Oh no! It's going to happen again!

Well, the long and drawn out narrative of Jefferson County government and its plethora of problems have a new chapter.  This time it could be a repeat of last year's shortfall during a fiscal year, but the results will be more permanent.  Bettye Fine Collins told the Birmingham News that she has already asked county officials to prepare 2 sets of FY 2011 budgets.  The current occupational tax that was passed into law last year during the special session is being threatened by yet another lawsuit by the same duo of greedy lawyers that brought down the original occupational tax that had been in placed since 1987.

Meanwhile, I'm more puzzled at the hysteria that a number of individuals are stirring about the county-run indigent Cooper Green Mercy Hospital.  These people are acting as if the existence of the hospital and county-ran nursing home is the pillage of the county government's existence.  Now personally, the county nursing home should be closed because most patients at other private nursing homes are on Medicare.  On the other hand, the county-run hospital isn't any different than the indigent care facilities like Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, or the Regional Medical Center of Memphis.  The fact that other non-profit facilities like UAB Hospital in Birmingham are essentially publicly funded like Cooper Green, but they will basically bankrupt uninsured individuals.  Also Cooper Green at least offers a reasonable plan for the uninsured than UAB which is operates as a for-profit hospital on taxpayers expense.