Editorial: Amendment 3 - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Editorial: Amendment 3

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By John Shryock - bio | email

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MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Voters will decide November 2 whether to spend one billion dollars from the Alabama Trust Fund over the next ten years on transportation infrastructure. 

The ballot issue is Amendment 3 and we recommend voting against it. 

The General Fund will lose at least 30 million dollars a year in interest income from this trust if we vote for it, and possibly much more. 

The General Fund is already depleted and to further cut funds for all services already struggling with cuts is not wise. The General Fund serves Medicaid, Public Health and Safety and Corrections – everything but Education. 

The payoff for taking this money from our trust is dubious.  The transportation projects will not necessarily be for the most needed, but the most politically profitable.  One hundred million dollars each year won't address the transportation issues either.  This is an important need, but going about it this way is not strategic, but counter productive.  

Trust fund assets have already shrunk half a billion dollars in the past few years. 

Now legislators want to take more money from the state's savings account. 

Don't let them!  Vote no on Amendment 3!

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