Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, BESE, Contract, Contracts, Education, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Notable Quotables, OGB, Office of Group Benefits, Privatization, Public Records, Teague on February 22, 2013| 6 Comments »
“I have prepared a bill calling for a constitutional amendment making the Louisiana Superintendent of Education elected and not appointed. It will be difficult to pass, but the people should decide who their superintendent is—not the Governor.”
—State Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe), in an email Thursday to LouisianaVoice as a result of LouisianaVoice story about plan to provide personal student information to a computer bank controlled by News Corp., owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Posted in Attorney General, BESE, Contract, Contracts, Education, Governor's Office, Legislature, Legislators, Politicians, Public Records, Transparency on February 19, 2013| 18 Comments »
As an illustration of the sheer arrogance of Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White, LouisianaVoice is providing an exchange of emails between us, White, and Louisiana Attorney General’s office and our attorney, J. Arthur Smith of Baton Rouge.
Folks, there is no better example of just how this administration, personified by the likes of White, his boss, Gov. Bobby Jindal, all but two members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and a few of Jindal’s choice cabinet members and certain legislators who shall for the time being remain nameless, has nothing but contempt for the voters of this state.
After all, where would Jindal rather be—in Baton Rouge or gallivanting all over the country in futile pursuit of the presidency? (Hint: it ain’t Baton Rouge.)
But now it seems that the national media is finally catching onto his act. An op-ed piece in Monday’s Washington Post said that Jindal’s rise in the ranks of the party illustrates that Republican reform is all cosmetic, so much rhetorical hogwash, smokes and mirrors. (But if you insist on latching onto Jindal’s sophomoric grandstanding as candy for your political sweet tooth, then knock yourself out.)
But back to Mr. White.
On January 22, we made the following public records request:
Any communication with or information relevant to Louisiana’s association or business conduct with any corporation or entity owned, led by or associated with Iwan Streichenberger;
Any communication or discussion relevant to the sharing of confidential student information for the purpose of developing and marketing “learning products” or for any other purpose;
All communication and/or contracts relevant to current or future association with Gates Foundation or its subsidiaries.
• Any communication with or information relevant to Louisiana’s association or business conduct with any corporation or entity owned, led by or associated with Iwan Streichenberger.
• Any communication or discussion relevant to the sharing of confidential student information for the purpose of developing and marketing “learning products” or for any other purpose.
• All communication and/or contracts relevant to current or future association with Gates Foundation or its subsidiaries.
• Written communications and contracts containing the phrase “shared Learning Collaborative” or “SLC.”
• Written communications containing the phrase “Wireless Generation.”
• Written communications containing the phrase “Iwan Streichenberger.”
• Written communications and contracts containing the phrase “Gates Foundation.”
Subsequent to that request, we made additional requests for:
• A list of the number of Teach for America teachers employed in each parish in the state.
• A list of complaints about the Louisiana Department of Education’s web page that White said prompted his decision to revamp the page to its current unnavigable mish mash of a web page that is about as user friendly as a sidesaddle on a Hampshire hog.
Of course the latter requests were ignored with all the same efficiency as the original requests. We know that John White personally received the requests because we get read receipts on all outgoing emails and we know the instant our emails are opened and read by the recipient.
And we save all our read receipts just in case the need should ever arise to have them—say in a civil lawsuit against the department.
At 3:41 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 19—28 days after our initial request), we sent the following email to our attorney (and copied White and Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell):
Art, this request is almost a month old. By law, state agencies (the Department of Education included) have three days in which to produce requested records or provide a date and time they will be available for inspection. The department has done nothing to provide these records other than send me a B.S. letter. I might overlook this if it were an isolated case, but this has been repeated time and again. I’m weary of playing their little games and I’m ready to file suit against John White and the Department of Education. I don’t want to file only to have them provide the records. I want to pursue this to seek my court costs, my attorney fees and any applicable fines. The Monroe News Star filed suit and White cratered and provided the records and nothing further was done. I don’t want that. I want to extract penalties for non-compliance or they’ll just repeat the procedure the next time I make a public records request.
Please file the necessary litigation immediately. I will pay the filing fee but I want the Department of Education to reimburse me.
My receipt indicated that White opened and read our email at precisely 3:44 p.m.
At 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, I received the following response from attorney Art Smith:
Gotcha. Will be glad to do.
Then, beginning at 6:20 p.m. and continuing through 6:43 p.m. we began receiving the first of what would ultimately be eight separate emails containing 119 pages of emails and other data from the Department of Education, some of which addressed our requests and others that did not.
Those responses that did not address our specific requests, however, were quite revealing. Because White made such a big production of the complaints he said he received about the old format of the department’s web page which led to the complete revamp of the page, we decided to call his bluff and ask for those complaints.
