“It doesn’t raise taxes on businesses and families. It’s a strong reform budget. We’re going to continue to reduce the size of state government.”
–Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater, on the executive budget to be presented to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on Thursday.
Louisiana Voice 
I think what Rainwater is really saying is we are not going to reduce the services that State Government provides or the money spent doing so. Quite the contrary. We will provide those services through private contractors at much greater cost than would be the case were state goverrnment to perform/provide those services.
So how will these more expensive services be paid? Through added sales taxes, reduced individual income tax deductions, reduction in the homestead exemption allowance, and other such revenue burdens that will fall disproportionately on the middle and low income wage earner while the wealthy and corporations (large Jindal campaign contributors) will be give additional tax reductions.
When the budget comes out today, we [the people] should ask at least 2 questions:
1. When was the last time our state budget was actually balanced as required by the state constitution?
[Related questions: If the current year budget is balanced and general fund revenue is growing by 4% why do we have a $900 million problem? If I know I have a debt (the UAL, for example) that must be paid, but I don’t make reasonable payments in an effort to liquidate it, won’t it eventually catch up with me? If I use one-time money in my budget year after year, spending it on recurring expenses, can’t I reasonably expect the time will come when the one-time money won’t be there? If I do either or both of these things is my budget really balanced?].
2. If the goal of retirement reform is to be responsible and pay down the UAL in a reasonable amount of time, why aren’t all the savings going to pay the UAL down?
[Related questions: Why was it okay to change the 1989 40-year payment schedule to make lower payments in the early years with no reasonable catch-up plan? Since we already have a tremendous UAL due to the failure to adequately fund it for decades, how much sense does it make to continuously do things to worsen it (examples: hiring former legislators in highly paid state jobs resulting in much higher benefit calculation bases; retaining hundreds of highly paid “retirees” while paying them retirement benefits – in one case, in Mr. Rainwater’s department, such a “retiree” is reportedly making $360,000 per year)].
If history means anything, we won’t get answers, but we still need to ask these and other questions.
He’s not talking about state worker families. In essence, state workers are being taxed to death to balance the budget of the state. State workers should get a tax deduction for the loss of wages by not receiving merit raises. Meanwhile, Bobby keeps hiring his cronies and friends to the tune of six figure salaries, while pointing the finger of blame on the little five figure worker, making much less than industry standard for the complex work they do.
Does Jindal know that we are considered a poor state? The state budget is propped up with federal funds in the tune of 16 billion dollars thus leaving Louisiana citizens and businesses furnishing only 9 billion dollars for the budget. The governor thinks that privatizing state services such as insurance, education and, prisons. will be the panacea for the state. The govenor and the big businesses in the state need to concentrate on bringing businesses to the state to provide better paying jobs so the brightest young people will not be forced to leave the state to find decent employment. Why is the governor beating up public education in order to establish private education in the state?
When the private profit motive becomes prevalent then the students will lose. Public education has made this nation strong and sucessful throughout its history. Destroy public education and this entire nation will become a third world country! Beware of what you promote in Louisiana.
Hugh Craft.