By David Sher
I love Alabama. I’ve spent my life trying to make Birmingham and Alabama better.
But love doesn’t mean blind. And some of what our state does to itself isn’t conservative, isn’t cautious, isn’t Southern tradition. It’s just plain stupid.
Here are 8 things Alabama won’t let us do — or won’t do for us — that most of the country takes for granted. Every one of them costs us real money, or real convenience, or both.
- We Can’t Have a Lottery
Alabama is one of only five states in the country without a lottery. The other four are Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
That means every week, Alabamians drive to Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi — all four of which surround us — to buy tickets. We’re literally surrounded by lotteries and still don’t have one.
A 2026 lottery bill passed the Alabama House 72-29. It died in the Senate by one vote. Legislative analysts estimate a lottery would generate $118 million a year for education alone. We’re sending that money to our neighbors instead.
- Gas Stations Can’t Compete on Price
In most of America, if a gas station wants to run a loss-leader price war to bring in customers, it can. Not in Alabama. Under the Alabama Motor Fuels Marketing Act, it’s illegal to sell gasoline below a legally defined “cost.”
The Federal Trade Commission looked at our law and concluded it protects competitors, not consumers — and likely keeps prices higher than they’d otherwise be.
3. Every Liquor Store in Alabama Has the Same Boss
Alabama does have privately owned liquor stores — but every one of them, plus every bar and restaurant, is required by law to buy its liquor wholesale from the state, at a price the state sets. No shopping around, no competing on cost.
Alabama is one of just 17 “control states” where the government runs the wholesale liquor trade. Thirty-three states let the market set that price. Alabama doesn’t.
- You Can’t Buy a Car the Way You Buy Almost Anything Else
Try to buy a Tesla directly from the manufacturer in Alabama. You can’t. State law requires new cars to be sold through independently owned dealerships — manufacturer-owned stores are illegal. Alabama is one of roughly 14 states with a complete ban.
Requiring a middleman, whether you want one or not, extracts a cost that ultimately comes out of your pocket.
- Difficult to Vote Early
Forty-seven states let you cast a ballot before Election Day without giving a reason. Alabama doesn’t. We’re one of only three states — with Mississippi and New Hampshire — that offers no no-excuse early voting at all.
If you can’t make it to your precinct on Election Day, you need an approved excuse just to vote absentee.
- We Refuse to Take Our Own Tax Dollars Back for Healthcare
Alabama is one of only 10 states in the country that still hasn’t expanded Medicaid. The federal government would cover 90% of the cost. We’d only be on the hook for 10%.
By refusing, Alabama has already forfeited roughly $4 billion in federal funding — money that’s going to other states instead. Nine rural hospitals have closed in Alabama since 2009, and only 30% of the ones still standing even have a labor and delivery unit. Six Southern states have expanded Medicare: Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Another rural Alabama hospital bankrupted last week.
- We Elect Judges Like They’re Running for County Commission
In most states, judges are appointed, or at least run in elections without a party label next to their name. Alabama puts a “(R)” or “(D)” right on the ballot — and it’s one of only five states that uses straight partisan elections for every judgeship.
That means Alabama Supreme Court races function like any other partisan contest — attracting party money, campaign ads, and “tough on crime” rhetoric. .
- Our Gas Tax Can’t Pay for Public Transportation
Every time you fill up in Alabama, part of what you pay is a state gas tax. In 47 states, some of that money can go toward public transportation. In Alabama, it can’t.
A 1952 constitutional amendment locks state gas tax revenue into roads and bridges only. Alabama is one of just three states — with Hawaii and Nevada — that puts zero state money into public transit.
The result: Alabama has the highest per-person gasoline consumption in the nation, because we’ve made it nearly impossible to live here without a car.
We can fix every single one of these. Other states have. The only question is whether we will.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
Medicaid expansion states are closing hospitals too. According to the WSJ the “top five states at risk of losing community-essential rural hospitals are all [Medicaid] expansion states.” And that 10% we would have to pay has to come from cuts from some other part of the budget.
Bart,
If Alabama wants to argue it “can’t afford” the 10% Medicaid match, then let’s talk about the choices Alabama refuses to make. The state taxes timberland at the lowest assessment ratio in the country — 10%. Mississippi, a conservative and deeply pro‑timber state, uses 15%. If Alabama simply matched Mississippi, we’d raise roughly $85–90 million a year. That alone covers almost half the match. If Alabama used the rate charged in Georgia, it would approximately double the amount needed. So yes, rural hospitals are struggling everywhere, but Alabama is insisting it’s helpless while protecting tax privileges for large landowners and finding over $1 Billion for prisons. The money is there. Alabama just chooses not to use it. And honestly, I wonder what the clergy think about a state that refuses to help the sick while shielding the wealthy. Maybe that would make a good sermon?
Two questions:
1. For purposes of this blog, which of these is most injurious to the economy and quality of life for metro Birmingham and its residents?
2. All of these stupid things have probably been considered and debated in the past without any meaningful change. In 2026, which has the greatest chance of reform? To put a political point on it, reforming which of these would gain the support of the churches and would also offer the greatest political benefit to the Republican super majority in Montgomery?
Everyone should ask their State Representatives a Senators where they stand on these issues. The we should focus on the top three. Not sure who should do this
Answering my own question, #5 – early voting – is probably least objectionable except to those given to election conspiracies. Minimal cost and the least difficult hurdle politically. Enlist the seniors and good government folks (League of Women Voters) to lobby the legislature to enact early voting and then staff the polls. We love early voting here in Tennessee.
My grandchildren were able to attend the university in Athens Georgia for free because people from Alabama helped buying lottery tickets.
We, in Alabama have to protect our poor people from gambling.
Who needs a labor and delivery unit ? Governor Ivey said that children come from god so all you need to do is pray not to get pregnant.
Who needs infrastructure, people love to drive in Alabama and sit in traffic jams for miles.
agree on all!!
David,
The thing your column makes painfully clear is that Alabama has perfected the art of moral posturing without moral policy. Alabama professes to be the buckle of the Bible Belt, more than 85% Christian, churches on every corner, yet their laws read like they were written by people who’ve never opened a Bible. They tax groceries, suppress wages, protect landowner privilege, and let payday lenders charge rates that scripture flat‑out calls usury. It’s a state that talks about righteousness on Sunday and legislates indifference on Monday. Alabama doesn’t have a policy problem; it has a credibility problem. They preach compassion and justice, then build a legal system that advantages the powerful and punishes the vulnerable. At some point, the gap stops looking like hypocrisy and starts looking like identity.
I continue to enjoy Comeback Town. I recently returned from a trip out west, and was surprised to see almost nothing about Birmingham at the welcome center on I-20. Please pass this along to someone who cares .