What we got instead of complaints about the old web page was a stream of complaints about the current format, including one writer who, in the email’s subject line wrote “YOUR NEWLY DESIGNED WEBSITE SUCKS,” and who then proceeded to chastise the department for the misspelling of “recieve.” (Yep, that’s the way your new DOE website spells receive.) “For crying out loud, USE YOUR SPELLCHECKER!” the Monroe critic wrote, adding, “Please correct this and make this site professional, not juvenile.”
Another wrote: “Many of your links lead to errors. Come on, man!”
“I am unable to locate information that I need to do my job. If we no longer have a website that is user friendly, what are we expected to do?” asked another.
Strangely, however, there were no complaints provided by White about the old web site even though he said the changes were made pursuant to “many complaints” about the old site.
Unimpressed with White’s last-minute attempt to head off unpleasant litigation, we followed up with another email at 9:37 p.m., again copying our attorney and Caldwell:
Mr. White, I am in receipt of eight separate emails from your office which purport to provide the information I requested (itemized below).
I can’t help but notice, however, that absent from the 117 pages you provided me under threat of litigation (which remains a valid option) were responses to requests 1, 2, and 6.
Please, without further delay, provide:
1) Any communications in any form or contracts relative to the “Shared Learning Collaborative” or SLC, a project of the Gates Foundation.
2) Information regarding Louisiana’s participation in Phase I of the above project.
6) All communication and/or contracts relevant to current or future association with Gates Foundation or its subsidiaries.
Because of the stalling tactics employed by you and the department, I shall not grant you the customary three days waiting period for this information inasmuch as it has already been 28 days since my initial request.
Litigation shall follow if this information is not provided by the close of business Wednesday, February 20, 2013.
White opened and read our latest email at 9:43 p.m.
We’ll keep you posted on developments and if anyone wishes copies of the emails that were provided, we will be happy to provide them electronically at no cost. Just contact us at: louisianavoice@cox.net
Posted in Attorney General, Contract, Contracts, Education, Governor's Office, Judges, Privatization, Retirement, Vouchers on February 14, 2013| 12 Comments »
You have to give Gov. Piyush Jindal credit—he has chutzpah.
Jindal, to paraphrase Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman), Harold Ramis (Dr. Egon Spengler) and Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Raymond Stantz) of Ghostbusters fame, ain’t afraid of no state constitution.
And he ain’t afraid of throwing good taxpayer dollars after bad to prove it.
Last November, Baton Rouge District Judge Tim Kelley shot down Jindal’s far-ranging school voucher program when he ruled it was unconstitutional for the state to use funds—about $25 million this year—dedicated for public education to pay private-school tuition.
Then late last month, another Baton Rouge District Judge, William Morvant, ruled the administration’s 401 (k)-type pension plan scheduled to take effect July 1 for future state employees also was unconstitutional because it had passed the legislature by a simple majority vote and not by the necessary two-thirds majority.
Taking his cue from Admiral David Farragut at the Aug. 5, 1864, Battle of Mobile Bay, Jindal shouted to his minions on the fourth floor of the State Capitol something that sounded like, “Damn the Constitution, full speed ahead!”
Or maybe it was, “Damn the legal costs, full speed ahead!”
He said it kinda fast, so it was hard to understand, really.
It might have even been, “Damn those Republican judges, full appeal ahead!”
Kelley’s ruling was “wrong-headed” and “a travesty for parents across Louisiana,” Jindal sniffed after last November’s setback. We’re not sure of “wrong-headed” is an acceptable term in a court of law but hey, he’s the governor so who are we to quibble? After all, legend has it that a Texas cowboy in the old West successfully defended himself on a murder charge with the defense that his late adversary “needed killing.”
“We are optimistic this decision will be reversed,” said State Education Superintendent John White (An attempt by LouisianaVoice to determine from which law school White holds his juris doctorate was unsuccessful.)
“We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and we look forward to a successful appeal,” Piyush said of Morvant’s ruling on the pension plan. “We’re confident that the bill was constitutionally passed,” he added. (As with White, efforts to learn where the governor obtained his degree in constitutional law were fruitless.)
So, having already spent thousands of dollars at the district court level, he now will contract with outside counsel (eschewing the attorney general’s office right across the Lake from the Capitol) to take both cases to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Not only is he tossing good taxpayer money after bad, but he also is forcing the Retired State Employees Association of Louisiana, two teachers unions and dozens of local school boards to spend membership money and local tax dollars to continue the fight to uphold the lower court rulings.
Perhaps the governor should take a look at his latest poll numbers (37 percent approval rating) and try to understand that he can’t always get his way even though he and his $10 million campaign war chest did collect 66 percent of a 20 percent voter turnout in his re-election just over a year ago—against a field that included as his strongest opponent a school teacher with no money. And the teacher, Tara Hollis, still got 18 percent of the vote.
