It is a slow news Monday. All I have for the gentle reader is an editorial by my good friend Mike Goens of the Times Daily;
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100425/ARTICLES/4255019/1031?Title=Bingo-vote-was-doomed-from-the-start
In which he lampoons the “silliness” of the legislature by not putting the Gambling Commission Bill to a vote of the people -
Just because it is an election year in which your elected Representatives are actually sensitive to the will of the people.
One of the checks in our checks and balances system is the ability of the rural inhabitants of our State to call upon our elected servants and ask them to kill legislation that would harm our district with the implicit “or we will vote you out”. Unfortunately this only works in election years.
I am reminded of a few years back there was a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot regarding Dothan Alabama. A one cent tax that was proposed to do something about the traffic around the industrial park. I looked it over, thought “Humm, That's in South Alabama, doesn't affect me – I should vote for it and help those guys out.”
Turns out the vote was overwhelmingly affirming the tax everywhere in the State -
EXCEPT Dothan.
Nowadays I just choose not to vote on bills outside my area. But I am constantly aware that there are still people out there who think like I did back then.
Or think like Mike, and will overwhelmingly vote for a bill that is detrimental to our rural areas, And call it “the will of the people”.
Mike, if you are listening, we love you, but the paper goes all the way to the Mississippi line. A huge portion (5000 square miles of Senate District 6) largely don't want a Bingo bill that helps Florence, Birmingham, and Mobile on the backs of the communities like Maud, Hodges, and Pea Ridge.
___________________________________________
In a related note. The House and Senate agreed to fund a One Billion Dollar Transportation bill with some conditions, one of which was that the fund balance was not to fall below 2 Billion dollars.
I don't know how much over two billion we have but in September of 2009 it was 2.7 Billion. Assuming Kay Ivey has not lost any of that money we are left with $700,000,000 for the Transportation bill.
I heard the fund was actually a little below the two Bil's mark but I can't confirm at this time.
If the money is in fact there, 75% goes directly to the Transportation department,leaving $175 million for allocation to the individual districts and counties.
About half that goes to the Congressional districts. The other half to the individual 67 counties.
That's about 2.6 million per county.
Over ten years it becomes 260,000 annually per county.
I think that is about the price on the guard rail on one side of the bridge at Margum and maybe enough roundup to spray the ditches. As I said before, A Majority vote of the people oft leaves the minority in the dust of their dirt driveway.
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100425/ARTICLES/4255019/1031?Title=Bingo-vote-was-doomed-from-the-start
In which he lampoons the “silliness” of the legislature by not putting the Gambling Commission Bill to a vote of the people -
Just because it is an election year in which your elected Representatives are actually sensitive to the will of the people.
One of the checks in our checks and balances system is the ability of the rural inhabitants of our State to call upon our elected servants and ask them to kill legislation that would harm our district with the implicit “or we will vote you out”. Unfortunately this only works in election years.
I am reminded of a few years back there was a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot regarding Dothan Alabama. A one cent tax that was proposed to do something about the traffic around the industrial park. I looked it over, thought “Humm, That's in South Alabama, doesn't affect me – I should vote for it and help those guys out.”
Turns out the vote was overwhelmingly affirming the tax everywhere in the State -
EXCEPT Dothan.
Nowadays I just choose not to vote on bills outside my area. But I am constantly aware that there are still people out there who think like I did back then.
Or think like Mike, and will overwhelmingly vote for a bill that is detrimental to our rural areas, And call it “the will of the people”.
Mike, if you are listening, we love you, but the paper goes all the way to the Mississippi line. A huge portion (5000 square miles of Senate District 6) largely don't want a Bingo bill that helps Florence, Birmingham, and Mobile on the backs of the communities like Maud, Hodges, and Pea Ridge.
___________________________________________
In a related note. The House and Senate agreed to fund a One Billion Dollar Transportation bill with some conditions, one of which was that the fund balance was not to fall below 2 Billion dollars.
I don't know how much over two billion we have but in September of 2009 it was 2.7 Billion. Assuming Kay Ivey has not lost any of that money we are left with $700,000,000 for the Transportation bill.
I heard the fund was actually a little below the two Bil's mark but I can't confirm at this time.
If the money is in fact there, 75% goes directly to the Transportation department,leaving $175 million for allocation to the individual districts and counties.
About half that goes to the Congressional districts. The other half to the individual 67 counties.
That's about 2.6 million per county.
Over ten years it becomes 260,000 annually per county.
I think that is about the price on the guard rail on one side of the bridge at Margum and maybe enough roundup to spray the ditches. As I said before, A Majority vote of the people oft leaves the minority in the dust of their dirt driveway.
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