In the Marvel movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” supporting character Michelle “MJ” Jones shares some wise (albeit hopeless) words: “Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed.” After watching Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature for the past five years, this appears to be our new state motto.
Whoever coined the phrase comparison is the thief of joy nailed it. I feel robbed every time I look south of us at a conservative and prosperous Florida. I see their proactive, principled, strategic governor and let out a heavy sigh – because it gives me a glimpse of what Alabama could be if we had a governor like Ron DeSantis.
Alas, we don’t. We’ve had a former Democrat steering this mediocre ship for close to a decade now. Ivey is a cute, southern, elderly woman who has no real aspirations to make Alabama great on any front.
She has told reporters that one of her biggest disappointments as governor was failing to pass a gambling bill for Alabama. Twenty-five years ago, we had Republican legislators who would literally pee in a jug to keep a filibuster going if it meant keeping gambling bills off the floor. Now we have Republicans trying to ram a gambling bill through every legislative session, with a Republican governor leading the charge.
Back in 2019, Ivey was thrilled to throw a gas tax on us. She signed a bill increasing fuel taxes by 10 cents for three years – all in the name of Alabama’s future, of course. And rumor is she bullied GOP legislators to support it.
In 2020, she locked Alabama down during the COVID-19 pandemic, hurting small business owners. She encouraged the closure of churches but left Walmart and Target wide open for business. She listened to an unelected health officer and kept schools closed until the fall of 2020, and even then, most were on a staggered schedule through much of 2021. Then, in July 2021, she began blaming “the unvaccinated” for the rise in Covid cases. She claimed unvaccinated folks didn’t have common sense. Four years later, with a crisis-level rise in myocarditis in young adults and “long Covid” symptoms in many who took the vaccine, we have yet to hear any kind of apology.
According to 1819 News, Ivey recently shunned a Republican women’s group because they defied her request not to allow a vote on a resolution opposing Ivey’s objective to bring the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs into her cabinet. She had invited them to dine at the governor’s mansion and took back the invitation – because they dared go against her. Petty and vindictive are words that come to mind.
It might not be so discouraging to have an underwhelming governor if we didn’t have such a lackluster state legislature.
In 2023, our legislators passed House Bill 217. It removed the state income tax requirement for a full-time, hourly wage employee for work done more than 40 hours in a week. Basically, it didn’t tax overtime hours. But it has a sunset – June 30 of this year. Our state legislators are looking to let it expire and begin taxing overtime once again. Republican state legislators are on board with this.
Increasingly frustrating is that, according to Alabama Policy Institute President Stephanie Smith, Alabama has a current 6.5% statutory corporate income tax rate—one of the highest in the Southeast. Twenty-six states cut their corporate or individual income tax rates between 2021 and 2023, and nine additional states cut taxes in 2023. Mississippi and Georgia have cut income taxes and are currently discussing additional tax cuts. But the Alabama Legislature just keeps digging into our pockets.
One of the most outrageous editorials I’ve read recently was written by State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville). Alabama doesn’t need its own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), because we already have one, he claims. “We just call it Republican leadership.” That’s the equivalent of saying we don’t need guard dogs because foxes have volunteered to watch the henhouse.
Ivey is term-limited, so I’m assuming she plans to high step wherever, and over whomever, she pleases for the next two years. But our state legislators may want to take their hands out of the cookie jar and set their eyes on the federal level. There are actually a few people in Washington, D.C., who are trying to cut spending. GOP state legislators would do well to change course before the shunned Republican women, the ordinary citizens, and the overtime workers start working on ways to primary them and vote them out.
Kristin Landers is a substitute teacher and freelance writer. Landers’ previous work includes serving as Communications Director for the Alabama Policy Institute and working for Citizens Against a Legalized Lottery (CALL) to defeat legalized gambling in the state of Alabama.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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