Can you afford to re-elect Larry Bagley?

In our ongoing candidate series, taking a look at the worst of the worst Republicans in the various races for the state legislature, next up is RINO extraordinaire Rep. Larry Bagley who is running for reelection for his final term in the House in one of the most conservative areas of our state, House District 7 encompassing Caddo, DeSoto and Sabine parishes.

His opponent, Tim Pruitt, has been endorsed by the Louisiana Freedom Caucus PAC. As a graduate of Louisiana Tech in 2007, Pruitt works in the field of environmental science, helping Louisiana’s embattled oil and gas industry keep in compliance with the leftist assault on this lifeblood of our state and national source of clean, reliable energy. Pruitt is a man for our time to responsibly help dismantle this assault on our ability to provide cheap, reliable and responsible energy that is currently strangling our people with staggering gasoline and home energy bills. This is an opportune time to harness Pruitt’s expertise for the good of the people of Louisiana.

A look at incumbent Bagley’s votes for tax increases on the hardworking citizens of Louisiana  alone over his first two terms should disqualify him outright from earning your vote.

When Louisiana was faced with a choice in cutting unnecessary and extravagant spending levels in 2018 or walking arm-in-arm with soon-to-be former Governor John Bel Edwards to place a heavy $.45 sales tax that would make Louisiana the top of the heap in sales taxes levied on their hardworking citizenry, Bagley voted for Edwards and the tax increase.

This was a $502 million tax increase per year for seven years which amounts to over $3.5 billion over the course of the tax increase.  If you were wondering why we had massive surplus funds this year (that the legislature voted to squander like drunken sailors, Bagley among them), this was a major element which speaks to the assertions at the time that the tax increase was not necessary.

Yet Bagley had a long track record in his first term of raising taxes that have devastated Louisiana’s economy and driven our businesses to other states.  This list of tax increases should have disqualified him from serving a second term.

In 2016, Bagley voted in favor of HB35, a 5.5% annual tax on HMOs which amounted to $683 million tax increase over the first five years.  Perhaps Bagley doesn’t understand that these taxes increase our healthcare costs as they are passed along to the policyholders, choking our citizenry with more price increases.

Bagley also voted in that first special session in 2016, for SB6, an $86 million inventory tax over the first five years that has driven business and jobs from Louisiana into our neighboring states.  Now car dealerships, construction, sales or any other business with inventory houses that inventory in facilities in other states to avoid paying an exorbitant tax on any unsold stock in Louisiana at the end of the year. Why wouldn’t they?  It is one of the most punitive taxes on the books: if you don’t have a great sales year, you’re punished for having stock on hand.

In the 2016 first special session Bagley voted for HB19 to raise taxes by $381 million over five years  on corporations wanting to come to Louisiana or stay here to do business and provide jobs. Bagley voted for HB20  to increase corporate income taxes by $105 million per year, for HB 27, a $97 million annual tax increase on alcohol, HB 43,  another job-killing income tax increase on the sale, use, consumption, storage, or rental of tangible personal property and services, for HB 61,  another massive sales and use tax, for HB62, yet another $1.7 billion sales and use tax increase on everyone.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, Bagley voted for HB87 – yet another insurance that caused your health insurance costs to increase.

When looking at Bagley’s record of support for tax increases, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in government who has recently done more to destroy Louisiana’s economy than Rep. Larry Bagley.

The choice is clear.  It’s time for a change and Tim Pruitt offers the opportunity for a massive upgrade.