Loading ...Do people really not see the connection?
Alabama Boasts Lowest Taxes in the Nation
and
Alabama is 44th Most Livable State
Not to mention this Alabama 48th for Kids, or this Alabama 45th “Smartest” or this Alabama 40th in Overall Health (and here)
Of course, we keep our taxes low to be friendly to business…but wait, Forbes said in 2006 Alabama was 40th most business friendly state. Hmmmm
Please don’t read me wrong…I understand that many Alabamians want their taxes as low as possible and that, in many of their minds, insures the government does less, but we have to understand that comes with a price and there is such a thing as TOO low. Now, I can hear you saying, but the most liveable state (according to the rankings linked above) is New Hampshire, which also happens to be one of two states with LOWER state local taxes as a percentage of income. Why?
First, because people in New Hampshire, on average, have higher incomes than people in Alabama, which means a couple of things: the need for government services is less and they can have a lower rate and bring in the same amount, or more revenue. They also have a little over a quarter of the people that Alabama has. Notice that while they are dead last in percentage of their income that goes to state and local taxes, they are not in the bottom five for revenue per person. The percentage of those in poverty is also much lower in New Hampshire (7.1% vs. 16.9% in Alabama). And more people in poverty equates to more need for services (TANF, SCHIP, Medicaid, transportation, etc.).
So, let’s take another look at the liveability rankings, specifically at the 10 LEAST liveable states: Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia, and North Carolina. ALL of those states share rankings on the low end of the taxation spectrum.
Again, don’t read this as a statement that higher taxes will automatically solve problems, it’s not. Yes, we need to improve the efficiency of spending what revenue is collected (and I have explored and will continue to explore that issue here), but the “do more with less” philosophy only goes so far. The natural outcome of do more with less is eventually you are asking for everything to be done with nothing. And it’s fine to believe we should have the lowest taxes in the country, but then please don’t pay lip service to caring about these low rankings in other areas, because you can’t possibly be on both sides of that fence.
What I am arguing is that if you’re on the side of NEVER raising taxes (and candidates are asked to sign that pledge every election cycle), then you are also on the side of ALWAYS being among the least liveable states. If you recognize that there is such a thing as TOO low, particularly in a state with as many challenges to deal with as this one, then we can have a debate about what the appropriate level is, and as importantly, how to ensure that those funds are spent in an efficient and effective way.
As always your comments and thoughts are welcome below.
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