Alabama Trust Fund--Constitutional Amendment Sept 18, 2012 To Allow Breaking A Trust For Sake Of Education, Medicaid etc?

How State in Fear Pours More Money But It's Unbalanced Budget--Keeps on Tipping To The Breaking Point

Alabama like most states are being pushed by fear--it comes from everywhere from fears for the health of its citizens (hence the need for Obamacare) or for better education for children (hence the call for the common core standards also known as federalized take-over of education) etc.

Here is an example on education:

1.  Alabamians have tried to show their love for children by pouring more money.
" Alabama's fiscal year begins in October and ends in September.  Alabama's budget is unique in that 84% of tax revenue is set aside by the state constitution or state law for specific purposes, which is the highest percentage of any state budget in the nation."  Read more...


2.  Alabama has a General Fund Budget of $1.67 billion and an Education Budget  of 5.4 billion
"Lawmakers approved both a General Fund budget (the operating budget spends $1.67 billion from the General Fund) and a $5.4 billion education budget for FY2013 on May 17, 2012. "

3.  "Alabama has a total state debt of $60,412,502,000, when calculated by adding the total of outstanding official debt, pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities, Unemployment Trust Fund loans, and current budget gap."  Read more...

The education budget provides enough money for state-funded teachers to maintain class sizes in elementary and secondary schools at current levels.  It would spend $5.42 billion from the Education Trust Fund in fiscal 2013, a cut of $208 million, 3.7 percent, compared to this year's expected trust fund spending.

4.  "Besides the Education Trust Fund, the education budget next year also appropriates $7.77 billion in federal grants, other state taxes and other funds." (more).


5.  Alabama feels the loss of stimulus funds:
The loss of federal money includes $313 million in stabilization money that will be spent this year and definitely won't be available next year: $185 million for public kindergarten through 12th grade, $19 million for public two-year colleges and $109 million for public universities, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office. Also $149.5 million directly to Alabama's K-12 public schools, for the schools to spend this year or next year (more...)

6.  What does Alabama's Education Budget buy?
Where state-by-state rankings are concerned, however, the Quality Counts report by the magazine Education Week may offer the most reliable single overall score. The organization takes a number of factors and gives each state’s schools a letter grade.
In 2011, Alabama gets a C-plus. Some of that score is derived from areas like school finance — important for a school system’s health, but not the nitty-gritty most parents care about.
On K-12 Achievement, Alabama gets an overall D, ranking 43rd. But a few years ago, Alabama hovered around 47th place.  Read more...

7.  Reality check--how much money is enough and when will Alabama voters stop the path of hoping more money will fix the education system?---Apparently another 100 million more is needed for tablets for 9-12th grades as approved in HB 165--Alabama Ahead Act.  The legislature felt it would save money by buying tablets, computers vs textbooks.  Unfortunately they have not fullly weighed both sides of the story.

8.  Who wants computerization? 

Obama.  Guess why...read this and this  and this sums it up for parents--from Donna Garner. 

Also the cost to our First Amendment, our children and culture of today's trend in education--read this and beware!!!
 
9.  And guess who do not ...

Parents in Silicon Valley but in this back to basic school 94% of their students go to college (watch video)

Listen to this interview with John Rice--there is a better way if Legislators will try to see through the fears...

Alabama Trust Fund--Its Demise Maybe Set on September 18,2012 in a Constitutional Amendment--Alabamians can't be misled by the Pelosi-Like Plan of Passing Something So We Can Know What's In It. Find Out Now!

Alabama along with all states throughout are finding it very hard to stay afloat in today's Obama-owned economic meltdown (is there another term for it as Bush blame is now lame).  So how does its legislators fix things?  By scaring its citizens to pass laws that would in essence legalize unconstitutional depletion of its Trust Fund.  Some have placed harsher labels (read this link) to the Alabama Sept. 18th vote for a Constitutional Amendment.

Hear an interview with Elois Zeanah, President of Alabama Federation of Republican Women and get a better perspective on what your vote or lack of it will mean after Sept. 18th in Alabama.  The Alabama Trust Fund set aside royalty money from oil drilling to earn investment income that helps fund yearly the state budget but this amendment will use almost half a billion of the 2.5 billion Alabama Trust Fund to help fund the State's Medicaid problems?  I guess that will happen if Alabamians believe such a fairy tale exists--"half a billion will help the State's Medicaid problems"--wonder how long that will last!  It has been said and---it is true that Medicaid is the biggest drain on the nation's budget and it is certainly a big drain for the states to come up with their share. 

Common sense seems to have gone out the window and instead of reforming--truly reforming--all the states will be caught up in the "Man-Made Entitlement Tsunami".  Obama is so busy passing laws and executive orders that are  increasing the number of unemployed and on Medicaid (and other entitlements) that indeed only a truly informed, active and prayerful citizenry can stop a bankrupt America.  May our legislators ask God for wisdom and may "We The People" do the same.

Other Food for thought

 --Alabama just passed the Alabama Ahead Act or HB 165 which is for $100 million to fund computer equipment--tablets etc. for grades 9-12.  Anybody care to guess how long those equipment will last and how much the ongoing upkeep will cost.  Some teachers who already have tried it in other states talks about the frustration with the maintenance (never mind with kids losing or damaging it.)  Did anyone hear a debate on this issue and now we are told the state budget is in trouble and we need more money?  At some point Alabamians will have to think and push for reforms in earnest- while they can from the State Legislatures all the way to the White House (other states waking up too.)

The Two Paths In Education

Alabama Ahead Act HB165