The Times Picayune editorial of 6/4/17 titled, "Lawmakers lack the will for fiscal reform" comes about seven years too late. The article talks about: (1) the failure of the state legislature to reform the state's unfair, unstable and convoluted tax system: (2) Ignoring the fiscal cliff of the $1 billion deficit projected for fiscal 2018: (3) The need for predictable revenue and (4) Tax proposals that were ruled out of the current session of the legislature.
And if all that sounds familiar, its because you read it here first in PolitiDose many times during the last eight years. And during that same time span the Times Picayune's editorial writers praised republican governor Jindal and the republican controlled legislature for cutting the budget and at the same time handing out tax breaks to the business community. During that same period every state budget that Jindal and the legislature proclaimed balanced, ended up being out of balance before the fiscal year ended.
The eight years of Jindal and the republican controlled legislature was a time of praise by the Picayune and the business community even though they were in a position to see and understand what was happening to Louisiana's economy and fiscal house. The national economy and jobs were growing but Louisiana was lagging. Unemployment was dropping on the national level but Louisiana was not keeping pace. The unemployment rate in Louisiana when Jindal took office was 3.8%. It was over 6% when he left office. Democratic governor Kathleen Blanco left the Jindal administration a $800 million surplus when she left office and Jindal blew it big time.
Yes, Louisiana had many people who were and still are a large influence who remained silent while the do nothing republican controlled legislature and Jindal were wrecking havoc with the Louisiana economy and its fiscal house. The corporate welfare cycle of the business world is a corrupting influence whose appetite will never be satisfied because its all about them and never about us as a society and community. And even worse, the business community has been allowed to control the conversation on taxes.
The people of Louisiana deserve better from our elected officials, the news media and the business community. The states's future has been a repeat of its past failures. Will the year 2017 be the year Louisiana can say the required steps were taken so that the future for our citizens will not look like the failed past? Stay tuned because time will tell.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
