A Tale of Four Governors Sunday, Jun 14 2009

 

Four past governors rode down to the state capitol this week to ‘reason’ with Governor Bobby Jindal about higher education cuts.  I found this to be a fascinating move by former Governors Kathleen Blanco, Mike Foster, Buddy Roemer and Dave Treen, especially since they contributed to the overspending mess we find ourselves in today. 

Over the last 14 years, voters have had a front row seat to statewide spendthrift practices by various governors and legislators.  A quick glance at past news reports give a brief overview:

• On January 9, 2005, The Advocate told us that Governor Blanco’s first operating budget added $500 million to state spending.
• On January 12, 2003, John Hill of The Town Talk pointed out to us that Governor Mike Foster had 7 years to address state spending, yet failed to do so.
• On February 15, 1995, Wardlaw of The Times Picayune told us that former Governor Edwin Edwards left incoming Governor Buddy Roemer a $1 billion deficit in 1987.

Putting things into perspective are made possible by glancing at the State of Louisiana’s annual budget increases. 

Take a look at the growth in spending over the past 7 years, and you will see we have virtually doubled state spending:

• 2001-2002 State Budget:  $15.5 Billion (Governor Foster)
• 2002-2003 State Budget:  $16.3 Billion (Governor Foster)
• 2003-2004 State Budget:  $16.7 Billion (Governor Foster)
• 2004-2005 State Budget:  $17.5 Billion (Governor Blanco)
• 2005-2006 State Budget:  $18.7 Billion (Governor Blanco)
• 2006-2007 State Budget:  $26.7 Billion (Governor Blanco)
• 2007-2008State Budget:  $29.8 Billion (Governor Blanco)

For the 2008-2009 budget, spending was estimated at $29,732,692,645, with an estimated deficit of $2,181,531.  Yes, those numbers are billions!

Blanco and Foster have no footing since they alone doubled state spending in 7 short years.  It comes natural to them to spend more and cut less.  Maybe they have some brilliant idea of how we can pull the money out of our !#$%&? 

When does the spendthrift madness end?  No, I do not want to see higher education cut.  (In case you were wondering.)  Yet, cutting the budget is in order.

While we focus on not cutting higher education, earmarks are slipped in the back door.  It’s an endless mindset of overspending that no one wants to properly address.

Are any of these naysayer-ex-governors offering alternative measures for increasing spending or cuts elsewhere in the budget? 

They’ve already had their 15 minutes of fame, which consisted of a total of 20 years in state government and excessive spending.  Now they want to return and give advice to current Governor Bobby Jindal?  Is that correct?

I realize each individual will have their own perception of this ‘newsworthy’ event.  No doubt it will run the gambit depending on your personal stand on the state spending and cuts. 

For years we were ‘informed’ that Jindal was the ‘whiz kid’, and the only real answer to getting Louisiana back on track.  How quickly those same individuals have turned on Jindal like vipers.  Politics is so fascinating, isn’t it? 

Even the political bloggers told us Jindal was ‘the only choice for change’.  Now look at what they are saying; how entertaining they have become.  I call them fair weather supporters. 

There is no easy solution.  So, I have questions for the pundits and politicians:

• Where are you willing cut?  Walk with me down budget cutting lane: 
  • The homeless? 
  • The poor? 
  • The uninsured? 
  • The elderly? 
  • The children? 
  • Economic development? 
  • Roads and bridges? 
  • Emergency services such as EMS, Police or Fire? 
  • Your community? 
  • Your neighborhood? 
  • Who is willing to volunteer a cut for the greater good? 

Silence?  Surely someone can offer something more than a tale of five governors who simply cry out ‘don’t cut higher ed funding”?  Anyone?

I’m waiting . . .

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

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All the Kings Men Monday, May 25 2009

 

Coverage by Louisiana media outlets report that the current Legislative session is akin to a Battle Royale over the state’s troubled budget.  Like ancient gladiators, the media is in their own battle, vying for audiences by reporting every single move made by the Jindal administration.

The problem with this style of journalism is that it flys in the face of what readers really wants to know.

The public needs to understand why Jindal is being targeted for a budget crisis that reaches back far beyond his inauguration as governor of our state.  Voters are smart enough to know that the financial crisis we are facing didn’t happen overnight. 

