By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford
to Gov. Bentley’s Claims About Saving the State a Billion Dollars
“The governor claims he is saving millions of dollars through “right-sizing the state government workforce” and “consolidating government agencies.” But that really means is he is cutting spending by eliminating teachers, support personnel, and state employee jobs. It means government services will slow down because fewer people are working at the agencies like Medicaid, Mental Health, and Public Safety. It means our children will be in larger classes and get less individual attention from their teachers because of it. It means fewer resources and older textbooks in our public schools. It means fewer resources for law enforcement and fewer law enforcement officers on the streets and guarding our prisons.
The governor knows that we cannot get by any more just by tightening the state’s belt. That’s why just a few months ago he asked voters to let him borrow almost half a billion dollars from the state’s rainy day fund. It is time for real leadership. It is time for the governor to tell us how he plans to raise more revenue without raising taxes on working families.”
Representative Craig Ford is a Democrat from Gadsden. He has served in the Alabama House of Representatives since 2000. In 2010, Representative Ford was elected House Minority Leader by the House Democratic Caucus. He was re-elected Minority Leader in 2012.
