Information about various cities and parishes is the
There are not many choices Louisiana now has to deal with the immediate problem of raising roughly $940 million dollars before the end of the ffiscal year, June 30.
In part 3 of an interview with LSU economist James “Jim” Richardson, who has been the economist for the Revenue Estimating Conference, sales tax is the only vehicle to raise enough money quick enough.
There is no doubt that Louisiana has a horrific budget problem? How long have lawmakers known about the budget deficits? What might they have known during the elections? Are we in a recession? Can our budget deficit be fixed before the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2016?
So, why, once again, is the Louisiana 's budget on the downswing, rarely ever really balanced, it seems.
Louisiana is on the throes of another major budgetary overhaul, with its elementary education system bleeding, its higher education on a respirator and its healthcare system being read its last rites.
With the massive fiscal crisis facing Louisiana, legislators are looking at an array of solutions. In the short term, we will need a mixture of budget cuts and tax increases.
After the House Ways and Means committee voted to move tax bills forward, without votes, to the full House for debate, Governor Jon Bel Edwards issued this statement:
For the second year in a row, Louisiana has received threatening news regarding the prospects of having credit downgrades. Here is a statement released today by Governor Jon Bel Edwards's office, as the state attempts to solve a $950 shortfall for this current fiscal year and a $2 billion expected deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2016.
The statement from the governor:
There he goes again.
Treasurer John Kennedy, who is doubling as a candidate for US Senate, has had a penchant lately for making statements to the media and to the public that just don't add up or make sense.
Rocky start for JBE?
A new poll by Southern Media and Opinion Research (SMOR) produced some interesting results on the current political climate in Louisiana.
by Stephen Waguespack, President and CEO of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI)
The devil is always in the details.
The state government deficit is big and the Legislature is in a special session called by the governor to review his plan for solving the problem. His plan is largely dependent on new taxes and the argument being made by his administration (with a few exceptions) is that spending cuts and large-scale structural budget reforms are either not feasible or require too much time to implement.
By now, it might appear that almost all Louisiana voters, are acquainted with the fact that Louisiana has a deep budget problem and that the new Governor, Jon Bel Edwards, who ran on a platform of not raising any taxes, has changed course.
While the Louisiana legislature probes through different ways to close a budget gap of almost three billion dollars, there are questions whether the state is simply giving away money, or worse, perhaps acting through negligence, malfeasance or in some cases, simply paying out more than is collected.
Treasurer Kennedy slaps Jindal, Jon Bel Edwards on state contract bill
Treasurer John Kennedy was in rare campaigning form today as he testified on House Bill 96 which would reduce certain state contracts by 15 %. In doing so, he took special shots at former Governor Bobby Jindal and current governor Jon Bel Edwards for not focusing upon state contracts as a well to cut the state budget deficit.
The Louisiana legislative fiscal office has issued the fiscal analysis of the penny sales tax.
The tax, if approved would increase from four percent to five percent.
Pope Francis is a man of great compassion and humility. He shows tremendous concern for the young, the elderly and the sick. He advocates for those who have been forgotten, such as the homeless. He has shunned the luxuries and trappings of his position and performs his duties in a much more modest style than his predecessors. These are admirable qualities and set a good example for all Catholics.
Along with the state’s healthcare system, Louisiana’s higher education has taken quite a wallop over the course of the eight years under former governor Bobby Jindal and the then-legislature.
Unquestionably, so far, the most controversial issue coming out of the Louisiana's extraordinary special session so far has been the fate of higher education and the state's brand new governor, Jon Bel Edwards' comment regarding university football possibly being shuttered next year due to major budget woes.