In fact, the ‘get out of jail’ cards issued to Blanco, Foster and Edwards by this same media are mind boggling at best, not to mention the legislators who have spent our tax dollars for years like money was growing on trees around the state capitol.

It’s about as humorous as the comparison of former Governor Mike Foster being allowed to be a part time elected official while attending law school vs Governor Bobby Jindal being criticized for traveling around the country for political reasons.  Oh well, I digress.

Perhaps we are paying for the ‘sins of our fathers’?  Forefathers in state government, that is. 

It began with Governor Huey P. Long, and continues today.  A spendthrift mentality.  A chicken in every pot.  Textbooks funded by the state.  Let the government pay our way.  Just write another check.  Add another budget line item.  Conceal an amendment, if you will.  We’ll worry about the consequences later!

Everything we do has an effect on everything else.  This is not rocket science.  It’s the law of reaping and sowing. 

In our personal life, we have a budget.  We receive income and learn to live within our means.  If we do not live within our means, eventually the debt and interest catches up with us. 

Why do we continue to believe government can be run any different? 

In 1987, Roemer came into the governor’s office with $5.2 billion in state debt, and a $1 million daily deficit.  He fought for reform, but legislators stopped him from the onset, claiming they didn’t like his administration’s attitude.  Boohoo!

Fast forward to 1992 when Edwards was headed back to the helm of state government with a $500 million gap between revenue and spending.  The legislators loved working with Edwin W. Edwards.  That path led straight to federal prison. 

It’s as plain on the nose on our face.  We have been increasing state government spending annually, loading up on debt (and interest) and then going back to the trough to see who will throw us more feed.  

If we do not learn from our mistakes, history is sure to repeat itself.

By 2005, the state debt reached $24.8 billion, according to AARP.  Five times the debt Roemer tried to deal with in the 1980’s.  Do the math.  I could not locate more current information on Louisiana’s debt, but I am confident it has increased drastically. 

For decades, we have watched the legislature fight over budget deficits.  From each session, lawmakers have proposed the ‘answer to our prayers’ to become debt free or meet our annual obligations. 

The list is long.  The Louisiana Lottery.  A land-based casino.  Video poker.  Riverboat casinos.  Tobacco settlement.  The Stelly Plan.  Business taxes.  Individual taxes.  Sales taxes.  Bed taxes.  Sin taxes.  Federal stimulus money.    Homestead exemption tax increases.  All touted as answers to our  state’s financial dilemma.  Yet, here we are . . . again!

On the other hand, legislators and special interest groups fight fearlessly for earmarks each fiscal session. 

Universities fight for education funding.  Pennington fights for research funding.  Teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement fight for pay raises.  City government fights for economic development and infrastructure funding.  LSU Health Care fights for charity hospital and clinic funding.  DOTD fights for highway funding.  Another endless list. 

Republican or democrat.  Senator or Representative.  Elected official or voter.  State budget or personal budget.  There really is only one solution.  Cutbacks! 

Robert Penn Warren said All the Kings Men was not intended to be a book about politics.  Neither was the budget of the state of Louisiana.  Nevertheless, both are purely political.  For the state budget, that must change. 

The quicker we remove politics from our state budget, and run it like a business or household, the better off we will be.  Otherwise, we will continue to allow state spending to embrace political corruption and grow our enormous political machine. 

To Senator Lydia Jackson, Democrat from Shreveport, who says to the press that “No is not a solution” (referring to Jindal saying no to spending), I offer the opposite:  NO IS THE SOLUTION!  No is not a popular word in the world of politics, but one we need to be willing to stand up and shout from the rooftops.  NO!  NO!  NO to more spending! 

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

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Slaying the Dragons Wednesday, Apr 22 2009

The year was 1987, the race was for Governor, and the words spoken by one candidate were so enticing to us:  “We’ve got to slay the dragon”.  It was Buddy Roemer that caught our attention with that challenge based on fiscal reform.  The media absolutely loved him, and voters longed for real change.

Roemer was a breath of fresh air.  A candidate with lofty goals to take on our state’s bureaucracy by raising the bar for ethics and scrubbing the budget.  We were so excited; it was the promise of a better day in Louisiana.

