By Byrd Looper,

Dear State Sen. Hank Sanders:

Your “It’s Tough” letter of April 12, complained about your not having a say currently in state legislative bills/issues. Of course it’s tough, Senator, as now that the Republicans have control of the Legislature in the State of Alabama for the first time since 1874. After all, if my math is correct, that means about 138 years have rolled by since the poor ole GOP has had any much say in our state’s legislative agenda.

Just guessing, but I would imagine that there has been a fair amount of frustration on the other side of your aisle for a long, long time and plenty of fussing and fuming, just like you appear to be doing now. You, Senator, have certainly been around politics long enough to understand how the game is played. As we all know, it’s all about power, and the power almost always lies with the majority.

In your article, you cite the budget cuts as a major concern of yours, and that children and poor people are being hurt. Hopefully, you realize that our enormous national debt has placed our country, including many states, in financial jeopardy with the only workable solutions being big spending reductions and balanced budgets.

Your concern for the poor is understandable, but the last time I checked there are government programs available: welfare, food stamps, mental disability, housing subsidies, child care, Medicaid, emergency room, etc. In my opinion, the answer to reducing the huge number of welfare recipients is by way of a mandatory 12 grade education with a diploma — no matter how long it takes.