Editor’s Note: a guest post from Louisiana State Rep. Blake Miguez, a conservative critic of Gov. John Bel Edwards and a victim of the governor’s veto pen yesterday.
Since taking office, Governor John Bel Edwards has always approached House Republicans with an “All or Nothing” attitude. When he doesn’t get his way, he simply blames House leadership, mainly Speaker Taylor Barras, for his troubles.
The Governor needs to understand that Louisiana taxpayers are tired of having their taxes constantly raised to continue funding a bloated state government. They are tired of watching the private sector crumble and people and jobs move out of state as the rest of the nation is prospering. Many taxpayers understand that Louisiana has a spending problem. They demand that government find a way to live within its means and stop asking for more of our dollars. The Governor’s approach of attempting to tax Louisiana to prosperity will not work and will only lead to further decline in the State’s GDP.
The Governor’s latest exhibit of being unwilling to negotiate was when he refused a compromise revenue bill offered by Republican House Chairman Lance Harris which would have produced about $400 million of additional temporary revenue to supplement the state’s upcoming annual operating budget.
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The good news is that in the recent special session the legislature passed an operating budget which funded hospitals and nursing homes among other government critical services with contingency language to restore funding to other items if future revenue is realized.
Will the Governor veto the State’s operating budget for a second time, after vetoing the one passed in the regular session of this year? Isn’t it time that the Governor sends a message to the elderly that they will not be kicked out of nursing homes? Will he sign or veto? Let’s wait and see how he uses his pen this time.
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