The republican controlled state legislature will complete its regular legislative session soon and when they do, Louisiana's future budget, which begins July 1 will repeat the same mistakes of the failed past. The budget will not be balanced once again except by rhetoric and another special session will have to be called to deal with the same fiscal problems of the last nine years.
The legislature has failed to implement most of Governor Edwards proposals and in some instances never even took up his recommendations. And to top it off they have no real solutions to offer themselves. The problem is the same, a lack of state revenue needed to service the states obligations, made possible by an unfair tax code in favor of the business community and special interest. The $8 billion plus each year in tax breaks to business is a major reason why state revenue is needed. In addition, everyone is not paying their fair share of tax because of an out dated taxing system. Even the poor should pay their fair share as this writer has commented on in previous commentary many times and the reasons why.
The constant excuse that the budget needs to be cut to be in balance is hogwash and a fairy tale by conservatives who control the legislature and others. The fact is the legislature has cut the budget over the years and still could not balance it. The state budget for fiscal 2007/2008 was $34.3 billion. The budget for fiscal 2012/2013 was $25.5 billion, a budget reduction of $8.8 billion and the budget has stayed in the $25 billion range for the past several years. Yet with all the cuts the state still can not balance its budgets. And now to top it off the legislature just announced the other day the state faces a $1.3 billion deficit next July 1,2018 when the sales tax that passed last year ends. The people should also keep in mind that while the budget had been cut the past several years the legislature was also giving away more tax breaks to business.
Louisiana needs billions of dollars for repairs to the state's infrastructure as reported but does not have the needed revenue source to do the work. Other states have increased the gasoline tax to fund their infrastructure work and when one leaves Louisiana by auto you can see the results with clear eyes. Louisiana, like all states has lost sales tax revenue to internet purchases that have not been replaced. In a Times Picayune article in December 2015, it pointed out that the state lost $800 million in sales taxes to internet purchases in 2014.
No one likes to pay taxes and if the burden was spread out fairly across the board, including business, a person's tax liability could be better absorbed and less of a burden. This writer is talking about all forms of taxes being fair and not just income taxes. Economically, Louisiana is doing a lot worse than the national economy and many other states. Job creation and the unemployment rate is lagging behind the national economic recovery. How can that be in Louisiana with the $8 billion plus handed out to business in tax breaks when they say that is needed to create jobs? Where are all the jobs?
The voters in Louisiana have bought into the conservative republican repeated lies of trickle down economics and corporate welfare and their legislators have carried out the failed fairy tale to no where but fiscal disaster with the state budget. They failed to act in the last two special sessions called by governor Edwards and in all probability, fail in the next special session the governor will call. And for the inaction by the republican controlled legislature, the future continues to look like the failed past.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
