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  #161  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 7:08 PM
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Well I saw that the Alabama Senate Committee delayed the lottery bill proposal, which will essentially kill it. Huntsville Senator Paul Sanford is proposing that Alabama join the powerball, megamillion, and other multi-state lotteries.. Of course they're not allowing Alabamians vote on the damn thing because they know good and damn well that 85% of the state would vote for us to have one. Governor Bentley's main motive for not allowing a gambling bill is because he believes its a "tax on poor people". But of course those same people will visit our neighboring states with the lottery and spend their money there. Here's an interesting fact: the state of Georgia remitted $26.2 million to the Georgia Department of Revenue in tax withholding from lottery prizes. Over 8,600 Georgia retailers earned a total of $293.3 million in commissions. Lastly, Georgia transferred over $980.5 million to their education. How much of that revenue generated comes from out-of-staters from Alabama? South Carolina is a comparable state to Alabama, yet they have had the lottery since 2002 and have transferred over than 26% of that to their education.

Research shows that the lottery and gaming will generate over $400 million to Alabama and create 11,000 new jobs. Jesus christ, and of course they passed a new "porn tax". We have the stupidest politicians in the f*cking world!!
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  #162  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 7:25 PM
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Excuse me, my statistics were wrong. Eight-nine percent voted that they should allow Alabamians should vote on whether or not we should have gaming/lottery, and 80% said we should have gaming/lottery. Sixty-six percent opposed Governor Bentley's idea to increase taxes to avoid drastic budget cuts. Voters strongly expressed their support for the Marsh plan.

Just some stats

Research at AUM
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  #163  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 8:46 PM
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Our elected representatives dare not trust the voice of the people. If they did, we would have a new Constitution.

Too bad the people of this state are so trusting that they continue to re-elect the same "representatives"
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  #164  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 9:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCapstone View Post
Governor Bentley's main motive for not allowing a gambling bill is because he believes its a "tax on poor people".
He should ban Dollar General, Wal-Mart, and others while he's at it.
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  #165  
Old Posted Sep 17, 2015, 2:45 PM
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Well, the Senate Committee approved of transferring $100 million from school dollars to the General Funds. The education funds are directed from the sales tax revenue right? How much was generated and how much left?
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  #166  
Old Posted Sep 18, 2015, 1:14 AM
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Delet

Last edited by TheCapstone; Sep 18, 2015 at 5:19 AM.
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  #167  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2015, 4:16 PM
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Welp, knew it was coming. Five state parks beginning to close

Alabama state parks closing

The ones closing are:

Bladon Springs
Chickasaw
Florala
Paul M Grist
Roland Cooper


Shame.
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  #168  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2015, 10:16 PM
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So long as "taxes" remain unacceptable, Alabamans will pay more with shutdowns such as the state parks, driver's license bureaus, etc. The little bit more we could pay in fuel taxes, for example, might improve our roads so much we wouldn't be paying so much for wheel alignments and tire damage. Imagine paying a little more and having better schools? There are so many ways we have been short-sighted simply because of politicians who campaign "no tax increase" and then do as we elected them to do: nothing.
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  #169  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2015, 12:34 AM
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Auburn was rated as the 2nd best place to retire in the nation according to NBC.

Auburn named one of the best 25 cities to retire
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  #170  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2015, 9:22 AM
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Sometimes you don't have to spend much money at all, to make a state more attractive, or famous for something.

I'm thinking of Lady Bird's Wildflowers planted along freeways in Texas, which swept me away when I first saw it!

Cheap, funky, humorous outdoor sculptures along roadways could also do the trick!

Creating something unique, simple, and very inexpensive, something no other state has! It can be done!
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  #171  
Old Posted Oct 10, 2015, 3:26 AM
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A different take on raising taxes

I understand the temptation to believe that more taxes are the answer. To some extent, they could be. However, why hasn't anyone thought about the potential long term benefit to privatizing some or all of these state parks? The state could work out agreements with the buyer to insure that a certain percentage of the parks remain accessible to those of modest means.

