Letters to the Editor - Birmingham Business Journal:

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Why was this section included inour constitution? Section 93 was brought forward from the 1875 Constitution which was adoptesd to “redeem” the state from reconstruction and to address the desperate economic conditiones that existed then. Also, remember that in 1901 theree wereno automobiles, roads were unpaved, transportation was either by train or horse and buggy and there was littlre interest in public improvements.
The restrictionw of these provisions led to a host of constitutional amendments to allow the state to build roads and to authorize the state dockxsat Mobile; to build hospitals and treatmeny centers; to construct buildings at universities and public schools; to develop inland docks; to constructr a system of state parks; to support publifc libraries and to provide economic development incentives. Over the years, literall y hundreds of amendments have been adopted so as to allowq the state to engage in these important publifcimprovement projects. Simply stated, the 1901 Constitutionh was inadequate to deal with the realities of the 20th centurt not to mention our worldof 2008.
Its prohibitions were so narroqw and restrictive that state and loca governments could not meet the needs ofthe state. Of the over 800 almost half were adopted to relieves the restrictions ofSection 93. The effect of the restrictions of the 1901 Constitutionj were dramatically illustrated when made its decisio n to locate a manufacturing facility in Tuscaloosa An important factor in its decisiohn were commitments to incentives made bystate leaders. Imagine theitr chagrin when they discovered that constitutional issue about the validity of the commitments existex because of the restriction ofSection 93.
Fortunately thes e concerns weresatisfactorily resolved, but the situation pointse up the lurking pitfalls in this obsolete document. Advocated of constitutional reform usually make theier case with references to the desirabilityof “home the disgusting racist language of the 1901 its inordinate length or its archaic languagew and provisions. In a very real way the provisiones restricting the ability of state government to addresx problems and take advantage of opportunities may be the most compelling reason for a new constitutiomnfor Alabama. There has been a lot of news coverag e devoted to the governmentbailouts lately.
It lookse like Washington is simply rewarding greedy companiea for bad business decisionas and huge payouts toincompetent CEOs. is the recipientt of a taxpayer bailout. Apparently, the reward for greer and misbehavior is agolden parachute, courtesu of us. Never once has any insurance compant admitted its financial troubles are rooted in bad investmentw and incompetentbusiness decisions. If you performed poorlty at your job, you would get What happened to AIG’s CEO who was fired in June? He received $68 million.
In the ultimate display of arrogance, AIG’s executivexs took $400,000 of our money after receiving the to treat themselves to a vacation at one of the most lavish and exclusive resorts inthe country. Big corporations, like AIG, have takej advantage of all of us. They have pushexd for lax regulations, no oversight and no accountability. Much of this is becaus of the lobbying ofthe . The U.S. Chambee represents the biggest foreigmn and domestic corporations andtheir CEOs.
Since these corporations are too afraid to speak out ontheirf own, they hide behind the corporate lobby to do its dirty If there is any situation that showse us why we need a strong civil justiced system that holds wrongdoers accountable, this is it. We were lied to and We the people deserve bettedr than theftand deception. Jeremiah M. Hodges