A good solution to Alabama's "Tier 2" retirement system

  Unintended consequences are a common problem when it comes to making laws and government policy. A good example of this is the changes lawmakers made in 2012 to the retirement systems for education and state employees in Alabama.

  The economic recession that began in 2008 had severely hurt the Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investments. The slowness of the recovery made things worse, and the state was looking at a situation where, in the long run, the government wouldn’t have the money to pay education and state employee retirees the benefits they had earned.

Taylor’s Top 5: Legislative Session Review for Week 9

  We are back with your recap of another week in Montgomery! What happened last week in the Alabama Legislature and beyond? Read below to find out!

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1. Tax cuts might soon be in store for some Alabama families.

  On Thursday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed a modest tax break bill that increases the standard deduction for an estimated 180,000 lower-income Alabamians by a vote of 89-0. Residents who file Married Filing Joint, Head of Family, or Single and make between $20,500 and $32,999 could see a decrease in taxes if they typically accept the standard deduction and do not itemize. Those who file as Married Filing Separate must make between $10,250 and $15,249 to qualify. The bill passed the senate without opposition in January and now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.

Craig Ford: Educators, retirees deserve a pay raise

  Eleven years is a long time to go without a pay raise. But for educators, state employees and retirees in Alabama, that’s how long it has been. And for retirees and many state employees, they have actually had their pay cut during those eleven years.

  You may be thinking that educators, state employees, and retirees had received raises in recent years, but that isn’t exactly true.

Craig Ford: Hypocrisy and injustice from the Alabama Legislature

  State legislatures and the U.S. Congress typically have the lowest approval ratings of any government branch or agency, and last week the Alabama Legislature showed exactly why that is.

  The same state legislators who made their own pay raises part of the state constitution and are subsequently receiving more than a $2,000 pay raise this year for their part-time job, have decided our state employees aren’t deserving of a pay increase this year.

  It isn’t a question of money. The budget passed by the Alabama House of Representatives is holding back $97 million “for future needs and uncertainties,” while the cost of a four percent pay increase would only be one-fifth of that (about $19 million).

Craig Ford: State employees should be a budget priority in 2017

  Imagine you went for nine years without a pay raise. Now imagine that during those nine years, your boss made you start paying more for your health insurance and retirement plan. Now imagine that your boss laid off about one out of every five of your coworkers, forcing you to do their jobs as well as your own.

  For nearly 30,000 Alabamians, that situation is not something they have to imagine; it’s the reality of their lives.

  Public employees often get a bad rap. They get called “bureaucrats” and are resented by political leaders who see their jobs as “government waste.”