Alabama, Conservative Christians, and ... Tax Increases

Bob Riley, a conservative evangelical Christian, is governor of Alabama. Last May he proposed the largest tax increase in Alabama history, $1.2 billion, shifting the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy. In June, the state legislature actually passed the plan, but there is a referendum on September 9th on whether to allow the changes to stand. Not surprisingly, there's a good chance that the changes will be reversed, but that's not what interests me. What interests me is that a conservative, evangelical Christian championed the plan in the first place.

Although there wouldn't seem to be a necessary connection between tax policy and theology, there does seem to be a strong correlation. When was the last time you heard Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson suggesting that the tax burden should be shifted toward wealthy taxpayers and that the total amount of taxes collected should be increased?

Francis Wilkinson describes the genesis of the Alabama plan in a recent article in The American Prospect -- a master's thesis at the Beeson Divinity School of Samford University near Birmingham. The thesis was written by Susan Pace Harnill, a professor of tax law at the University of Alabama who spent her sabbatical studying at Beeson. Her thesis was published in the fall 2002 issue of the Alabama Law Review (you can download a PDF of the file from Professor Harnill's home page) and argued not only that Alabama's regressive tax code is unfair, but that Christians have an obligation to reverse such injustices. From the first page of the article:

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." -- Matthew 25:45

With hope that soon Alabama's leaders will find the courage to reform Alabama's tax structure, the author dedicates this Ariticle to Alabama's children, who today are "the least of these," the most vulnerable and powerless segment of Alabama's populations, but who tomorrow hold the keys to Alabama's future. -- SPH

Read the whole article in The American Prospect. Regardless of whether the changes are accepted or rejected in the referendum, Alabama just might be in the forefront of a new political movement among evangelical Christians.