Jindal's Latest Budget Fiasco

It’s too bad that Governor Bobby Jindal wasn’t born under my wife’s  Zodiac sign of Scorpio, for if he were,  he would have gotten some great advise that would help him fiscally manage  the Louisiana state budget.

Today, March 4^th, the Scorpio horoscope advise is “Under no condition should you run your financial affairs predicated upon anticipated returns.  The only cash you can count on is what you have in hand.”

Jindal’s latest fiscal state budget mirage, completely ignores this wisdom and is filled with  the use of one time money from such sources as land sales,  which so far have not occurred, legal settlements, the  final figures of which have yet to be determined, the privatization of the state’s  health care system, which so far is not even half operational, and the revamping of the state’s employee retirement plans, whose estimated savings were calculated by a consulting firm which is presently being sued by Providence, R.I., for  providing false statistics as to the savings that would be recouped from their recommended retirement plan changes.  The legal contention is that this consulting firm’s fiscal savings estimates turned in to actual increases in cost when the retirement plans were implemented as proposed.

And let’s not forget Jindal’s plan to eliminate the state income tax while increasing the total sales taxes paid in most state parishes to 12%.  Please remember that Jindal’s own fiscal advisers have stated every year that he’s been in office, but one, that the reason the state has continually run out of money before the end of the fiscal year is due to depressed sales revenues.  Residents just aren’t buying enough commodities.  I bet raising the sales tax would lead to even less spending by residents within the state as well as increased out of state and internet sales, which by the way are supposed to  be claimed  on one’s state income tax form.

The question one has to ask about all the above is will ‘Bobby’ follow his own Zodiac advise for today which states,  “Upon occasion, you can deprive yourself of some useful  information,  all because you don’t like the person who knows it.  Don’t allow something petty to make your life harder than necessary.”

This Zodiac advice is NOT one of Governor Jindal’s strong suits for basically it’s his way or the highway.

There is a realistic solution to the fiscal mismanagement which is presently taking place in this state and it lies with a group of legislators known as ‘the fiscal hawks’.  They want to strip all one time and unrealized funding from the budget, and if they are successful, most people will fully understand the fiscal mess which Jindal continues to perpetuate in the state.  He is playing a smoke and mirrors game with the state finances and it needs to cease so that the citizens of this state will realize what needs to occur for Louisiana to become fiscally solvent.  It’s time for ALL Louisiana legislators to draw a line in the sand.

Maybe Governor Jindal  need s to schedule an appointment with  Mayor Zabbia to see how to accomplish this.