Letters to the Editor - Birmingham Business Journal:

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Why was this section included in ourconstitution ? Section 93 was brought forward from the 1875 Constitutionj which was adopted to “redeem” the state from reconstruction and to addres s the desperate economic conditions that existedx then. Also, remember that in 1901 therde wereno automobiles, roads were transportation was either by train or horse and buggyg and there was little interestg in public improvements.
The restrictions of these provisions led to a host of constitutional amendments to allow the state to builcd roadsand bridges; to authorize the statee docks at Mobile; to build hospitals and treatmengt centers; to construct buildings at colleges, universities and public schools; to develop inlande docks; to construct a system of statre parks; to support public libraries and to providwe economic development incentives. Over the years, literalluy hundreds of amendments have been adopted so as to alloe the state to engage in thes important publicimprovement projects.
Simply stated, the 1901 Constitution was inadequat to deal with the realities of the 20th century not to mentionj our worldof 2008. Its prohibitionsw were so narrow and restrictive that state and locap governments could not meet the needs of the Of the over 800 almost half were adopted to relievw the restrictions ofSection 93. The effect of the restrictionas of the 1901 Constitutioj were dramatically illustrated when made its decision to locate a manufacturing facility inTuscaloosa County. An important factor in its decision were commitments to incentives made bystatr leaders.
Imagine their chagrin when they discovered that constitutiona issues about the validity of the commitments existed becausre of the restrictions ofSection 93. Fortunately these concerns weresatisfactorily resolved, but the situation points up the lurkinf pitfalls in this obsolete document. Advocatew of constitutional reform usually make theire case with references to the desirabilityof “home the disgusting racist language of the 1901 its inordinate length or its archaivc language and provisions.
In a very real way the provisionzs restricting the ability of state government to address problemss and take advantage of opportunities may be the most compellingh reason for a new constitution for There has been a lot of news coveragr devoted to the governmenftbailouts lately. It looks like Washington is simply rewarding greedy companie s for bad business decisions and huge payouts toincompetengt CEOs. is the recipient of a taxpayer Apparently, the reward for greed and misbehavioe is agolden parachute, courtesy of us. Neveer once has any insurance company admitted its financiapl troubles are rooted in bad investments and incompetentbusiness decisions.
If you performeed poorly at your job, you woulxd get fired. What happened to AIG’s CEO who was firexd in June? He receivefd $68 million. In the ultimate display of arrogance, AIG’se executives took $400,000 of our money after receiving the to treat themselves to a vacationj at one of the most lavish and exclusive resorte inthe country. Big corporations, like AIG, have taken advantage of all of us. They have pushedf for lax regulations, no oversighy and no accountability. Much of this is becaused of the lobbying ofthe . The U.S. Chamber representx the biggest foreign and domestix corporations andtheir CEOs.
Since these corporations are too afraid to speak out ontheir own, they hide behind the corporatr lobby to do its dirtg work. If there is any situation that show us why we need a strong civil justiced system that holdswrongdoers accountable, this is it. We were lied to and We the people deserve better than thef tand deception. Jeremiah M. Hodges