Since Alabama already is apparently attractive to the Auto industry, it will be attractive to those foreign businesses that will relocate to the US. I suspect you would be in a minority if the citizens of Alabama were asked if they would like more foreign Auto industry in your state.

Your low property taxes are probably why you do get the Auto industry that you do. Changing to a state version of the FairTax you could replace property taxes as well. Other states are already considering this so they would be as attractive to business as possible.

Now I’ve shown you a reference about the stability of sales taxes. I guess you need another: http://www.azfairtax.org/resources/govt.pdf
Your problem in Alabama is something else, Pulitzer prize winning editorial or not.

Well here’s info about offshore accounts.
http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/Price_of_Offshore.pdf

The underground economy does get taxed more under the FairTax than with the current code. A good example would be a drug dealer goes to a masseuse for a massage. With the current system the drug dealer pays no income taxes, but the masseuse does. With the FairTax the drug dealer pays taxes when he pays for the massage and the masseuse pay taxes when she spends her profit.

Anything else?

There is no evidence that supports spending more money per child on education is the answer to improving the systems. Most times it is the system itself that is broken.

More likely than not, the reason your state has shortfalls is because of pet projects, poor projecting by your legislature, bloated administrative salaries, and much spending in useless projects.

Do a wiki search on the Austrian Theory of Business and it may help you develop and understanding of how the Fair Tax will improve Alabama.

Good luck, down there. Hopefully you will take a hard look at the economics of the plan and read the two new books. Please be open-minded, it may be the only hope of restoring a free market economy.

Manufacturing and unemployment are not problems right now in Alabama. That said, not many people are getting rich.

The problem is that Alabama’s tax structure, which is disproportionately based in sales taxes, is not stable and does not provide sufficient funding for education during economic downturns.

Actually the new tax Alabama does need is a real property tax. If you doubled Alabama’s property taxes, it would still be the lowest in the nation.

Again, these issues are familiar as they are insurmountable. In 1991, the Birmingham News won a Pulitzer in editorial writing for decrying the state’s tax structure. Nice prize, but unfortunately nothing changed.

As far as the 10 trillion in offshore accounts, I buy that about as much as Huckabee’s claim that the income tax is preventing drug dealers and prostitutes from paying taxes. Because that’s drug pushers and hookers are waiting for — the right tax structure.

The FairTax will allow as free a free market as possible while still supporting a large government. The conservatives get a freer market and the liberals get to keep a big government. Not a bad compromise I say. I’ll fight for smaller government another day, although if we are having great economic growth I’ll probably be too busy to worry about it.

With the passage of the FairTax, 10 trillion American dollars will come back from offshore accounts. That will certainly help Alabama. We can expect a lot of foreign money and businesses to come here too to take advantage of tax free investing. How much would, say, a BMW plant help Alabama?

Great economic growth for all Americans is within our grasp. All we have to do it fight for it and get it passed.

The problem is a simple one: When people get the jitters about the economy possibly tanking, they tighten their household budgets. When they don’t spend money, the state doesn’t collect sales taxes.

This is a problem we’ve lived with here for a long time, but special interest groups in Montgomery have prevented anyone from fixing it.

Not to be snide, dculling, but I’m guessing you’re not from Alabama, are you?

The latest available budget info is here:

http://www.budget.state.al.us/BudDoc2008.pdf

Looks to me like revenues from both the income tax and sales tax are rising. Spending for education is also rising. Is it just not rising enough for you?

I suspect there’s a lot more to the story, perhaps over taxation has chased businesses out of Alabama?

This year alone, Alabama has a projected $800 million shortfall in its education budget. And why? Because because the economy has crippled our sales taxes.

http://www.fairtax.org/PDF/MacroeconomicAnalysisofFairTax.pdf

“Additionally, since the FairTax is based on consumption, and consumption expenditures are more stable than income earned, the stability from the FairTax revenue stream is further enhanced.”

Since you mentioned education, be advised that it is considered an investment with the FairTax and thus is not taxed.

I’ll be happy to enlighten you about any more misconceptions you may have about the FairTax.