On Friday October 22 Jindal announced another round of budget cuts totaling $157 million and once again health care and higher education bears the burden of those cuts. (Times Picayune article of 10/23.) The cuts will force the layoff of at least 400 state workers. The article stated the reductions were necessary to plug a $107 million deficit left over from the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget that ended June 30, 2010.
That 2009-2010 budget was announced as being in balance at the time by Jindal like his other budgets but half way through those budget years they were all out of balance by millions of dollars and Jindal knew they would be. Jindal is no fiscal conservative and is a mirror image of the national republican party who has not balanced one federal budget since Eisenhower in 1960. In fact Jindal served in Congress during the Bush administration when the republicans controlled the Congress and was silent the whole time the Bush administration was running up record federal deficits and debt.
The unemployment rate in Louisiana at the end of January 2008 was 3.8%. (Jindal took office that same month.) The unemployment rate at the end of August 2010 was 7.6% with the number of people unemployed at 158,914, the highest since Katrina in 2005, double the unemployment since Governor Blanco left office in January of 2008. It seems Mr. Jindal is waiting for the National economy to jump start Louisiana's economy instead of doing his job for the state and its people.
Governor Jindal said people should not whine and complain about his budget cuts and that leaders should provide vision and leadership. Then the governor flew off to a political fundraiser in Pennsylvania after the announcements. Another one of the many out of state political trips in the last several weeks. Vision and leadership has escaped Jindal and so has courage.
Conservative republicans have on thing in common, an ideology that they govern by that is anti middle class. President Clinton left office with a record economy, record job creation, record low unemployment, balanced budgets, surpluses and a reduction of the National debt. George Bush blew all of that in his first year in office and continued until his record recession, record job losses, record federal deficits and debt and escalating unemployment rate. The transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy was complete when he left office.
Governor Blanco left Jindal a billion dollar surpluss, a 3.8% unemployment rate and a fiscal house that was in order. Like Bush, Jindal blew all of that with his failed ideology and policies, lack of leadership, lack of courage and a desire to roll back all the progress Louisiana made since Katrina.
Jindal and his administration continue to give tax breaks and other incentives to corporate America under the guise of job creation but unemployment as the numbers show continue to go up in Louisiana. At the end of August 2010 there were 1,940,093 people employed in Louisiana. When Jindal took office in January 2008, there were 1,972,655 employed, a decrease of 32,552. So much for job creation by this administration.
Jindal's ambition is national which is confirmed by the number of out of state fund raising trips he takes part in. Like the national republican party, Jindal is out to bankrupt government, only this time it is Louisiana and its people. Wake up Louisiana, conservative republicans have no record of fiscal responsibility, a growing economy or steady job creation. There record has always been the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.
Note: Employment and unemployment numbers taken from Historical changes, Louisiana's unemployment rate.
