Truths that defeat Riley's $Tax Plan$
Sponge Bob soaks Alabama taxpayers:
Attention, Alabamians: The end of the world is here. School closings, prisoners freed, no food, and the sun will
burn out. That's the message of Sponge Bob Tax Pants and his faithful sheep.
Gov. Bob Riley and his propagandists, led by The Birmingham News, tell you Alabama is 48th in spending on education,
but they will not tell you when you adjust for cost of living, Alabama moves up to the middle. They will not tell
you that other states spend less per pupil and have higher grades.
They will leave out the fact that Alabama's teachers are the 23rd highest paid teachers in the nation. They won't
tell you that only 53 percent of the money spent on education actually goes to the classroom. They will not tell
you that the number of teachers is up, the number of students is down and student-to-teacher ratios are as low
as they have ever been.
If Riley thinks his tax plan is so good, why did he not separate the accountability portions from the tax increase
and try to pass each on its own merit? He knows the tax increase wouldn't pass by itself.
While moral elitist editors and clergy claim voting for this plan is the "right thing to do," this is
an economic debate. To cast moral judgment on those who think this plan is fiscally flawed shows that supporters
can't support their case and have resorted to character assaults. You question my character in voting against it;
I question your intelligence in voting for it.
This plan is merely redistribution of wealth, which is a basic tenet of socialism. Reject socialism. Reject Riley.
Reject this plan.
Mark Walker
Talladega