Robert Mann who writes editorial commentary in the Reflections Section of the Times Picayune detailed in his article of 4/27/14 how Louisiana Governor Jindal along with the legislature uses gimmicks to balance the state budget. And if that sounds familiar to the readers of PolitiDose it is because you read it here first in several commentaries written on the subject matter over the past several years.
As I have previously explained, Jindal has yet to really balance any state budget except by legislation gimmicks and then before the budget year is complete Jindal announces the budget is out of balance. The last governor to balance the state budget was governor Blanco and not by gimmicks.
The states revenue base has been eorded so bad with tax cuts and tax exemptions, a so called booming economy has not produced the needed revenue as correctly pointed out in Mann's article. The $8 billion of tax exemptions and tax breaks granted business represents over 25% of the state budget and is shameful, another point I discussed in past commentary.
The booming Louisiana economy that Jindal talks about has not produced the jobs nor has his so called economic policy. The latest unemployment number released for Louisiana shows the unemployment rate 4.5%. When Jindal took office it was 3.8% and with all Jindal's talk about training the work force, companies in Louisiana who use skilled labor and skilled technical workers complain about the limited number of candidates with the correct skills for the open positions they have according to a Times Picayune article of 4/25/14 by staff writer Jennifer Larino. Unemployment has been reduced on the national level much more than in Louisiana.
Trickle down economics does not work on the state or federal level. What it does is erode the normal revenue base of our democratic system in favor of special interest. No state or federal budget has ever been truly balanced on such a system. Just ask Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Jindal.
In the six and half years Jindal has been governor the states fiscal health has hit the bottom and unfortunately it was man made.
This commentary written by John Lucia.
