Two years after Louisiana lawmakers temporarily raised taxes to buy time and find solutions for the state’s persistent budget shortfalls, Louisiana is facing yet another fiscal cliff with most of the same old ideas, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says in his latest column.
“The governor wants to raise taxes again to keep from cutting the budget and services,” McCollister writes. “The fact is we still have too many government services (and universities), too many dependent on them and too many employees per capita. Gov. John Bel Edwards wants to continue this Louisiana tradition of populism—and the Louisiana House is standing in his way.”
And, once again, McCollister notes the same dramatic threats to higher education and TOPS are being bandied about if taxes aren’t raised again.
“Will our state be delivered from the ‘Spirit of Populism’ made famous by governors Huey Long and Edwin Edwards—or will we continue with ‘the way we’ve always done it before,’ with too many pigs sucking on the hind teat of state government?” McCollister writes. “This battle on the edge of the cliff is one about the role and size of government and how to best spend limited tax dollars. Priorities for the future.”
Louisiana is a small state with more than 20% of residents in poverty, McCollister notes.
“This is not about whether we help those truly less fortunate. But, the problem clearly is we’re spending it on programs that aren’t working, evidenced by the fact our alarming poverty levels aren’t decreasing,” he writes.
McCollister says Democratic populism has created generations of dependent Louisianans instead of independent workers, entrepreneurs and more taxpayers. He argues that many poor families displaced by Hurricane Katrina ended up better off after relocating to cities with more to offer like Houston, San Diego, Birmingham or Atlanta.
And he notes that more than 27,000 Louisianans left the state last year for better opportunities, creating a net loss for the first time in years.
“We must make sure those opportunities and jobs are here to stop this trend. I don’t believe that will happen if we raise taxes on business and top producers,” he writes. “They have options and can leave too—and then our problem gets worse. And what would the governor propose then—raise taxes again?”
Read the full column, in which McCollister also addresses the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging’s new $10 million budget, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux’s remarks on the conditions of the parish prison and Oprah’s “campaign” for the presidency. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
