LABI President Stephen Waguespack says sometimes it’s necessary to step back and sort through a few basic questions and all of their possible answers given all of the issues being debated at the State Capitol during the current legislative session.
“The rhetoric and political theater of the day has masked the same fundamental questions with which Louisiana has long struggled to answer,” Waguespack writes in a column published in the organization’s latest newsletter. “Rather, it appears we are resigned to follow the advice of author John Henry Reese, who said, ‘Don’t ask questions that you don’t want the answer to.’ Though some may prefer avoidance, the questions are not going away.”
Some of the questions Waguespack ponders include: how do we end the cycle of poverty in Louisiana and how do we responsibly address the state budget deficit?
As for the first question, Waguespack notes that Louisiana historically has struggled to overcome poverty and its impact on households, communities and the state as a whole.
“Too many kids are growing up in troubled neighborhoods and regions with too few opportunities, leading to a vicious cycle that has proven detrimental to all citizens’ quality of life, the state’s economy, health outcomes, incarceration rates, community development and even the state budget,” he writes.
Waguespack says some argue the primary way to address this serious issue is to increase dependence on traditional government programs, return students to the schools they chose to leave and require a host of new mandates on employers.
Others, he says, believe the better approach is to continue to push forward with bipartisan innovations in our schools, rethink traditional government programs to shift the focus to workforce development, embrace sensible smart-on-crime policies and prioritize markets over mandates to improve economic opportunities for all.
He also notes that Louisiana has periodically faced budget shortfalls since the oil crash of the early ‘80s, and says it will continue to do so until the state undertakes a comprehensive approach to reform the entire budget structure.
“Some now argue it is unrealistic to focus on government cuts, efficiencies, and reforms and that new taxes are the only viable path forward,” Waguespack writes. “On the other hand, some are urging a long overdue comprehensive and sustainable approach that also includes un-dedicating large areas of the state’s budget, eliminating red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, consolidating duplicative boards and commissions, reshaping outdated and expensive programs, scrutinizing all spending by governmental agencies and reducing the over-reliance of local government on state taxpayers.”
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