Friday, September 05, 2003

References and Reaction On Alabama Tax Reform Here are some references regarding the tax reform movement in Alabama. (Thanks to Yonmei, via Making Light). PBS Interview with Prof. Susan Hammel Her law review article, which started the whole thing (1.7MB PDF file) Her book, "The Least Of These." Doug Bandow's delightfully wrong-headed conservative argument against the reform plan. Like so many conservatives, this guy seems to be against fair taxes, and argues against the universal message of both the Old and New Testaments that demand the rich care for the poor. Stephen Moore, like Bandow a fellow of the conservative Cato Institute, argues against it, questioning whether raising taxes will help the poor. Neither Moore or Bandow talks much about the actual provisions of the tax reform referendum, which will lower tax rates on the poorest and raise them on the richest (a concept the right seems unable to "get"). They characterize the reform plan as a "tax hike," but don't bother to mention that those who can most afford to pay more do so, and those who can least afford to pay, don't! D'oh! Moore and Bandow both caution people to beware of those who use God as a reason for political reform, something President Bush is very good at doing. The latest issue of Sojourner's magazine has an excellent article on Bush's use of religous rhetoric. Normally I agree that God and politics are a questionable mix, since it's so easy to misuse religion (witness religious fundamentalists of all stripes), but it seems to me reform that truly helps the poor should be a universal human concern, not just a religious one. 9:39:03 AM    comment []

From Making Light comes news... with lots of detail, especially in the comments... about the tax reform measure in Alabama that would change that state's regressive tax structure to actually make rich people pay more taxes. The reform movement, up for state-wide referendum at the behest of the state's right-wing, conservative Christian governor, is actually based on a correct reading of the Bible, which talks almost incessantly about justice for the poor. A lot of people think the measure is unlikely to pass, but the statistical and Biblical scholarship behind it are apparently impeccable. From The American Prospect comes Divine Right, on an unlikely shift in conservative Christian sentiments in Alabama: Montgomery, Ala. —... [Making Light] 9:04:12 AM    comment []