State Treasurer John Kennedy sounded a familiar theme today in his speech to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, blaming the state’s fiscal crisis not on a lack of revenue but on a state government that spends too much money.
“We have violated two basic rules of budgeting for the past seven years running,” said Kennedy, pointing out that the state went from having a $900 million surplus in 2008 to a $1.6 billion deficit this year. “Don’t spend more than you take in … and when you do spend money, you ought to spend on things you need, not things you want.”
As he has noted in several recent speeches and op-ed pieces, Kennedy said the state’s budget ballooned from $16.5 billion in 2004 to $25 billion in 2015—a 52% increase during a time when inflation only increased by 2% a year and the state’s population growth lagged that of other states.
Rather than address the systemic problems with state spending, however, Kennedy said the Legislature during its recent session looked for quick fixes and temporary solutions.
“They spent zero time on the spending side of the equation,” he said. “Instead, they came up with short-term, myopic, short-sighted solutions.”
Kennedy suggested the next governor can address the problem by calling a special session to re-examine the state budget and tax code, reassess spending and immediately cut the $619 million the state spends on consulting contracts. He reiterated his support of Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter for the position, whom he likened to “a cross between Socrates and Dirty Harry.”
If Kennedy has an ulterior political motive for such a solicitous endorsement, he’s not yet ready to admit it. When asked specifically whether he would run for Vitter’s U.S. Senate seat should the senator be elected governor, Kennedy would say only that he is running for re-election as state treasurer.
—Stephanie Riegel
