Two weeks ago, state Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, was quoted in the Birmingham News as saying he believes Alabamians are satisfied with average services and the current tax structure.

On the contrary, I don’t believe there are many citizens satisfied with the current quality of state public services, and we are certainly not satisfied with the country’s most regressive and inefficient tax system.

A simple drive down the Birmingham portion of I-65 will convince anybody of the need for increased infrastructure funding. A look at state departmental budgets will reflect a state government that is struggling to make ends meet.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the department responsible for monitoring air and water quality, is so underfunded that it only receives 10 percent of its annual budget from the state. The rest of the funding comes from federal grants. The need for federal funding is troubling when you consider ADEM not only helps ensure that we have safe drinking water, but has also had to work closely with BP to protect the Gulf Coast.

Alabama is temporarily holding 49th place in total per capita taxes among the 50 states. However, once the recession is over, we are expected to drop back behind South Carolina to our traditional place of lowest in the country.

Currently, our low taxes translate not into average services, but below average services. Recently Alabama evaluated its education performance during its 2010 Adequate Yearly Progress meeting.

To “meet AYP” school systems must show improvement in multiple student subcategories broken up by factors such as race, learning disability, and economic status.

Alabama had 51 school systems fail to “meet AYP,” and collectively the state came up short in the category of special education.

Many argue that No Child Left Behind’s impossible standards will eventually cause the state not to meet AYP, and this is true.

However, the real problem with state education will become evident under a new graduation rate formula to be implemented in 2012.

The Mobile Press-Register reported that under the new formula Alabama will post a graduation rate close to 65 percent, a far cry from the current rate of 87 percent.

Mr. Barron, our state services are not average. They are close to failing.

Unfortunately, neither of the state’s gubernatorial candidates is clued into the economic realities of the state.

Basic math proves that it is nearly impossible to improve service quality by decreasing revenue, especially when our state has an average per capita tax bill of $3002.

As reported by the Birmingham News, simply raising taxes to the 50-state median of $4007 would bring in an additional $4.7 billion in revenue.

This money could be used to improve public education, invest in community development, or finally honor Sen. Richard Shelby’s hard work and provide matching dollars for a Birmingham light rail system.

Regardless, we can expect our two candidates to tick the clock backwards on tax progressiveness. Both Dr. Robert Bentley and Commissioner Ron Sparks have pledged to return the state to four-year property tax appraisals. This, combined with campaign promises not to raise taxes, only forecasts an increase in the regressive nature of our tax structure and a decrease in both the quantity and quality of state public programs.

Although Bentley has not identified new state revenue sources, Sparks has offered ideas for increased revenue by legalizing and taxing gambling and the lottery. Unfortunately, Alabama is located between two states with legalized gaming, Mississippi and Florida, who respectively raised $296.34 million and $108.37 million in gaming tax revenue during the 2009 fiscal year. On the eastern boarder Georgia enjoys a lottery tax revenue of under a billion dollars.

Even if the state could emulate Mississippi gaming and Georgia lotteries, Alabama would collect far less than $4.7 billion. If anything, the additional gaming tax revenue would likely come at a cost of increased regression.

If our state hopes to improve in areas of public education, work force development, or job creation, we must restructure the state tax system in such a way that increases fairness, equity, efficiency, and most importantly revenue.

In Alabama, we too often get the political conversation wrong. Every election cycle debate centers on how we can continue to provide current services at the lowest possible cost. The debate should instead focus on what is necessary to provide the country’s best programs.

Sadly, many of Alabama’s state leaders have lacked the political will to stand up to special interests and as a result the state struggles in most areas.

To quote Mr. Barron again, “If the people begin to demand more, they’ll have to pay more…but at this point in time, they’re satisfied…”

Alabamians are not satisfied, and we are demanding what is necessary to provide higher quality public services.

David Simpson is a junior majoring in economics and political science.