Started By
Message
re: Off Topic: Governor Ivey's proposed gas tax increase
Posted on 3/4/19 at 4:47 pm to wm72
Posted on 3/4/19 at 4:47 pm to wm72
quote:
Overall, that most of Alabama seems to put all of it's eggs in the basket of industries and businesses attracted mainly to absurdly low taxes and the cheapest unskilled labor instead of those drawn to areas with a more educated populace is short-sighted to say the least.
Ever notice that the girls with the pretty long legs and nice arse wear mini-skirts while the ones with a pretty face but not so nice a body, accentuate their faces with makeup but wear more conservative clothes?...there's a reason! Alabama is not and won't ever be another Silicon Valley, and it takes many years to elevate an entire region's educational standing. Besides, do you consider the automobile industry to be an unskilled, low-paying job field? There are numerous solid, well paying industries looking at Alabama because of the favorable union climate and large, eager work force along with the positive tax situation.
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 4:48 pm
2
Posted on 3/4/19 at 5:53 pm to coachcrisp
Dunno about a whole state becoming silicon valley, but I can see Huntsville being a tech cluster. It takes years (and money from a capitalist robber baron...LOL) to create a prestigious school it seems.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 6:03 pm to coachcrisp
quote:
Besides, do you consider the automobile industry to be an unskilled, low-paying job field? There are numerous solid, well paying industries looking at Alabama because of the favorable union climate and large, eager work force along with the positive tax situation.
I do worry that "the favorable union climate" attracts businesses but may not do all that much toward increasing a middle class with a bit of disposable income that is the real life blood of a thriving economy in the long term.
Just as I worry that the "positive tax situation" may often be positive to the point of kowtowing.
No black and white answers though as only fools and politicians pretend there are.
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 6:46 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 7:28 pm to wm72
Bring on the gas tax..
Posted on 3/4/19 at 7:41 pm to McGregor
quote:
The tax is needed
No, it's not.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 9:40 pm to Chancellor
Ever thought about rewriting the state constitution? It can be done and it’s well past time we brought it up to date.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 12:21 pm to phil4bama
quote:
Ever thought about rewriting the state constitution? It can be done and it’s well past time we brought it up to date.
It's decades past time, but it requires a constitutional convention. That's just not going to happen. 118 years of everyone's special little pet revenue streams would be jeopardized.
Funny thing, the legislature actually created a new constitution in 1983. Because the constitution can only be changed by amendment or with a convention, they passed the new constitution as an amendment to the existing one. The new amendment nullified the old constitution and effectively replaced it. The state supreme court struck it down.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 1:04 pm to Evolved Simian
This is going to play out like everything different always does.
The right who are against it will rip the idea, claiming the real solution is to end corruption and misappropriating (when in reality the issue is the constitution).
The left will blame the right and point out their corruption but simultaneously offer the lottery as a solution....which will loop back to the right railing against it. And not a damn thing gets done.
It's going to take bridge collapses killing 20+ people at the same time before something gets done.
The right who are against it will rip the idea, claiming the real solution is to end corruption and misappropriating (when in reality the issue is the constitution).
The left will blame the right and point out their corruption but simultaneously offer the lottery as a solution....which will loop back to the right railing against it. And not a damn thing gets done.
It's going to take bridge collapses killing 20+ people at the same time before something gets done.
This post was edited on 3/5/19 at 1:06 pm
Posted on 3/5/19 at 2:26 pm to stomp
Untrue. Nobody on the right or left would ever vote for a lottery for anything other than education, which is just another fricking crippling earmark.
Alabama is 38th in education spending per student, but 46th in results. Almost every state that spends less is ranked higher. Utah is 50th in spending and 2nd in education.
Sure, more money would be nice, but money is far from the biggest problem in Alabama education. Generations of fricktards who haven't been taught the value inherent in a free education is the real problem.
Look at the Graduation exam. When we had a decent superintendent, it was given at an 11th grade level. Many schools, particularly those in inner cities has pass rates below 5%. One Birmingham school had 0 students pass. The state's solution (instead of working toward improvement)? Give the test at an 8th grade level. The students STILL couldn't pass, so they just eliminated the fricking test altogether.
You're right about a bridge collapse being the only thing that will likely force hands on infrastructure, but everything else is so fricked up, it probably won't matter.
Alabama is 38th in education spending per student, but 46th in results. Almost every state that spends less is ranked higher. Utah is 50th in spending and 2nd in education.
Sure, more money would be nice, but money is far from the biggest problem in Alabama education. Generations of fricktards who haven't been taught the value inherent in a free education is the real problem.
Look at the Graduation exam. When we had a decent superintendent, it was given at an 11th grade level. Many schools, particularly those in inner cities has pass rates below 5%. One Birmingham school had 0 students pass. The state's solution (instead of working toward improvement)? Give the test at an 8th grade level. The students STILL couldn't pass, so they just eliminated the fricking test altogether.
You're right about a bridge collapse being the only thing that will likely force hands on infrastructure, but everything else is so fricked up, it probably won't matter.
This post was edited on 3/6/19 at 1:02 am
Posted on 3/5/19 at 2:33 pm to Evolved Simian
quote:
Untrue. Nobody on the right or left would ever vote for a lottery for anything other than education, which is just another fricking crippling earmark.
And yet, a REPUBLICAN is proposing a lottery with revenues splitting between education and the general fund.
