| Communities in Action

Looking for last-minute gift ideas for the Tea Partiers on your list? (Most family gatherings feature at least one member who likes to rail against government, although maybe not in Revolutionary War garb, as some of this year's tax protesters have done.) If a tri-cornered hat or "Don't Tread on Me" flag isn't the answer, the following suggestions are sure to please:

• Mail-order antibiotics. No restaurant inspections? No problem! These handy pills will be your giftee's best friend. Great teacher present or stocking stuffer! Added benefit: It won't matter where they're manufactured after the FDA goes belly-up.
• Water purification tablets. Who cares if the city can't afford to test drinking water anymore? Goodbye, E. coli!
• For extra water security, a well-drilling kit will help your loved one meet basic needs when the public system shuts down. (Low-cost alternative: rain barrel.)
• Mosquito repellent (preferably all-natural). At least that pesky spray truck won't be riling the dogs at 9 p.m. Remember to keep the well and the rain barrel covered to prevent breeding.
• Water pump and hose. In the tax-free future, no home will be complete without its own Volunteer Fire Department. (Extra touch for someone special: fireman's hat and slicker. Low-cost alternative: bucket.)
• Car horn amplifier. The wimpy toots produced by today's standard models won't cut it when we lose the traffic lights. Customized tunes available.
• Have-a-Heart trap. Once Cousin Ralph gets the hang of it, he'll wonder why we ever bothered with Animal Control.
• Surge protector. When the lights go out at the Public Service Commission, sweet little Mrs. Wilbur next door won't want her toaster oven to get fried.
• Books. Always a welcome present. Even more so in the post-government days ahead. What better way to show someone you care -- and how Yellowstone used to look before the billboards?

The Wish List we heard in the recent state budget hearings is no laughing matter. Just as the economy has taken a rough toll on Alabama's families, it has also battered the public services that help those families meet their rising needs.

The Department of Human Resources, for example, is seeing record numbers of applications for food stamps because of high unemployment. The Department of Mental Health projects that its 2010-11 budget will fall to about two-thirds of this year's unless more state funds become available. And the federal recovery money that kept Alabama and most other states afloat last year is about to run out.

It's a tiring prospect, to be sure, and we're hearing a tired response from some newspaper editors and political candidates. They play right into the Tea Partiers hands when they talk about tightening belts and making do with what we've got. But they forget another thing that families do when times are tough: Find other ways to bring in income.

A second round of federal relief would be a start. We urge our congressmen to press for quick action on that front. Medicaid, for its part, is leading the charge to bring every available federal dollar into Alabama. Just last week, the agency qualified for $39 million in federal bonus payments for exemplary efforts to provide health coverage to uninsured children. Only nine states in the country met this rigorous selection process, and the next highest award was for $9 million.

As welcome as federal recovery funds and bonuses are when we get them, they aren't sufficient in themselves to safeguard our common good. We have to pony up our own fair share. But deciding what's fair isn't easy in Alabama. In our lopsided tax system, the workers who make the least pay the biggest portion of their income in state and local taxes. No wonder the average person thinks taxes are too high, even though our taxes as a whole are some of the lowest in the nation.

Untaxing groceries is a cut that makes sense, because it helps struggling families make ends meet. And it benefits everyone. To make up the difference, we could cap tax breaks that favor the wealthiest few.

That's how a healthy, fiscally responsible state should work. We need a balanced approach that includes both cuts and revenues, because the problem -- whether it's the economy or our tilted tax system -- is too big to solve with cuts alone.

In the last recession, Alabama, like most states, enacted a combination of tax increases and cuts to keep Medicaid and the rest of the General Fund solvent. If we respond to this season's hardship only by tightening the belt on public services, Alabama will be poorly positioned when prosperity returns.

Then again, we may be too busy patching potholes and chasing rabid dogs to care.

Jim Carnes is communications director at Arise Citizens' Policy Project, a statewide coalition of 150 congregations and organizations that work to improve the lives of low- and moderate-income Alabamians.

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