The legislature, however, had a different agenda.  A majority of senators and representatives that kicked off Governor Roemer’s first session were, unfortunately, former Governor Edwin Edwards’ supporters.  They blamed Roemer and his administration for not being good communicators.  That was the least of Roemer’s challenges.

The Louisiana Association of Educators challenged Roemer’s plan for teacher’s performance-based reviews and pay based on merit.  The Red Stick’s finance director, Lynn Schofield balked at tax reform that would affect municipalities.  Jefferson Parish played a key role in defeating Roemer’s tax reform with some politicians spending their own campaign funds to lobby against reform.

No one was interested in tax reform.  Why?  Simple:  Reform sounds good until it affects your parish’s pocketbook.

It’s almost mind boggling to walk down memory lane. 

Fast forward to the 2007 election for Governor.  The ‘whiz kid’, Bobby Jindal is running for office, and his words are eerily similar regarding making a clean break from the past.  Once again, we are attempting to “slay the Dragons” by addressing  workforce development, creating accountability, developing a modern health care system, better schools, stronger businesses – all through ethics reform.  

Reform.  Change for the better.  Improvement.  Better Methods.  Courses of Action.  Strong words, but difficult to achieve when resistance is so powerful.  If we do not change our attitudes and take action, we are destined to repeat history. 

Do we really want reform?  Are we willing to pay the price it takes to make reform a reality? 

There is some good news in the upcoming legislative session.  Legislators have introduced bills that will give significant tax breaks.  The people have spoken, and for the first time in awhile, the politicians have heard what we are saying and are acting accordingly.  A brief description of bills filed by the House of Representatives can be viewed here, and Senate bills filed can be viewed here. 

Still, there is great criticism of Jindal’s calendar of events.  Jindal’s traveling is taking more hits than the news of actual bills filed that will affect each of us as citizens of our good state.  Interesting.

I long for the day when I can read critical information on bills in The Advocate.  Bills that we should be aware of as voters.  I crave information about Jindal’s speech to the Red Stick Press Club, instead all I hear about is whether his legal counsel should step down because he is considering political office after the session.

I need to hear more about how we can “slay the dragons”, not the sensationalism our local media wants to spin.  To find out what Jindal said at the Press Club, I had to do a search – not in the newspaper – but until I found his actual speech. 

What I learned was that Jindal spoke of the current financial crisis, and how we are all being called to make cuts.  So should the State of Louisiana.  I also learned we have retained business, secured new business ventures, and created more than 22,000 jobs, and retained more than 11,500 jobs in Louisiana since Jindal was elected. 

We have invested more dollars in Pennington Biomedical Research, and Barksdale Air Force Base.    I learned that despite the horrific economic downturn, Louisiana has not only survived, but flourished.  That we have retained some powerful businesses and had profitable major corporations open headquarters in our state over the past year.

Louisiana enjoyed a record year for the film industry.  We have totally outperformed the U.S. economy and are a leader in the South. 

Jindal plans to keep his promise of no new taxes.  That in itself should have been yesterday’s headline in The Advocate!  “Raising taxes is absolutely not an option”, were the Governor’s exact words.  What a refreshing and encouraging headline that could have been.

Jindal’s list of cuts for specific agencies are all in his speech.  A plan broken down, explaining how the budget crisis for the state will be addressed is there as well.  Again, it can be read here. 

How else would we have known that the Governor has a new education funding formula?  Or that he is behind the Commission for Streamlining Government?  (That legislation is mentioned in my previous post.) 

How long have we joked about state government employees?  If I hadn’t read his speech, I would not have been enlighted to the performance-based plan for state workers and compensation.  It’s about time!

There’s so much more the media did not address.  Jindal has a plan for more discipline in the classroom, extending research and development tax credits, DWI crackdowns, stronger laws for sex predators, work release program improvements, and tax amnesty for delinquent filers. 

I did not vote for Bobby Jindal, but he is our Governor.  His ideas and plans are moving forward.  Are we willing to jump into the battle with him and “slay the dragons”? 

Some say, “where is Bobby”?  I say,  “Bobby must be hard at work on the road…the road to a better Louisiana”.    What if I’m right?

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

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