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VIDEO: The Fantastic Rand Paul Apple Rant
This happened at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing this morning, at which the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, was being dragged forth to testify about all the nefarious practices that company was engaged in as a... (Continue reading)
SADOW: The Independence Bowl’s New Sponsor Could Be…Us
It no longer may be called the Independence Bowl, but Shreveport’s AdvoCare V100 Bowl keeps on defying expectations with its continued existence despite a host of disadvantages. And now, apparently, there’s an attempt afoot to allow local government-allied agencies dip... (Continue reading)
DORE: House Passes Tax-Increase Lite On Budget Day
Last week, we learned that a group of Republican state representatives who call themselves “Fiscal Hawks” were planning to team up with the House Democratic Caucus to cut a deal and design a budget plan filled with $1.3 billion in tax... (Continue reading)
BEAM: House Changes State Political Scene
The state House of Representatives made legislative history last week by writing a budget to its liking. It was a rare streak of legislative independence, and that is what the nitpicking, perennial critics have overlooked. Since the days of Huey... (Continue reading)
SADOW: The Fiscal Hawks Know That Tax Amnesty Money Is One-Time Money, Right?
Q: What do “fiscal hawks” do when they want to spend scarlet “one-time money” on general fund operating expenses? A: They call it “amnesty.” And there’s the rabbit pulled from the hat by the “hawks,” a group almost entirely composed... (Continue reading)
SADOW: It’s A ‘Sick Tax’ Rather Than A ‘Bed Tax’ – And It’s A Bad Idea
Don’t look now, and it may take while, but on top of increased premiums, pricing, and taxes resulting from imposition of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), now the Louisiana Legislature is setting the stage for its own... (Continue reading)
PSC Commish Holloway To Leges: Kill The Solar Tax Credits Now
From an open letter by Public Service Commissioner Clyde Holloway to the state legislature, a suggestion that would bring the state budget about $25 million closer to balance… May 8, 2013 Dear Legislators of the State of Louisiana: I support... (Continue reading)
BURNS: The House Is Trying Again With A New Budget Plan
The Louisiana House of Representatives it set to consider a plan to address the state’s budget deficit and help prevent further cuts to higher education and health care by closing corporate tax loopholes. Some portions of the plan were included... (Continue reading)
BURNS: One-Time Money vs. Reducing Business Exemptions
The Fiscal Hawks put forth a deficit reduction plan after adjournment yesterday to address a $525 million structural deficit with $106 million in cuts, $87 million in other reductions and enhancements, and $329 million in revenues from trimming 15% off... (Continue reading)
MORET: Pass This Plan And You Basically Waste All My Efforts
Louisiana Economic Development head Stephen Moret put out the results of a “preliminary” study his department did on the “deficit reduction” plan released last night by the Fiscal Hawks in the House of Representatives. Moret might be overselling the impact... (Continue reading)
JUNEAU: House Set To Advance $300 Million In Tax Increases
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a package of bills Monday that will become vehicles for a proposed $329 million tax increase. Of that total, $315 million would come from businesses. That would represent the largest tax increase on... (Continue reading)
SADOW: Was It Cowardice That Produced The Fiscal Hawks’ Plan?
With the presentation of their New Coke-like alternative budget plan for Louisiana’s upcoming fiscal year, the self-styled “fiscal hawk” budget reformers finally uncloak themselves in confirmation of the worst fears of genuine budget reformers and true fiscal conservatives. The document... (Continue reading)
AUDIO: We Were On KPEL This Afternoon About The Budget Mess
Listen here. But where the national debate on the budget usually pits Republicans versus Democrats, this situation is putting Republicans against fellow Republicans. The debate became personal for state Rep. John Schroder, a leading figure in the budget reform movement,... (Continue reading)
INTERESTING: Greg Albrecht’s Letter On Tax Exemptions And Govt Spending
This has made it out into the world. It’s an e-mail from Louisiana’s Legislative Fiscal Auditor, Greg Albrecht, to Rep. John Schroder on the question of whether tax exemptions constitute government spending and whether a suspension or diminution of those... (Continue reading)
BARFIELD: Shouldn’t The Legislature Practice Some Transparency In Budget Negotiations?
When it was first announced that I would lead Gov. Jindal’s tax reform efforts, I was bombarded with concerns from many stakeholders about the “process.” Statements such as “the end does not justify the means” and “do not ramrod these reforms... (Continue reading)
JUNEAU: One More Time
In this column on March 27, I stated that the top goal of LABI for 2013 was as follows: “Tax increases on businesses and investments in a slow economy are a recipe for disaster. In order to maximize chances for... (Continue reading)
SADOW: The Fiscal Hawks Are Making Another Mistake
Almost two years ago this space predicted that a desire by many Louisiana House Republicans to posture as budget reformers, leading to adoption of House Rule 7.19, would continue to haunt them. Another spectral appearance of the rule is about... (Continue reading)
SADOW: There’s More To The ‘Deaf Tax’ Bill Than Meets The Ear
A controversy over funding to provide for more accessibility for the hearing-disabled illuminates an unrelated controversy over Louisiana’s fiscal structure and provides an object lesson promoting reform that no legislator yet seems intent on embracing. HB 238 by state Rep.... (Continue reading)
ALEXANDER: The Tax Man Cometh, Again
As you woke up this morning, it was hard to miss the loud jingle of Uncle Sam’s pockets. It’s Tax Day in America, marking another year hardworking citizens will hand over thousands of dollars to the federal government. If this... (Continue reading)
Monday is Bizarro Day at the Capitol
For all of the kerfuffle around repealing the Louisiana income tax you’d think that we didn’t have a 25 BILLION dollar annual budget. Phasing out the income tax over 10 years would almost be a non-event, unless you’re a government bureaucrat making... (Continue reading)
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Quote of the day
Quote Of The Day, May 22, 2013
“Add up all the recent scandals and the message is clear: the Obama administration is showing that it cannot be trusted with the basic functions of government: law enforcement (surveillance of reporters), taxation (IRS scandals), and national security (Benghazi).”- John Yoo