Press Releases
ADP Calls on GOP Candidates to Reject Gov. Riley's "Fantasy Budget"
MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Democratic Party hammered Governor Riley's pie-in-the-sky budget forecast today and called upon the Republican candidates for governor to reject his glowing assessment of state finances and confront the real challenges facing Alabama. The GOP candidates are scheduled to appear together at the Republican Women of Trussville Gubernatorial Forum this evening.
Riley stunned budget experts this week by claiming that there was no budget crisis and submitting a document that fills enormous gaps by assuming over $1 billion from proposed federal legislation he says he opposes. The Tuscaloosa News called Riley's claims "hard to believe" and wrote that "Riley's rosy predictions fly in the face of the Legislature's own calculations, which forecast big drops in tax revenue as the economy struggles to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression" (Tuscaloosa News, 1/14/2009)."Governor Riley has constructed a fantasy budget that is so delirious that it depends on over $1 billion from federal legislation that hasn't even been passed," said Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham. "To say that the Governor is looking at state finances with rose-colored glasses would be an understatement. Blinders, I think, is a better word."
Turnham continued, "While I'm glad that Governor Riley recognizes the merits of Democratic-sponsored job creation initiatives, I'm fairly certain that burying our heads in the sand like ostriches won't make this budget crisis disappear. It's time for the Republican candidates for governor to reject Governor Riley's fantasy budget, embrace reality and become a part of the solution."
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