I just read an article from the Center Square discussing Louisiana’s exploding budget. The reality though is that the budget is not exploding because of revenues generated by an economically strong state, but by way of an insane amount of Federal funds, mostly Obamacare funds, that flow into the state coffers. Louisiana is quite literally addicted to fickle Federal funds.

Obamacare, as so many other Federal programs, was and continues to be a shell game. The recent closure of our national government was wholly as a result of the Democratic Party recognition of that truth and its desperation to try to prop up a fiscally indefensible system of healthcare that is riddled with corruption and waste.

As so many of us warned when John Bel Edwards bypassed the legislature and married Louisiana to the illusion of free healthcare, we became a state literally living on the good graces of the national government. We literally joined the national destruction of rational healthcare and its replacement with a now discredited experiment. Remember, “We have to pass it to know what’s in it”?

Now that the Schumer shutdown has failed, the focus in Congress is on a return to the original intent of Medicaid, a fundamental safety net that was largely replaced by Obama’s social experiment. Congressional actions clearly appear to be focused on saving the safety net of healthcare for those in need, a safety net but not socialized healthcare.

By their nature, a return to safety net policies reduces wealth transfer from richer to poorer states. That’s where the folly of Louisiana’s leap into dependency falls down. We are already hearing in the media of all of the people in Louisiana who signed up for the exchanges and are now facing astronomical cost growth. That’s just the beginning.

As Federal healthcare funds to our state slow, the reality that Edwards’ adoption of Obama’s promise will become a budget nightmare, the state legislature will be forced to tighten spending accordingly. The sudden impact will be that many of the people of Louisiana will be forced to go cold turkey in a withdrawal from their addiction to this “free stuff.” But through no fault of theirs, they will be left with nowhere to turn, and that’s not acceptable either.

In a strong economy those who don’t fall into the safety net would have traditionally found relief through their employment, but Louisiana doesn’t have a strong economy, and Obamacare has wrecked the traditional employment-based benefit anyway. It will take decades to redefine a workable healthcare system that will actually work without bankrupting the nation and this leaves a serious question. What do we do with all those who were promised something that was illusional and now have few options? That question will have to be answered but be assured that at least in the near term that won’t include Federal wealth transfer of the nature of what we have seen.

Louisiana’s budget has exploded, but times have changed and we can’t hide from economic realities. We should expect a contraction as Federal spending as Obama’s folly slowly withers. Dependency in any form always ends badly.