So what if 80 percent of the Louisiana voters stayed home? Sixty-six percent is a mandate!
A former middle school teacher said even as a child his mindset was such that he always had to have his way and that it was simply inconceivable that he might be wrong.
But this isn’t middle school and even by spending thousands more of taxpayer money, he still isn’t likely to get his way.
Ever see a governor throw a tantrum? Stand by. It might even qualify as a hissy fit.
Who you gonna call?
Constitution Busters, aka Bobby Jindal, Timmy Teepell and Jimmy Faircloth!
Posted in Campaign Contributions, Contract, Contracts, Privatization, Teague, Uncategorized on February 5, 2013| 25 Comments »
LouisianaVoice has learned that Louisiana’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Ed Driesse and three members of his staff have already or are quitting, apparently over ongoing disagreements with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s staff regarding the outsourcing of the State Office of Information Technology (OIT).
Driesse, who makes $167,000 a year, was contacted Tuesday and said his last day will be April 5.
Assistant Director Barbara Oliver and Deputy CIO Randy Walker retired on Jan. 18. The third, Assistant Director Mike Gusky, is also scheduled to leave, Driesse said.
Oliver presently earns $118,000 per year and Gusky’s salary is $117,000, according to State Civil Service records. Walker’s salary was unavailable.
As the state CIO, Driesse heads the Office of Information Technology in the Division of Administration (DOA) within the Office of the Governor.
The CIO is the state’s point person for matters related to IT and IT resources, including setting policies, standards, hardware and software deployment, strategic and tactical planning, acquisition, management, and operations in keeping with industry trends, both private and public. The CIO oversees several IT organizations within the DOA, acting as architect and primary executor of technical and business strategy for IT in Louisiana state government.
Act 772 of 2001set forth several policies of OIT, including:
• The implementation of IT standards for hardware, software and consolidation of services;
• The review and coordination of IT planning, procurement and budgeting;
• The providing of oversight for centralization/consolidation of technology initiatives and the sharing of IT resources;
• Assuring compatibility and connectivity of Louisiana’s information systems;
• The providing of oversight on IT projects and systems for compliance with statewide strategies, goals and standards.
Several additional legislative acts in 2001 provided for:
• The electronic government structure for the executive branch (governor’s office) of state government;
• The duties of the Office of Telecommunications Management (OTM);
• Electronic governmental transactions;
• Electronic transactions by certain state agencies.
Act 409 of 2009 abolished the Office of Electronic Services and transferred its duties to OIT. At the same time, it redefined the duties of the Louisiana Geographic Information Systems Council and the Louisiana Geographic Information Center.
Last February, the Civil Service Commission rejected a plan to terminate 69 IT employees in the Department of Health and Hospitals when DHH attempted to push through a privatization contract with the University of New Orleans (UNO).
Last October, eight months after that initial effort, the Civil Service Commission signed off on a revised proposal that called for revamping DHH IT services.
That plan, which involved no layoffs, called for various IT functions to be spread out among four different entities—DHH, the University of Louisiana Lafayette, UNO and a private vendor, Venyu Solutions. The move was projected to save about $1.12 million from the current $37.8 million expense, the administration said.
Venyu contributed $5,000 to Jindal’s re-election campaign in October of 2011.
In 2012, Louisiana was one of only seven states to receive an A-grade in national rankings on providing online access to government spending data. The state’s score of 92 out of 100 was tied with Massachusetts. Arkansas, by contrast, received a grade of F. The state received a score of only eight out of 100, for third worst in the nation.
The rankings were compiled by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PRIG) Education Fund, a consumer watchdog organization that promotes and evaluates transparency in government spending.
Louisiana’s OIT was also cited as having taken the lead among states in providing detailed performance evaluations of government agencies.
Driesse has 15 years’ experience as a chief information officer in both the public and private sectors, including three Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to his appointment, he served as CIO for DHH and also served as CIO for AECOM Technology Corp., a global design and management services company in Los Angeles, where he managed a budget of more than $50 million and a staff of 260.
He also served as CIO for Foster Wheeler, Ltd., a global engineering and construction company in Clinton, N.J., where he oversaw the global deployment of the JD Edwards integrated applications system.
Driesse also served as Vice President and CIO for Zimmer, Inc., of Warsaw, IN, and for HealthTrust, Inc., of Nashville, TN.
He holds a B.S. in mathematics and a M.S. in computer science, both from the University of Louisiana Lafayette.
There was no word on the planned privatization of OIT.
An email inquiry to the Jindal’s office got no response.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Business, Charters, Contract, Contracts, Prison, Privatization, Taxes, Vouchers on January 30, 2013| 4 Comments »
It’s interesting to note that the very existence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which writes “model legislation” for lawmakers to introduce back in their respective state capitals rests on one ginormous paradox.
