Jindal’s Latest ‘Snake Oil’ Proposal

It’s a shame that Bobby Jindal has made it more difficult for individuals to received mental health assistance due to his rampant cuts to mental health facilities, for he is certainly in need of these services.  His latest proposal to eliminate income tax in this state, which has faced budget deficits every year except one during his reign, calls into question his present mental state. 

Has he lost his mind?  According to his own staff's analyses the leading contributing factor to the deficit is DECREASED revenue, or in other words, people not buying enough goods in the state (sales tax revenue). The Stelly  Amendment, approved by the voters, sought to rectify this very problem by relying LESS on sales tax revenue and more on income tax, which most fiscal experts agree would have lessened or prevented the state’s present fiscal  mess. 

Bobby ignored the wishes of the voting public in this state and worked to have it repealed.  His legislative puppets granted his wish.

 

Presently the state's 4% sales tax cost ranks 38 in the nation.  Not bad, but when you add the additional local parishes' sales taxes to that figure, Louisiana jumps to the 3rd highest in cost to its residents.

 

Now Jindal wants to increase the state’s part of the sales tax by as much as 3% for a total of 7%.  When that figure is ADDED to the local sales tax, which in several parishes is 5%, the total tax increases substantially.  So if you think this 'no income tax' is a good deal, be prepared to pay 12% percent on the items you buy.

Gee, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this proposal would depress state revenue from commodity sales even more.

 

Some of our neighbors have no state income tax.  Texas, for example, has no state income tax, but while the state's share of the total sales tax is slightly higher (6.25%) than our present 4%, local sales tax only adds another 2%, not the 5% that many parishes in Louisiana now charge.  Guess Bobby expects our local parishes to decrease their sales tax accordingly and bankrupt themselves. 

How did Texas do it?  By getting their fair share from the oil companies when they drilled off their coast.  Louisiana has no such deals because we were so anxious to stimulate drilling off our coast that we gave away those revenue rights.

Also, the Texas population is wealthier than Louisiana when income per capita figures are compared. Thus, more disposable income for commodity spending.

Bottom line, ‘no income tax’ is great P.R. for the national limelight, but this proposal comes from a man who has bankrupted this state due to his fiscal mismanagement.   Education and health care services have been completely raped by the Jindal administration.  Once again Jindal is sacrificing the wellbeing of the citizens of this state to get into the national spotlight. 

Do you really trust this latest fiscal proposal from ‘King Bobby’ based upon his past fiscal solutions?

 

New Orleans Needs to Grow Up!

When will the citizens of New Orleans come to the realization that their fine city is simply a ward of the federal government?   Few if any city improvement projects are funded by the city itself.  Federally funded projects range from massive street improvements all the way to minuscule projects like the planting of vegetation on the neutral grounds.  And once the new projects are completed,  there are seldom any funds available to maintain them, which eventually leads to their disrepair.  It is a cycle that is repeated over and over.

The latest debacle raging about the New Orleans mayor’s legal maneuvers to cancel the Justice Department's mandated consent decree for  police and jail improvements, which he initially supported, simply serves to amplify this ward status.  The mayor suddenly came to the realization that the city would have to pony up approximately 17 million a year of its own money to fix the jail problems in addition to the 55 million over the next 5 years to fix the police department.  Now he wants to cancel the  entire process.  No federal monies, no improvements.

New Orleans citizens need to grow up and start paying their fair share of the costs to fix and maintain the city in which they chose to live.

 One would think its Republican residents, in particular, would be quite vocal on this issue since it is their party’s main political theme to curb entitlement spending.

New Orleans supposedly receives tons of money from Harrah and it major tourists’ events like the Super Bowl, college bowl games, Mardi Gras, Essence, Jazz Fest, etc.

However,  just how much income it receives from these events, and where it is spent still remains a mystery to most of its citizenry.

New Orleans residents need to take their heads out of the sand and look at the tenor of the political climate nationwide.  The federal  money, free ride, is over for these funds are going to be more and more reduced.

It’s time they end their economic T-shirt mentality and start to figure out how to maintain and repair the city’s infrastructures with the money it takes in from its main industry, tourism.

If those funds are not sufficient to pay for the city, then it needs to find additional revenue industries as has been suggested by many city manager economists over the years, but ignored.

The gravy train has left the station!