Hear new information from Elois Zeanah on Sept 18th Vote On Constitutional Amendment
Also read a great article from a great Newspaper--what Patriots they are--A MUST Share!!!
On Sept. 18, one of the most important votes in the history of Alabama will be decided by the people of this state. The Southeast Sun/Daleville Sun-Courier has never taken a position politically in 31 years of publishing, but we feel the present and future well-being of our state is at stake and it is too critical for us not to let our readers know how we stand on this issue.
Originally, under the law, the Legislature in Montgomery could only spend 99 percent of the interest earned on our oil and gas reserves that go into the trust with the remaining 1 percent going to the conservation and lands division. Small changes were made over the next few years to increase the re-investment to 10 percent on the interest. We were using our money wisely, earning interest on interest already earned.
Then along came amendments 666 in 2000 and 709 in 2002. These amendments were approved, making the first moves on the capital, or principal, funds. Under the former law, only the interest on our oil and gas reserves that go into the trust could be spent but these two amendments started to chip away at the fund. Now don’t get us wrong. Amendment 702 created the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account , which was a good thing, but in the event funds were withdrawn for our education systems, an additional amount equal to 25 percent of the withdrawal had to be transferred from the principal in the Alabama Trust Fund to the County and Municipal Government Improvement Fund. What this fund had to do with education is beyond us except to provide another carrot for our politicians to wave in front of voters in their districts.
Don’t ever forget one rule: politicians will spend every cent we send them and come back for more to support or start new programs. Remember the tobacco settlement of the late 1990s? From 1998 until 2001, the state received $254 million and is continuing to receive funds from the big tobacco companies. Have our politicians banked this money? No. They’ve propped up Medicare, created new programs, expanded current programs and found ways to use the money to get re-elected through photo opportunities. The programs created will still require funding when the settlement ends in 2025. Where will this money come from? The taxpayer’s pockets.
