Repeatedly Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) has led
the charge to make a dent in the suffering by introducing legislation to repeal
our state’s oppressive sales tax on groceries, yet it has always failed, often
at the hands of lawmakers who always crow about what “righteous and
God-fearing” people they are and how the Bible guides their actions.
According to the most recent figures, 19 percent of
Alabamians are living in poverty, which is nearly a fifth of the state’s entire
population (U.S. Census Bureau). Nearly a third (28 %) of Alabama children are
living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau). Alabama consistently ranks in the top
10 states with the most pervasive levels of poverty.
But to now add insult to injury and to epitomize
Alabama conservatives’ morals, Rep. Wes Long (R-Guntersville) is proposing
legislation that would eliminate the sales tax on ammunition. It’s the type of
headline you’d think would only appear in The Onion. Loaves and fishes… or
bullets? This is Alabama “morality” for ya!
This misguided, immoral approach is reprehensible
enough but:
-How can we afford further losses in revenue when our
leaders take every opportunity to remind us that the state coffers are tapped
out?
-How can we continue to stick it to struggling
families who simply want to avoid starvation while giving ammunition-collectors
a tax giveaway?
-What is moral or just about using state government
to pad the pockets of ammunition manufacturers and retailers at everyone else’s
expense? Isn’t that “redistribution of wealth” which self-professed
conservatives relentlessly express such dramatic butthurt over?
-Since tax giveaways don’t occur in a vacuum, how
will the resulting loss in revenue be replaced? Or what additional cuts to
government services will have to be implemented due to the resulting lower
revenues?
-Or to frame it as a simple question of equality, why
should those purchasing ammunition receive preferential treatment?
I would never be so self-righteous, arrogant or
ignorant to profess that I know what Jesus would do in such a situation. And I
would certainly never push bad public policy while hiding behind a Bible like
an insufferable coward. I would, however, institute a Misguided Jackass Tax
with a strict provision stating that Wes Long can pay for all of the resulting
loss in revenue out of his own damn pocket.
About the author: Joseph O. Patton is the
editor-in-chief and founder of the Capital City Free Press. He is a former news
editor for the Coosa County News, lead reporter for the Montgomery Independent
and editor-in-chief of the AUMnibus, the student newspaper of
Auburn-Montgomery. Patton is also the creator of and writer for the satirical
news radio segment "Goat Hill Gossip," which previously aired on WAUD
in Auburn, Alabama and has appeared on several Central Alabama radio programs
as a political analyst.
Copyright © Capital
City Free Press
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