GUEST EDITORIAL - By various authors
Nov. 5, 2012

Letters to the editor and op-eds

Amendment No. 4 is bad
I write you because we face an urgent and critical matter. It seems so good but is so bad. It seems like it is a step forward but it is a great leap backward. It seems like it lifts Alabama into the 21st century but it really pulls Alabama back into 19th century. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The “it” of which I speak is Constitutional Amendment No. 4 on the November general election ballot.

Amendment 4 proposes to remove racist language from the Alabama Constitution that requires black and white children to attend separate schools. That should make Amendment 4 a good thing. Amendment 4 also proposes to remove the racist poll tax language from the Alabama Constitution. The poll tax helped prevent most black and poor people from voting. Voting is a right under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and no one should have to pay to exercise that right. The poll tax language in the Alabama Constitution is very bad and should be removed.

Amendment 4 destroys the right to a public education. I acknowledge that some see the import of this provision differently but it's better to be safe than sorry. Amendment 4 seems like a step forward but it is a giant leap backward, to a time before the Civil War.

Amendment 4 is a fraud on the people of Alabama. It proposes to remove racist provisions from the Alabama Constitution that have no real legal impact. However, the provision limiting public education circumscribes the future of our children, our communities, our state. The proposed removal of racist language by Amendment 4 simply puts lipstick on the reactionary 1901 Alabama Constitution while sticking a dagger in the heart of education rights for our children.

Sen. Hank Sanders
Selma

The Golden Goose
I have always believed that animals are one of the greatest gifts God has given us. They entertain us, but most of all they dazzle us with their sheer beauty. But there's a string attached: It's our duty to care for them and protect them, since they cannot protect themselves.

It is also our duty to protect the wonderful creatures that make Weiss Lake their home—ducks, geese, herons, pelicans, ospreys and yes, even the very symbol of our great nation, the bald eagle. There is also a mythical animal that is in very grave danger, the Golden Goose (Weiss Lake).

The Golden Goose serves our community, it helps our schools, it helps our businesses, it creates jobs, and provides entertainment for thousands. And yet when it gives so much to us, the people who are charged with its protection just ignore it. Too many are only interested in collecting the golden eggs.

As a member of Save Weiss Lake, I care about the Golden Goose and ask that you help us protect every one of God's magnificent creatures. Please help us fight to save our Golden Goose. With your help, we can succeed and our Golden Goose will soar with the Eagle. Please help us fulfill our obligation to protect the wonderful creatures of Weiss Lake.

Debra Mauldin
Centre

BOE's money source?
Our Board of Education is at it again. It was a year ago that the members decided they didn't have enough money to keep the vocational school open. I was told by a board member that state proration was why there was not enough money. After an uprising in the community, our citizens stepped up and voted a tax hike to keep the vocational school open.

Our outgoing superintendent made many personnel changes that eventually left open the position of principal at Centre Elementary. Then, the superintendent resigned. The newly-appointed assistant superintendent was then reassigned to fill the vacated superintendent's position by the board. The outgoing superintendent was then appointed P.E. teacher at the Centre Elementary School. At the board meeting on Oct. 30, the outgoing superintendent was hired to be the new principal at Centre Elementary.

Where did the money come from to pay for all of these personnel changes? Just over a year ago, our finances were in such dire condition that taxes had to be raised to keep the vocational school open. Now, we seem to have plenty of money for high-paying positions that haven't been filled for 12 years. Did the state lift the proration? What programs will come up short now because we have all these new positions?

Also, why was it so urgent that all these positions be filled before the election? Could we not have waited until the new superintendent and board members are in office, then let them evaluate the situation and make personnel changes? If the board and the superintendent thought we could do without the vocational school, why can't we do without all of these personnel changes for a little while longer? If our school system is so strapped for money, I would like to know where the money came from.

Sarah Bright
Centre

Regarding Medicaid
Poverty rates are generally higher in rural areas than in urban centers. Also, residents of rural Alabama are more likely than their urban neighbors to be self-employed or working for a small business without employer-sponsored health insurance. They are, therefore, more likely to be uninsured or underinsured.

As written, the Affordable Care Act would expand Medicaid eligibility to all adults below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled that states could not be compelled to participate.

That decision means that over 100,000 Alabamians who fall below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, such as a family of three earning less than $26,344 annually, will still struggle to find affordable health insurance if the state declines to participate in the Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid provides a crucial healthcare safety net for those rural residents most in need. And the expansion of Medicaid would bring in several billion dollars from the federal government by 2020, potentially financing the creation of over 10,000 ongoing Alabama jobs. Moreover, expanding Medicaid will help alleviate some of the costs of uncompensated care for the uninsured, reducing premiums for those with private insurance.

Over 10,000 healthcare jobs, lower insurance premiums for the currently insured and access to affordable healthcare coverage for over 100,000 hard-working Alabamians, many of whom lack coverage today, all speak in favor of expanding Medicaid in the state, for rural Alabama in particular.

John Crabtree
Center for Rural Affairs
Lyons, Neb.

Statewide amendments
Once Alabama voters finish choosing among presidential, congressional and judicial candidates on Nov. 6, some may think they have completed their civic duty.

However, those choices are the easier part. The final portions of the ballot may actually be the greatest challenge of the election. Alabamians will also be voting on proposed revisions to the Alabama Constitution of 1901. The decisions on many of these questions can affect the lives of Alabamians way beyond the terms of office for which candidates are running.

For amendments, voters are asked to choose “yes” or “no” in response to confused wording, and election rules forbid poll workers from giving even a straight unbiased explanation. It benefits the serious voter to untangle the mind-numbing legalese before heading to the polling place.

Of the 11 questions on the ballot, three come from the efforts to reform the 1901 Alabama Constitution. Proposed Amendments 4, 9 and 10 differ from the usual laundry list of local measures. They are efforts to rewrite the 19th century language of the State Constitution.

When you go to the polls on Nov. 6, you will find these amendments among numerous others. To see all proposed amendments and a sample ballot from your county visit www.sos.state.al.us. They are there for the citizens of Alabama to determine whether or not to keep segregation and poll tax provisions in Alabama's Constitution and to address bringing business and corporation laws into the 21st century.

ACCR Foundation
Birmingham