Do as I say, not as I do.
Gov. Jeff Landry and most of the Legislature are telling local school district leaders to handle the $168 million that was cut from school budgets to pay for teacher stipends by reducing “the waste and the bureaucracy.”
Landry says, “It is time for these school boards to tighten their belt.” He also claims the state has spent millions giving stipends to principals and assistant principals who “don’t deserve it.” Strong words.
First, Landry’s comments indicate he has been aware of the waste, has said and done nothing, and that Louisiana is giving millions in stipends to employees who, in his opinion, don’t deserve them. Then why did he allow it?
Second, while he and the Legislature are now demanding all these cuts, their first move was to have you pass a constitutional amendment to give them an easy out by tapping funds that would cover all those current expenditures and would do nothing to eliminate waste or tighten the belt.
Finally, Landry is quick to say the school boards are wasteful and bureaucratic and need to tighten their belts and stop paying those who don’t deserve it, but he and the Legislature fail to apply the same standards to his state budget of $47 billion (with a general fund of $12.6 billion). Hypocrites.
They couldn’t find that $168 million for teachers in their “wasteful spending?”
Let me be clear to the governor and legislators: I am sure there is money to be saved in the local school budgets—and I advocate saving it.
The same can be said for your state government. I believe the government is always the most wasteful and inefficient operator—because it is spending your money, not its own.
Landry veto was wrong
Gov. Landry’s first veto this year was Senate Bill 125, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, which passed both the House and Senate unanimously.
As The Advocate reported, “It would have increased the cap the state pays out to wrongfully convicted people. It is currently set at $400,000, with an annual payout of $40,000 over the course of 10 years.
The legislation would have increased the cap to $600,000, with the same annual payout over the course of 15 years.”
Boudreaux told The Advocate, “It is hard to ‘put a price tag’ on the harm people suffered in these cases. Their whole lives were stopped because they were wrongfully convicted. I want to emphasize ‘wrongfully convicted’—for something that they did not do.”
I am certain Landry knows the golden rule, so I ask him, if he were falsely accused and wrongly convicted, forced to give up 20, 30 or 40 years of his life with his family and to live in an 8-by-10 cell, would he be content with just $400,000 in compensation paid over 10 years?
His good buddies, the trial lawyers, demand that much or more for a simple rear-end collision that causes a sore back or neck.
Every legislator saw this increase in the cap as fair and compassionate, given that it would rob a fellow citizen of their freedom and cause their family to suffer as well.
But not Gov. Landry. He was cold-hearted and wrong to veto the bill. Governor, as the saying goes, “You reap what you sow.”
Will BR think different?
The future of our community and City-Brooks Park is an important discussion going on right now. It’s not just about how we use this prime site in the heart of Baton Rouge; it’s also about what voices are heard and if all new ideas are considered.
Our Capital City has been held back for decades by the response, “That’s the way we’ve always done it before.”
Really? Have those same people noticed we are in the 21st century and AI is quickly changing how we live and work? Have they asked why our city and state are shrinking when the rest of the South is booming?
For 24 years I have been asking our community to “think different” and consider what the highest and best use is for this “central park on the lakes” and how everyone can enjoy it.
I don’t oppose the planner, Sasaki, showing a design with the park and golf course just as it is now—but it must also show an option with no golf course, too. The park belongs to all residents and everyone’s ideas should be heard and considered for the future.
Happy 250th birthday, America
On July 4, we celebrated a historic milestone. The United States of America is the greatest country on earth. We are all blessed to live in America and enjoy freedom and so many opportunities. I am grateful to God, our founding fathers and all those who have made so many sacrifices to build America.
The American dream is alive and all around us as shown in this issue of the Top 100 Private Companies. May God continue to bless America.