But with private ownership, I bet that the state parks at Cheaha and De Soto State Park would be greatly improved. Those are gorgeous areas, but the lodging, and the food are fairly dreadful, save for a few cabins on Lookout Mountain.

The same applies to virtually all state services. Privatizing roads, education, etc. would bring the power of the market into the equation. We have some beautiful geography in our state. I find it hard to believe that the state can do a better job than a private company that seeks to make a lot of money providing better accomodations for these parks. The state bureaucrats simply do not have the incentive to create the kind of parks that would truly present Alabama in a good light.
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  #172  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2016, 5:10 AM
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Good news, per the most recent Census Estimates, 2 of the 20 fastest growing metropolitan areas are in Alabama. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley and auburn-Opelika!

Huntsville is well on its way to being a top 100 metro by 2020 if it keeps on plugging, and Birmingham-Hoover seems to be coping with its most recent population gains that will keep it in the top 50 for the foreseeable future.
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  #173  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2016, 1:01 AM
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Improving Alabama: Governor Bentley get impeached.

Remember his whole issue with the lottery? Well, now he's suddenly for it. But even when he's for it, he wants it to go to the general fund. Of course this isn't because he now realizes the benefits a lottery would be for the state of AL and the impact it would have on our education (I am totally against it going towards the general fund), but because he can use it as a distraction from all the bull sh*t he's done.

For once, I want to trust the legislatures in the state of Alabama to do the right thing. We need funding to not only our schools, but state parks and roads. But we live in a state where politicians are corrupt and greedy.
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  #174  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2016, 2:05 PM
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I can't read it right now, but I believe Sen Marsh talked about some research on the ROI for the historic tax credit. Anyone see this?
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  #175  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2016, 3:04 PM
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I can't read it right now, but I believe Sen Marsh talked about some research on the ROI for the historic tax credit. Anyone see this?
I did, but I think it is a bunch of empty talk since he is the one who led to it being killed. They already ran an independent research study that showed the HTC was an exceptional value with high ROI. What can this new study possibly show? What if it is a couple of pennies less than the 3.90 to 1 ratio the last study showed?
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  #176  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2016, 6:08 PM
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I did, but I think it is a bunch of empty talk since he is the one who led to it being killed. They already ran an independent research study that showed the HTC was an exceptional value with high ROI. What can this new study possibly show? What if it is a couple of pennies less than the 3.90 to 1 ratio the last study showed?
Yea, the one that he spoke about should be available sometime before the next regular session. It too is an independent study, so I can't imagine the results would be much different than the one that was already conducted, not by the legislature.

I actually think it'll be pretty obvious to everyone in the next regular session that the HTC is effective and quite necessary. It'll probably be one of the easiest to pass.
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  #177  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2016, 12:14 PM
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Yea, the one that he spoke about should be available sometime before the next regular session. It too is an independent study, so I can't imagine the results would be much different than the one that was already conducted, not by the legislature.

I actually think it'll be pretty obvious to everyone in the next regular session that the HTC is effective and quite necessary. It'll probably be one of the easiest to pass.
Without a doubt. The tax credit has been huge in reinvigorating the downtown. No idea why Marsh is against this. One bill everyone in the legislature wants that has helped a multitude of Alabama cities, and only 3 other men against it.
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  #178  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2016, 2:05 AM
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Without a doubt. The tax credit has been huge in reinvigorating the downtown. No idea why Marsh is against this. One bill everyone in the legislature wants that has helped a multitude of Alabama cities, and only 3 other men against it.
Tis a mystery, but such is our legislature. Things happen slowly around here, but what keeps me hopeful is that Marsh is at least open to it.
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  #179  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2016, 10:11 PM
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No idea why Marsh is against this.
My guess is his neck of the woods didn't see enough development and Birmingham got too much.
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  #180  
Old Posted Nov 9, 2016, 4:25 AM
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Alabama voters approve Amendment 2 to prevent shift of state park money, allow privatization
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