Is Gov. Bobby Jindal now trying to pit university and college presidents/faculty against state workers?
That certainly seemed to be the case on Wednesday when he dangled a $100 million carrot in front of state college system presidents (and certain legislators) in the form of a promise that state colleges would share an extra $100 million on the condition that lawmakers pass his radical state retirement system package during the upcoming legislative session.
The tactic represents a new low for the governor as he attempts to play on the fears of colleges and university presidents that their institutions would take large hits as the result of yet another anticipated budgetary shortfall of $900 million in what is becoming a somewhat tiring annual soap opera.
Jindal Chief of Staff Stephen Waguespack said the governor’s executive budget unveiled to lawmakers on Thursday would keep higher education funding at its present level in the 2012-13 fiscal year beginning July 1.
In a brazen attempt at outright bribery, Waguespack told the higher education officials that if the legislature approves Jindal’s proposal to overhaul the retirement system for thousands of state employees, the $100 million saved through cheaper retirement costs at universities would stay with the campuses and would not be used to stop cuts elsewhere in state government.
To that, we would add these words of caution to the university presidents: be careful, it’s a political promise and political promises have a habit of evaporating like yesterday’s cheap aftershave.
Jindal’s suggestion is calculated to build support for his proposed retirement changes among legislators with colleges in their districts. Those changes would, if approved, increase rank-and-file state employee contributions by 3 percent, shrink benefits and push back the age for collecting retirement payments. New state employees would be shifted from defined benefits to defined contributions similar to cheaper 401(k) type accounts.
Such an obvious ploy should be beneath a governor who purports to eschew politics as usual. And make no mistake, this is politics as usual: pure extortion of targeted legislators through anxious college presidents to garner votes necessary to pass a controversial legislative package.
It’s enough to make one sit back and ask, “What’s next?”
What tactic will the most ethical, most transparent, most accountable governor employ next to get his way in his efforts to push through an agenda aimed at destroying public education, slashing state employee retirement and health care benefits, privatizing state agencies and services and shoving thousands of dedicated state employees onto the unemployment rolls.
There may not be a lot of public sympathy out there for state employees, but these people are our neighbors, our relatives, our children’s teachers, and others who provide services across the civilian spectrum on a daily basis.
You may not care for the plight of state workers but they touch our lives each and every day, whether you know it or not.
Rest assured, Jindal has a much larger agenda than what is best for the State of Louisiana. His every move, every action, is carefully calculated to benefit businessmen and corporations who have a vested interest in privatization, who see profit in school vouchers and charter schools, who stand to gain financially by a relaxation of regulations special tax breaks, and who have invested in this governor’s political career.
It’s no accident that he has steadfastly, in the face of one fiscal crisis after another, year after year, refused to consider any increase in corporate taxes.
Jindal hopes those corporations have bigger plans for him.
And there’s your real carrot.
Louisiana Voice 
I think this article is right on the button……..they want to change the retirement age for people that have worked their entire life for the state at low pay, then just years or months before their expected retirement, he wants to change their life plans around……….all this while he bribes other state agencies and residents to try to balance this budget on the backs of state workers and he’ll promise a $100M to you. He has to be crazy! As the article says….THIS IS A NEW LOW FOR LA.!
Any legislator that votes for this will lose all support from my family and friends…..as this plan is just plain wrong…..you don’t do this to people who have been good employees for 20-30 years! The next thing they’ll want to do is break their promise to these employees altogether and cancel all retirements…..is this next?
Why isn’t the mainstream media asking questions and holding Piyush to account for his draconian measures? This guy claims to be a Christian/Catholic? How is what he is doing and what he has already done to state workers moral or ethical? How does it jibe with his claim to be a Christian? This guy has no sympathy for people and he also has a disconnect when it comes to economics. If he pays state workers better wages, they will spend more money, providing more taxes for the coffers and colaterally provide more jobs in the private sector. Go take a look at Reagan’s playbook Bobby Piyush Jindal. I will never vote for this clown again. I hope that when he runs for Landrieu’s seat, or Vitter’s seat that he remembers that. As far as presidential aspirations, if he runs against satan, I’m voting for satan.
Divide and conquer – The Left hand does not know what the right hand is doing -Create so much craziness that no one knows whats going on……Jindals strategy for his plan of attack on Louisiana….
I just hope Jindal is held personally responsible (you know “be accountable”) for when the services of this state fall apart
If you think what Jindal is doing is ok because it does not affect “you” – hang on because he will eventuality do something that affects you or your family !!
Where is the National media in regards to this C L O W N ??
“The next thing they’ll want to do is break their promise to these employees altogether and cancel all retirements…..is this next?”
Yes, this is next. And then the teachers are next. So, if the bill passes, anyone with 20 or more years needs to retire, and anyone with less than 10 years, needs to get out and roll their money over. That doesn’t leave very many people, now does it?
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/02/lsu_president_jindal_would_app.html
LSU president: Jindal ‘would appreciate’ no complaints on budget
Published: Thursday, February 09, 2012, 5:35 PM Updated: Friday, February 10, 2012, 9:38 AM
“In exchange for this good treatment,” Lombardi wrote, “the administration would appreciate” it if higher education leaders…”
Here is Lombardi’s complete memo:
On 2/9/12 6:07 AM, “John V Lombardi” wrote:
Colleagues,
As you all know, the Division of Administration will present the Governor’s budget to the legislature today. The best information we have from the Administration is that the general outlines of the budget for higher education will include the following:
1. higher education will be provided the same total all funds budget level as last year.
2. the new budget will include Grad Act tuition increases as part of the total all funds budget.
3. savings from the retirement adjustments will be given back to higher ed institutions.
4. only higher ed receives both the hold harmless all funds budget and the additional opportunity to use any retirement savings.
5. there will be no freezes on salary adjustments for employees whether in civil service or not.
In exchange for this good treatment, the administration would appreciate higher ed leadership doing the following:
A. recognize that the budget gives higher ed special treatment and thank the administration for their attention and concern for higher ed
B. avoid negative messages about higher ed funding this year or overall as the total means of finance for higher ed has experienced a relatively low reduction compared to other parts of the state budget and compared to other states.
C. recognize the need for retirement reform and recognize the benefit to higher ed of the ability to use the retirement savings at the institutions, something not possible for other state agencies. Estimate is $100M from retirement savings to higher ed.
G. provided coordinated responses from our PR offices so that all units of higher education respond in the same generally positive and supportive way to the Administration’s efforts to avoid significant loss of funding from the all funds budgets of higher education institutions.
In this upcoming session, the Administration will be focused on K-12 and retirement reform, and the Administration does not think it helpful to have complicated or difficult or contentious higher education initiatives brought before the legislature. Special tuition bills or other initiatives that do not have the complete support of all of higher education will only distract from their effort to hold the budget intact for higher education and complete the rest of their agenda.
As usual, we will ask Bob Keaton to coordinate the LSU System institution’s responses to legislative issues, and Charlie Zewe will coordinate with campus public relations offices on the various messages needed.
The Board of Supervisors leadership has indicated strong support for coordinated messaging to accompany coordinated representation during the upcoming legislative session.
Many thanks.
John