Pubdate: Thu, 18 Sep 2003
Source: Exponent, The (AL Edu Univ Alabama-Huntsville)
Copyright: 2003 by The Exponent
Contact:  http://www.uahexponent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2801
Author:  Chris Brown

POST AMENDMENT 1: WHAT DO WE NOW

Four years ago, after the failure of his lottery referendum, then Governor 
Don Siegelman admitted that he had no plan B. While Riley's concession 
speech was not nearly that bad, I have decided to compile a top-ten list of 
things the state can do to save money, just in case they need the help.

1.Cut the legislative pork. Some of the accountability measures discussed 
still need to be passed. A recent Birmingham News article gave $120 million 
as a possible estimate of pork spending last year. I have no idea what the 
basis of this number is or how accurate it may be, but I have no doubt that 
elimination of special project spending by legislators would be significant.

2.Cut unnecessary and frivolous budget items. I took the time to add up the 
budget allotments for programs and departments that I believe are total 
wastes of our money and came up with a total of $247.8 million. Examples of 
items to cut that I have not mentioned before include the board of 
cosmetology, the dry-cleaning environmental advisory board, the Alabama 
Junior Miss Pageant, and the governor's mansion. There were several items 
that I could not explain but decided to leave out of my cuts for now, 
including the $101 million per year Industrial Relations Board.

3.Release the prisoners. As I have lamented before, our state has the 
highest incarceration rate in the world, due almost exclusively to 
ridiculous penalties for non-violent drug offenders. There is no way to get 
an exact figure of dollars saved, but the prison crisis would be over 
tomorrow if these non-violent offenders were taken out of prison and sent 
to more effective cost-efficient programs.

4.Reform Medicaid. Right now a state of around 4.5 million residents spends 
$3.4 billion per year on Medicaid. A total overhaul of this system is in order.

5.Make K-12 sports community-based. If Junior High and High School 
athletics were community based like many youth sports leagues, schools 
would not need to build multi-million dollar stadiums.

6.Move back to a bi-annual legislature. If the legislature only met every 
other year as they once did, we would not only save half of their salaries 
and operating costs, but our money and our freedom would only be in danger 
half as often.

7.Reduce state employee benefits. Currently most state employees pay only 
$2 per month for comprehensive health care and other services. Either 
reduce the benefits or have them pay more for them.

8.Sell state land and parks to private organizations. A private company or 
non-profit organization could much more efficiently run the state parks and 
other lands, and we would get one-time revenue from the sale.

9.Stop using the death penalty. There are many good reasons to do this, 
among them the fact that the average capital case costs around $6 million, 
many times more than life imprisonment.

10.Legalize and tax drugs. This would require federal cooperation, but 
legalizing drugs would deflate the black market and organized crime, just 
as the end of the first prohibition did. Along with the benefits of ending 
gang warfare, vastly reducing the prison population, and perhaps restoring 
our 4th and 6th amendment rights, we could heavily tax these items to pay 
for the Medicaid system that is already clogged by the users of such 
substances.

Some of these ideas are easy to implement and obvious first steps, while 
some would never be approved. Either way, I hope the state government will 
exercise wise stewardship rather than implementing punitive cuts aimed at 
forcing people to vote for a tax increase next year.
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MAP posted-by: Beth +++++++