Jun 8, 2014

Sunday Focus: State Spending

     Alabama Lt. Governor Kay Ivey heads up a committee designed to make sure no Alabama military base is closed, and no military spending in Alabama is cut.

   On Friday she proudly  announced that she had convinced the state budget committee chairs to release state money to fund a program that provides drivers and vehicles to give military vets. It pays to transport them to and from medical appointments. A very worthy program, without a doubt.
     The state appropriation?  $120,000 a year.
     Perspective: The Lieutenant Governor is paid $134,592 a year.  
     For more perspective, the General Fund Budget for Alabama
this year, from which the $120k came, is some $1.8 Billion dollars. (For even more perspective, go to this posting illustrating the difference between a Billion and a Million.) 
     The General Fund is poor in comparison to the Alabama Education budget, but it is still almost two Billion dollars large, so it is hard to understand the hoopla over a $120,000 appropriation. 

[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.TimLennox.com]






1 comment:

  1. That appropriation will pay for two full-time drivers for the entire state.

    Those drivers are going to be kept very busy!

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