Are Blue States Cheap?

A report from the Catalogue for Philanthropy finds that those in Blue liberal states are less giving than Red (particularly Southern) states. But to call blue states cheap is off the mark: Southerners tithe to their churches (or at least give lip service to doing so) whereas Blue staters, I think, depend more on the social welfare state to do the "caring" for them. Does this translate into a higher tolerance for taxes? Alabamians are terribly under-taxed. The schools are in terrible shape, the state constitution is obscene, yet Alabamians will not reform for fear of higher taxes. The state constitution of Alabama (1901) was written to accomplish two things: keep blacks from voting, and to protect landowners from taxes (a reaction to Yankee foreclosures after the Civil War). The civil rights movement restored voting rights to blacks, but the property tax provisions are still in place. And who do they protect? Not Daddy O'Hara, but United States Steel (USX Realty is the largest landowner in Jefferson County, Alabama) and the timber industry. Yep, we subsidize Pittsburgh yankees in our state constitution, and brag about it. Are we dumb or what?

If you want to feel superior to Alabamians, you can do no better than visit constitutionalreform.org. Well, you could also visit this lovely little website. Have a nice day.