofit and civic groups, grassroots leaders and individuals from across Alabama. Republished with the permission of Alabama Arise.