LINK
Posted on 3/5/19 at 2:37 pm to Evolved Simian
quote:
Sure, more money would be nice, but money is far from the biggest problem in Alabama education.
The way money is distributed to school districts is one of the biggest problems. Districts with higher property taxes receive more funding, and almost without exception perform better. That isn't by coincidence, but by design.
Is there a cultural problem as well in the lower performing schools? Absolutely. Would they perform better with funding comparable to districts in more affluent areas? I think they would. More money to attract better teachers, more money for in-school and after school programs aimed at enriching students' lives, more money for better classroom supplies and equipment.
And I realize the state sets their funding on per-pupil basis. The state does have some control over how local property taxes are set though. They've allowed it to get to where it is now. Alabama education will never get better until we focus on improving the educational opportunities in the poorer districts. And I shouldn't have to point out that most of those poorer districts are majority black districts. Again, not entirely a coincidence. Some vestiges of the Jim Crow era, and subsequent years of white flight, will never escape us.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 3:51 pm to wm72
quote:
In the bigger picture, that Alabama seems to put all of it's eggs in the basket of industries and businesses attracted mainly to absurdly low taxes and the cheapest in unskilled labor instead of those businesses drawn to areas with a more educated populace is short-sighted to say the least.
Huntsville is nothing like the rest of Alabama then.
Give it a decade and it will be the biggest city though
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:30 pm to UltimaParadox
Huntsville depends on that fed gov't dollars, doe. They need to diversify first.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:31 pm to The Spleen
Folks really need to look into the blockchain, it has the potential to solve alot of problems that come from bureaucratic corruption.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:33 pm to The Spleen
I'm part AA and went to Lincoln Middle School in B'ham (near Elyton PJs). While its true that the school and books needed funding, there are serious issues that's also holding similar schools and communities back. It's starts at home.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:41 pm to Evolved Simian
quote:What would the difference in the Alabama students and the Utah students be?
Alabama is 38th in education spending per student, but 46th in results. Almost every state that spends less is ranked higher. Utah is 50th in spending and 2nd in education.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:42 pm to RollTide4Ever
quote:
Huntsville depends on that fed gov't dollars, doe. They need to diversify first.
Granted the majority of industry is government money. But it is less and less now.
Toyota, Mazda, Remington, Polaris, LG, Blue origin, Rocketdyne, ULA
Posted on 3/5/19 at 5:56 pm to coachcrisp
Mormons have a strong hard-working culture (in spite of that batshite crazy religion). Alot of folks in deep south are afflicted with welfarism.
Posted on 3/5/19 at 8:43 pm to RollTide4Ever
This! You go to school to learn, and you'd better learn in a Mormon household. It's easy to stereotype and generalize, but most Mormon kids know that good grades are their responsibility. Mom and Dad are involved and hold the kids accountable.
My kid is a pretty smart cookie, she's smarter than her old man and her mom too. She's in the top 3 in her class of about 200 kids at a charter school and she has designs on med school. The 3 of them jockey back and forth between 1st and 3rd, depending on a few thousandths of a grade point. Of the other two, one is a young man of LDS religion and the other is an Asian-American young lady. Talk about stereotypes.
Keep your fingers crossed, she was invited to and is going to visit the Honors College in Tuscaloosa in early April.
My kid is a pretty smart cookie, she's smarter than her old man and her mom too. She's in the top 3 in her class of about 200 kids at a charter school and she has designs on med school. The 3 of them jockey back and forth between 1st and 3rd, depending on a few thousandths of a grade point. Of the other two, one is a young man of LDS religion and the other is an Asian-American young lady. Talk about stereotypes.
Keep your fingers crossed, she was invited to and is going to visit the Honors College in Tuscaloosa in early April.
This post was edited on 3/5/19 at 8:45 pm
Posted on 3/5/19 at 10:02 pm to The Spleen
quote:
The way money is distributed to school districts is one of the biggest problems. Districts with higher property taxes receive more funding, and almost without exception perform better. That isn't by coincidence, but by design.
That has nothing to do with the state. In fact, poorer districts receive more in state and federal funds because "at risk" students get extra funding, and they are almost exclusively in poorer districts. The communities that add extra funds have voted to do just that. Are you really advocating that local citizens shouldn't be allowed to vote for extra school money if other systems won't do the same?
quote:
The state does have some control over how local property taxes are set though.
This isn't true, and has ZERO to do with state funding of schools.
quote:
Alabama education will never get better until we focus on improving the educational opportunities in the poorer districts.
Money isn't the problem. Tarrant spends more than Trussville per student. Trussville is the 7th best high school in the state, and Tarrant is among the worst. Birmingham spends 20% more than Jefferson County. Tuscaloosa City spends more than Vestavia Hills. ALL with the same shitty results.
quote:
And I shouldn't have to point out that most of those poorer districts are majority black districts.
The ten lowest funded school systems in the state are almost all predominantly white. Places like Autauga County, Oneonta City, Fort Payne, Blount County, St Clair County, Saraland, Etowah County.
The top 30 funded districts (there are 136) include several almost 100% black systems like Greene County, Sumter County, Lowndes County, Anniston City, and Barbour County, Birmingham, Bessemer, Tarrant, Macon County, Talladega, Linden, Dallas County, Tuscaloosa, Lanett and others.
Money isn't the issue for these schools. Basically, everything you posted is a lie.
This post was edited on 3/6/19 at 4:09 pm
Page 4 of 6
Latest Alabama News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News