Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
___
Feb. 23
The Cullman Times on celebrating National Library Month:
This month is National Library Month, set aside to celebrate the value of public libraries in our communities. If you haven’t been to the library recently, you need to check it out.
The libraries of today are much different than the stereotypical library of the past. First of all, there’s no “shushing;” the Cullman County Library is loud … and proud of its programming. Long the center of community, the library of today is no different. You can enjoy a yoga class, sit the little ones down for story time, learn to knit or browse the internet. Considering the usefulness and entertainment factor of a library, it’s no wonder Americans visited libraries more than movies or live sporting events last year.
Libraries are communal resources, where individuals can participate in group activities or choose to tuck themselves away with a good book or browse the internet.
Books and reading, of course, remain central to libraries. Study after study shows the benefits of reading. From birth to death, reading is an activity that enhances quality of life. Reading to children under 5 boosts their brain development, and studies show that children who engage in independent reading score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas. That’s right: reading books will make kids better in math, science and all other subjects. And as we age, the benefits of reading include better sleep, less stress, better memory and delaying the onset of dementia or Alzheimers.
Books also expose us to worlds outside our own, adventures we can take in our minds, and people from all walks of life.
The Friends of the Public Libraries of Cullman County is working hard to spread the word about what is happening at the Cullman County Library and provide financial support for the programs. For the population the library serves (82,000 people) it has one of the lowest annual budgets ($604,335) and square footage (15,297 at the main branch) of area library systems. The Hoover Public Library system, by way of comparison, serves 84,848 people and has an annual budget of $7,364,181 and 85,000 square feet of space.
We applaud the hard work of our librarians and library staff and the volunteers who give their time and effort to provide quality programming and events. Check out what’s happening at our area libraries. And think about writing a check to the Friends of the Public Libraries of Cullman County.
Online: https://www.cullmantimes.com
___
Feb. 21
The Gadsden Times on the escalating Alabama GOP Senate race:
We imagine there was a local audience - even some conservatives just indulging their curiosity - for the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Feb. 19. They saw something akin to a “Lights Out,” anything goes pro rasslin’ match as the participants tore into each other for a couple of hours, with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg catching some of the heaviest body slams and knee drops off the top rope in his first debate appearance of the campaign.
The thing is, those folks don’t have to look 1,900 miles away for political blood sport. The race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Alabama is taking on that appearance.
The three major contenders - former Sen. and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville and current U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope - are firing metaphoric media howitzers at each other as the calendar counts down to the March 3 primary.
We’re not going to detail what’s in their attack ads; we’re a for-profit business and we generally charge folks to do such things in our pages and on our website.
Condensed version: Each is spinning past statements by the others - not always in context, if you believe the angry responses - trying to prove he’s (a.) the true conservative and (b.) the true acolyte of President Donald Trump and all he stands for in this race, and that (c.) he’s the one who deserves to hoist the sword and lead the defense of Alabama values in Washington, D.C.
What’s really happening: The race has gotten close and remains quite fluid, and the candidates are cognizant of that counting calendar we mentioned.
A new poll commissioned by the conservative organization Club for Growth, cited by Alabama’s Yellowhammer News website, shows Tuberville (who was in Gadsden this week) has moved past Sessions into first place with 32% support, trailed by Sessions at 29% and Byrne at 17%.
Significantly, 16% of those responding to the survey remain undecided. There’s no realistic way one candidate will get all that support; a runoff on March 31 is inevitable. Still, that shows there’s still room for realignment among the top three, although Byrne needs to make some progress in a hurry.
Bottom line: This ramped-up intensity - and the circular attacks - will continue until March 3. That will disappoint folks who have a high-minded view of what politics should be, and are disappointed over the turn in this campaign and circuses like the Democratic debate in Vegas. (A lot of pundits are saying the true winner there was Trump.)
We’ll again point out that politics as blood sport, competition and theater rather than a rational, scholarly conversation about issues far predates the modern media age. We’re seeing nothing now that hasn’t been seen before - on worse levels - in Alabama and across the country.
Besides, there’s no real disputing what (as opposed to who) ultimately will emerge from this race - a conservative, a Trump backer and, despite incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones’ protestations otherwise, the general election favorite.
Online: https://www.gadsdentimes.com
___
Feb. 20
The Florence TimesDaily on legislation that would make changes to state occupational licensure boards:
A bill under consideration by the Alabama Legislature would require the state’s more than 100 occupational licensure boards to give a public accounting of their revenue and expenditures.
House Bill 61, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, is a good first step, but it is only a first step. What Alabama really needs is a long, hard look at all of those licensure boards and whether or not they are needed in the first place.
From locksmiths and door repair contractors, to sign language interpreters and commercial painters, Alabama requires occupational licenses for jobs where most other states do not. This amounts to an unnecessary barrier to entry to people - often poor - trying to enter the workforce.
Pringle said his bill stems from his work a few years ago on a budget reform task force. He said he discovered that many licensure boards don’t deposit the fees they collect into the state treasury, but have private bank accounts.
“They answer to no one,” Pringle said.
“(Boards) are authorized by the state of Alabama to tax the professionals of Alabama with licensing fees,” he said.
A 2018 report released by the Alabama Policy Institute said licensing boards oversee 151 occupations in Alabama, amounting to roughly 432,000 workers, or more than 21% of the state’s labor force.
API estimates that the total cost to Alabama employees of getting licensed amounts to $122 million, and the annual cost of license renewal totals $45 million.
API has been part of a national movement toward occupational licensure reform spearheaded by groups affiliated with billionaire libertarian philanthropist Charles Koch and his late brother David Koch.
Occupational licensure reform is one of the many areas where the Koch brothers, the bogeymen of the political left, have taken up a cause that should be welcomed by advocates for the poor.
Some professions - doctors, to name an obvious example - are licensed because of legitimate health and safety concerns, although even in medicine these can be overstated. Twenty-two states, for example, don’t license midwifes. Alabama, which only recently permitted midwifery at all, does - a necessary political compromise to get legalized midwifery through the Legislature in the first place.
Many other occupational licenses, however, serve no legitimate purpose. They only serve to stifle competition.
API’s director of policy strategy and general counsel, Phil Williams, sees Pringle’s bill as an attempt to generate momentum for broader reform, that is, reducing the amount of occupational licensing in Alabama and recognizing occupational licenses granted by other states.
Last year, for example, Arizona passed universal occupational licensure recognition. Such a reform makes it easier for skilled workers to move to a new state and do the job for which they are trained.
“Workers don’t lose their skills simply because they move to Arizona,” said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the law, stating what should be obvious.
“The new law does not recognize other states’ occupational licenses automatically,” according to the Council of State Governments, but, “under the new law, workers will not be required to duplicate training and other requirements that often delay or prevent them from getting to work.”
So, sure, transparency regarding these state boards is desirable; they are, after all, essentially taxing people for the right to work.
But the larger issue is how many of these boards should exist in the first place, and how many should have the number of jobs they license curtailed?
Online: https://www.timesdaily.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.