ALEC's "our state legislators" behind multi-year GA constitutional amendment referendum

Look who sponsored Georgia Senate Resolution 1231 which put the second referendum question on the ballot! Two of ALEC's "our state legislators", Senators Ronnie Chance of the 16th, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of the 21st, are among the sponsors (Chance is the first sponsor).

SourceWatch's ALEC Exposed found Ronnie Chance on ALEC's International Relations Task Force. Rogers himself told CBS News how much he values ALEC, Who is ALEC? By Mark Strassmann and Phil Hirschkorn 30 June 2012. Rogers spelled out the same thing ALEC itself told me: it considers people like Chance and Rogers "our state legislators". "Our" as in belonging to ALEC, not representing you the voters and taxpayers.

Guess who sponsored the bill that put the charter school amendment on the ballot, HB 1162 in its Senate form? Chip Rogers. And who sponsored the companion bill that would suck money out of public schools and give more per pupil to charter schools, using our local tax dollars, HB 797 in the Senate? Chip Rogers. And House sponsors Jan Jones (R 46th) and Edward Lindsey (R 54th) of both bills are also ALEC's "our state legislators".

I don't always agree with Adam Smith, but when I do, I quote The Wealth of Nations from 1776:

“The interest of the dealers, however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public. To widen the market and to narrow the competition, is always the interest of the dealers. To widen the market may frequently be agreeable enough to the interest of the public; but to narrow the competition must always be against it, and can serve only to enable the dealers, by raising their profits above what they naturally would be, to levy, for their own benefit, an absurd tax upon the rest of their fellow-citizens. The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it.”

I recommend your suspicious attention to this ALEC-sponsored second referendum.

Normally, I would be for a constitutional amendment that purports to promote energy efficiency and conservation, as this one does:

Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide for guaranteed cost savings for the state by authorizing a state entity to enter into multiyear contracts which obligate state funds for energy efficiency or conservation improvement projects?

But when it's sponsored by the very same ALEC's "our state legislators" who brought us the so-called charter school amendment, which has ALEC's fingerprints all over it, right down to the misleading preamble, plus it's backed by megabucks from out-of-state ALEC cronies, I'm going to vote No on both!

You also have an opportunity right now to vote for new state Senators and House members who will not be ALEC's state legislators and could be our own state representatives.

-jsq

 

Comments

[Thomas Kirkpatrick]

I find myself increasingly in agreement with Adam Smith. I think he may have had it mostly right. The piece from Book V on the wealthy paying a little more than their fair share in taxes flies in the face of what current "conservative" thinking advocates.

As for the charter school amendment, those voting in favor of it will reap what they have sown - a two-tiered education system which serves to widen the gap between educational haves and have-nots. It will also serve to put much public money into the hands of for-profit entities.

There is no evidence extant to indicate that educational outcomes will be any better than the current system, either.