Julie Margetta Morgan: Government should make college-payment resources more accessible

  The New York Times reported last week that student loan debt will outpace credit card debt for the second year in a row and will likely top $1 trillion this year. The average debt for bachelor’s degree recipients who borrow to pay for education is now $24,000—over a 10-year period that's more than $250 per month in loan payments.

  When used wisely, student loans can be “good debt,” providing students access to a lifetime of greater earnings. But for many students, poor use of their loans can tip the balance toward bad debt. That's why the federal government should provide students with the resources they need to use loans to help them achieve their educational goals without racking up so much debt that it keeps them from reaping the benefits of their degrees.

Sam Fulwood III: Little-known history makes a big difference

  I’m often taken aback when I hear someone complain that racial conditions in the United States haven’t changed much—or are worse—than at some point in the nation’s past. Anyone who says something so observably false either doesn’t know or fails to respect the progressive march of history.

  A recent Newsweek article discovered that we Americans are far too ignorant of our shared history. The editors asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to take the nation’s official citizenship test, a set of 100 questions across five categories: U.S. government, systems of government, rights and responsibilities, history, and civics. According to Newsweek 73 percent couldn’t say why the nation fought the Cold War and 44 percent were unable to define the Bill of Rights

Gene Policinski: Free speech shouldn't be confined to a 'zone'

  Note to city officials in Howell, Mich., who are considering a so-called “free speech zone”:

  Please set aside whatever paperwork you may have in your hands at this very moment. Hang up the phone. Take a break from that discussion. Walk to the nearest window that gives you a good view of your city.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Population shifts and political power

  The 2010 census data paints an interesting landscape of Alabama’s demographics. There are dramatic shifts but the results are not surprising. We have been told and have seen these obvious trends develop over the past decade. However, it is only when the actual final figures are told and you see the present picture of our population that the conclusive scenario hits home.

  For the first time we are an urban rather than a rural state. Approximately one half of our population lives in one of our four metropolitan areas. The largest of the metro areas is the Birmingham-Hoover area, which includes the seven counties of Jefferson, Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Walker, St. Clair and Shelby. The Huntsville and Madison-Limestone area is now the second largest metro area followed by Mobile and then the four county Montgomery metropolitan area. Approximately 51% of our people live in these four major metro areas all along the I-65 corridor.

Wendy McElroy: Give me your money and your conscience

  Planned Parenthood almost closed down the U.S. government last week. A stalemate over the tax-funding of the abortion-provider almost prevented a budget deal needed to keep federal doors open. Ultimately, the Republicans tabled their demand to defund Planned Parenthood; only then did the stopgap budget move forward. That is how powerful the issue of abortion and taxes has become.

  The weighty stalemate will almost certainly occur again. The federal government is expected to reach its debt limit in mid-May and, then, once more the begging bowl will be passed around Congress. Before approving a debt limit, however, House Speaker John Boehner has made it clear that Republicans want substantial concessions, probably including the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Moreover, there are least three bills currently before Congress to cut abortion funding: Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (HR 217); No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (HR 3); and, "Protect Life Act" (HR 358). The issue of tax-funded abortions is not going away.

James Hairston: Americans believe in tax equity

  Taxes are the alleged “third rail” of American politics. Propose to raise them and prepare for an electoral shock. Or so the cliché goes.

  In fact, polls show Americans overwhelmingly recognize the need for additional revenue to solve our budget challenges. And they favor tax increases on the wealthiest earners as a way to lower the deficit. That’s because the American people support a fair tax system and think the wealthy should pay their fair share.

Gary Palmer: The Battle of the budget rages on

  Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner may have negotiated an agreement with the Obama Administration and the Democrat Congressional leadership to cut spending by $38.5 billion, but it sure seems like the Republicans came away with a loss.

  It seems that way in part because, though it is being touted as the largest spending cut in American history, it falls far short of the $100 billion they promised to cut during the 2010 election campaign.  Even more problematic, it is just a drop in the proverbial bucket of the $14 trillion federal debt. As Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) put it, "Relative to the size of the problem it's not even a rounding error. In that case, we probably all deserve to be tarred and feathered."

Joseph O. Patton: One pink toenail over the line

  Oh, and you thought we were having a nasty time with instability in the Middle East, a Chernobyl brewing in Japan, widespread unemployment in America and a Congress that can’t even agree on the weather outside. But this planet has officially stopped spinning on its axis over some pink toenails.

  So-called Christian conservatives are at it again, up in arms and hurling Bible verses over a mere photo spread in a J. Crew catalog. (Seriously, I’m not joking.) The spread features the president and creative director of the company spending quality time with her young son. Insidious, subversive, immoral, eh? In one photo, however, the mother has painted her son’s toenails pink because he likes the color. Children like colors, don’t they? I was quite the fan of tearing through a box of Crayola Crayons using every shade in sight, so I can sympathize.

James Bovard: The Absurdity of trusting foreign-policy makers

  The United States is attacking Libya on the basis of vague hopes that peace will triumph after the Allied bombing ceases. There are plenty of reasons to doubt whether a few hundred cruise missiles will beget harmony in the Libyan desert. But one of the biggest mistakes would be to assume that U.S. government policymakers understand what they are doing.

  The American media have already uncorked “surprises,” such as the facts that the Libyan opposition is more of a ragtag mob than an army and that Qaddafi’s opponents include some organizations officially labeled as terrorists by the U.S. government. One gets the impression that the Obama administration’s masterminds did not notice those details prior to charging into this civil war.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Beyond Paul Hubbert

  As the legislative session approaches the midway point all eyes are centered on the state budgets. The state is facing the most devastating financial abyss since the Great Depression. The Education and General Funds are both in dire straits. The state coffers are lower by $250 million than expected and no federal stimulus money is available this year. The Democratic majority in the legislature was more optimistic than pragmatic with their revenue projections when they were drafting the budgets last year. Their lack of prudence has left the state in deep proration and left the new Republican led legislature with a Herculean task.