Decatur, Ala. | Sunday, May 19, 2013
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Sequester is educational

As damaging as automatic spending cuts will be to north Alabama, they are a reminder of how much the state relies on federal funding.

In Alabama, as the state GOP frequently reminds us, we dare defend our rights. The state’s incessant legislative rebellions against our federal government create the illusion that Alabama would be better off without it.

At least financially, sequestration gives specifics to the economic fact that poor states such as Alabama are heavily dependent on out-of-state tax dollars that flow here through the federal government. We understand our reliance when it comes to major employers such as Redstone Arsenal and NASA, but it’s easy to miss the numerous local programs that survive on federal dollars.

Even as we occasionally complain about the taxes we pay to support such programs, it turns out much of the support comes from taxpayers outside Alabama. Federal dollars help our schools, our mental health facilities, our hospitals, our environmental programs, our police departments, our universities, our small businesses and our programs for the elderly.

The people of many states pay more in federal taxes than they get back. Alabamians, however, get back more than $2 for every dollar they pay. As we focus on what we don’t like about the federal government, it is healthy for us to understand the financial benefits it provides.

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7 comments on this item

How about a report on the Decatur Daily's financial success and its rosy future? Tee-hee.

Lets see, pay cuts to state employees, reduction in services, fewer frivolous payout to people on public assistance, spending less on things you do not really need, doing without many things needed, loss of health care due to huge cost increases. Heck, this is what the private sector has been doing for the past four years, welcome to the club state and federal government.

Bob Woodward is making life difficult for the White House. He will not be deterred by the administration's threats. The media, including the Decatur Daily, better go into character assassination mode and quickly. It should make for entertaining reading as Woodward has long been lionized by the media. MSNBC's Willie Geist, Mika Brezinski, and Mark Halperin are at this moment in knots, unable to refute Woodward, and, unable to disparage him. All just reluctantly agreed that sole responsibility for the sequester lies with President Obama and the White House, this despite the Decatur Daily Brain Trust's "mugging" analogy. Lacking in credibility, the media will be brought to heel, or, eaten.

Mr. Woodward has quite an appetite.

Otis we thought you were leaving the USA, what made you change your mind?

Bubba

The readership is encouraged to review this morning's segment of MSNBC's Morning Joe which pitted Bob Woodward against David Axelrod in a head to head discussion of the volatile e.mail sent by Gene Sperling earlier this week. Woodward cleverly and politely emasculated Axelrod in eight minutes. By the halfway point, Axelrod could only sheepishly ridicule Woodward and was clearly relieved as the panel broke for commercials. Minutes later the entire panel, by now including Chuck Todd and David Gregory, shamefully admitted that the sequester will have significantly less impact than has been reported, and, that any pain will be felt only marginally and restricted to the local level in few areas. Joe Scarborough hammered at President Obama's refusal to accept Republican offered flexibility and was answered with uncomfortable concurrence by some of the liberal panel, and silence by the remainder. Something is drastically wrong in the White House and alarms are being raised.

sure otis. thats why obama's approval rating is near a high at 40% and congresses remains near a dismal 10%. its all 'obummer', tho, right?

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