UPHILL BATTLES FOR LOUISIANA’S NEW GOVERNOR!
Thursday,
January 14th, 2016
Baton
Rouge, Louisiana
UPHILL BATTLES
FOR LOUISIANA’S NEW GOVERNOR!
Louisiana’s
newly elected governor began his inaugural day on a high note with religious
services at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Baton
Rouge. But before he could even begin
his inaugural address, things got dicey. The Louisiana House of Representatives
rejected his hand picked candidate for Speaker. Is this an indication of how
his term as the state’s chief executive will succeed?
Governor John Bel Edwards was the first governor in my memory to
announce his choice to be speaker. Yes,
most previous governors had their personal choices. But they quietly worked
behind the scenes to build a consensus for their candidate. When Bobby Jindal first took office, he met
with each house member and asked whom he or she wanted for the post. It was a “see which way the wind is blowing”
approach.
When Edwin Edwards was elected governor back in 1972,
Representative Bubba Henry was not his choice. Henry had supported Edwards’s
opponent, Bennett Johnston, and Edwards was not keen on working for the
election of Henry as speaker. But the Jonesboro representative was popular with
his housemates. So Edwards flew to
Henry’s home in Jonesboro, and the two held a meeting at the local airport to
hash out their differences. Henry agreed
to cooperate in supporting Edward’s ambitious agenda, and the two worked well
together during the following eight years. In fact, Edwards supported Henry’s
efforts to be elected chairman of the 1973 constitutional convention.
Since a majority of Republicans make up the present House of
Representatives, current Governor Edwards publicly climbed far out on a limb to
support Democrat Walt Leger and suffered his first defeat. Many capitol
observers felt he should have seen the writing on the wall.
Edwards also stirred up a firestorm among pro-life advocates
with his choice of Dr. Rebekah Gee as the new secretary for the Department of
Health and Human Services. The Louisiana
Right to Life Federation strongly criticized the appointment saying, “Louisiana Right to
Life's research reveals that the newly named Secretary has a long history of
troubling connections with organizations that advocate for
abortion-on-demand.” They
vowed to fight her confirmation that is required by the state senate.
The new governor’s challenge is to not get overly
involved in too many side controversies and stay focused on the elephant in the
room. What to do about the huge and
growing deficit, how to balance next year’s budget, and how to keep the current
ship of state afloat.
The current legislature has little appetite for new
taxes. Former Governor Jindal has
pounded the anti-tax message so hard that many lawmakers are quivering over the
thought of having to make such a vote.
“It just ain’t going to happen,” one senior lawmaker observed on
inauguration day. So what can be cut and
where to begin?
How about begin at the beginning? We keep hearing that more than half the
current budget is constitutionally protected and untouchable. But when the current constitution was adopted
in 1973, there were no dedications. This provision was written in the
constitution by former Governor Buddy Roemer and yours truly. The idea was to let the legislature set
spending priorities depending on current needs.
But little by little, one special interest group
after another lobbied to give their pet interests constitutional protection.
There are $12 billion dollars of protected funds. Legislators should consider
putting it right back on the voters. If
the state is in such a crisis, maybe it’s time to undedicate this money and
reexamine just how all state dollars are being spent. Why allow favorites as
the state is doing now? It would take a
new constitutional amendment, so let the voters decide.
There are a number of ways to balance the
budget. There has never been a
“performance audit” of every state agency to see how well current state dollars
are being spent. Are taxpayers getting
the best bang for the buck? Let’s find
out.
There are other financial suggestions that ought to
be contemplated by the new governor and legislature, all that are fodder for
future columns. Plugging the leaking
financial dyke with new taxes is a cop out.
Begin by going back to square one, prioritize current financial income,
and make the best use of what revenue is currently available. It makes common
sense to most taxpayers. Let’s see if the new governor and legislature get the
message.
********
Peace
and Justice
Jim
Brown
posted by Jim Brown @ 8:47 AM
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