Louisiana's Republican Controlled State Legislature: Still Has No Answeer To Balancing The State Budget

Eight years of budget cuts under the Jindal administration never balanced one state budget.  Now, as Louisiana's fiscal year comes to an end on June 30, governor John Bel Edwards and the legislature are locked in another battle of how best to finally put Louisiana's fiscal house in order for the states next fiscal year and beyond.  The republicans in the state legislature are still offering the same failed conservative rhetoric, cut spending.  Edwards, a democrat, feels what the state needs are more revenue, reform the tax code where everyone pays his fair share and spending cuts where needed.

The elephant to a sound fiscal policy for today and the future is the $8 billion of tax give away each year to special interest groups, mainly businesses.  That is about 25% of the state budget that is given away without justification.  No government or business can afford to lose that amount of revenue every year.  The temporary tax increase passed by the legislature during Edward's first year is set to expire June 30 and revenue has to be found to replace that short fall.

It is past time for the republican controlled state legislature to bite the bullet and work with Edwards on his priorities to not only balance the state budget in an honest way but to make it a long term solution to the states fiscal problems.  Unemployment in Louisiana has dropped on Edwards watch since he took office and the economic outlook is much brighter for the state.  Just the opposite took place on Jindal's watch.

So now we see in just the last few weeks how state republicans are beginning to team with republicans in congress that represent Louisiana to oppose Edwards agenda for the next fiscal year.  It is the same cast that engineered Louisiana's fiscal crisis to begin with.  The conservative ideology of the republican party is anti-people first and foremost.  This writer believes Edward's policies will prevail for the benefit of the state and its people.  After all, the people of Louisiana have Governor Edwards, while the republicans have the most unstable President in American history.  And when you couple that to the fake news of the republican party, it spells disaster.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The Democratic Party: Still The Best Hope For The People, For America and For Democracy Itself

The democratic party is alive and well despite Trump and the GOP's propaganda of failure.  The steady hand of the democratic party and its policies have always been a positive influence on our democratic institutions in time of need even when republicans control the government.  Democracy is not always a smooth ride because ideology has been adopted to divide and conquer by conservatives and because democracy itself is always in a state of change.

But the roots of democracy runs deep and over time the extreme is rejected for the basic tenant we call progress.  Trump and the GOP have little to show in running the country the past year because they have excluded the democratic party from the debates in congress on the issues.  However, in the long run it will be democratic votes that decide the issues of immigration, health care, medicare, social security, national security and the fiscal health of the federal government.

It was the democratic party that turned the economy around and created jobs with falling unemployment, reduced deficit spending and reduced federal spending at the same time.  Republicans have a history of reversing that success and Trump and the GOP will continue on that path.  The key to democracy is to understand the mistakes of the past so that the future will not look like the failed past.

Democratic administrations always understood that and that is why democracy has always progressed on their watch.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio