As the coronavirus shutdown has had a severe impact on the Alabama economy, another component beyond the livelihood, small business and job loss has been cash flow into government coffers.
At some point, lawmakers in the Alabama legislature will be determining how to make do with some of these shortfalls, not only for the current fiscal years but into the future as well.
Tuesday, shortly after announcing steps to reopen the Alabama economy later this week gradually, Gov. Kay Ivey appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Your World.” Ivey was asked by host Neil Cavuto about the possibility of help from the federal government given the drop in revenues. Ivey did not indicate whether or not she wanted that assistance, but she estimated $1 billion in lost revenue for the state.
“Governor, are you among — some of your colleagues are saying they need more help from the federal government, particularly to deal with all the costs associated to and the tax revenues lost because of the coronavirus and people staying at home and that sort of thing,” Cavuto said. “Do you want more help from the federal government?”
“Well, right now, we’re doing fine, but we are probably going to suffer a billion dollars in lost revenue,” Ivey replied. “But Alabama is a state whose constitution forbids it from going into bankruptcy. So, we have to pay our way as we go. So, we can use some more testing equipment and supplies for testing. But, other than that, we’re doing pretty good.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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