For example, consider this mission statement from ALEC’s 4th edition of its state economic competitiveness index entitled Rich States, Poor Stateshttp://www.alec.org/docs/RSPS_4th_Edition.pdf: “ALEC’s mission is to discuss, develop and disseminate public policies which expand free markets, promote economic growth, limit the size of government (emphasis ours), and preserve individual liberty within its nine task forces.”
Yet, for all its breast beating about making government smaller and more accountable, it’s curious and somewhat contrary to that theme that of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500, fully one-half are—or were—corporate members of ALEC http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/.
In fact, 31 of the 50 largest corporations in America helped pay the bills to wine and dine state legislators at seminars, conferences, planning sessions and annual meetings of ALEC delegates, including the 2011 annual meeting held in New Orleans at which Gov. Bobby Jindal was the keynote speaker.
Fallout over the shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, last February coupled with ALEC’s endorsement of the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law in that state which was linked to his shooting has resulted in the decision by some two dozen corporations to drop their ALEC memberships.
Among those who have bailed out are Wal-Mart, General Motors, General Electric, Bank of America, Entergy, PepsiCo, Walgreen, Dow Chemical, Marathon Petroleum, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.
Some of those retaining their memberships, however, include Hunt-Guillot of Ruston, ExxonMobil (the largest corporation in the U.S.), Chevron, AT&T, Verizon, UnitedHealth Group, Archer Daniels Midland, Wells Fargo, Pfizer, Boeing, Microsoft, and FedEx.
ALEC’s “small is better” philosophy for government takes a sharp 180 when its corporate membership is placed under the microscope. While 50 of the 100 largest members of the Fortune 500 are ALEC members, that number drops precipitously in the ensuing blocks of 100.
For example, of the corporations ranked in size from 101 to 200, only 29 are ALEC members and for 201 to 300, the number is 17. For 301 to 400, the membership is 13 and for the final group, 401-500, you will find only seven who are ALEC members.
So while the lobbying group maintains that small is better, it appears that it goes after the larger corporate sponsors first and is increasingly disdainful of the smaller companies.
The 116 Fortune 500 companies who are members of ALEC combined for $4.5 trillion in revenues in 2011 and altogether realized net profits of $484.2 billion. Remember, that does not include the other 384 Fortune 500 companies—just the 116 ALEC members.
Just for the record, here are 50 ALEC members from the Fortune 100 with 2011 rankings, revenue and profits in parentheses http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/:
• ExxonMobil—(1; $452.9 billion; $41.1 billion);
• Wal-Mart—(2; $446.9 billion; $15.7 billion—terminated membership);
• Chevron—(3; $245.6 billion; $26.9 billion);
• ConocoPhillips—(4; $237.3 billion; $12.4 billion);
• GM—(5; $150.3 billion; $9.2 billion—terminated membership);
• GE—(6; $147.6 billion; $14.2 billion—terminated membership);
• Ford—(9; $136.3 billion; $20.2 billion);
• AT&T—(11; $126.7 billion; $3.9 billion);
• Bank of America—(13; $115.1 billion; $1.4 billion);
• Verizon—(15; $110.9 billion; $2.4 billion);
• CVS—(18; $107.8 billion; $3.5 billion—terminated membership);
• IBM—(19; $106.9 billion; $15.9 billion);
• UnitedHealth Group—(22; (101.9 billion; $5.1 billion);
• Wells Fargo—(26; $87.6 billion; $15.9 billion—terminated membership);
• Procter & Gamble—(27; $82.6 billion; $11.8 billion—terminated membership);
• Archer Daniels Midland—(28; $80.7 billion; $2 billion);
• Marathon Petroleum—(31; $73.6 billion; $2.4 billion);
• Walgreen—(32; $72.2 billion; $2.7 billion—terminated membership);
• Medco Health Solutions—(36; $70.1 billion; $17.8 billion—terminated membership);
• Microsoft—(37; $69.9 billion; $23.2 billion);
• Boeing—(39); $68.7 billion; $4 billion);
• Pfizer—(40; $67.9 billion; $10 billion);
• PepsiCo—(41; $66.5 billion; $6.4 billion—terminated membership);
• Johnson & Johnson—(42; $65 billion; $9.7 billion—terminated membership);
• State Farm Insurance—(43; $64.3 billion; $845 million);
• Dell—(44; $62.1 billion; $3.5 billion—terminated membership);
• WellPoint—(45; $60.7 billion; $2.6 billion);
• Caterpillar—(46; $60.1 billion; $4.9 billion);
• Dow Chemical—(47; $60 billion; $2.7 billion);
• Comcast—(49; $55.8 billion; $4.2 billion);
• Kraft Foods—(50; $54.4 billion; $3.5 billion—terminated membership);
• Intel—(51; $54 billion; $12.9 billion);
• UPS—(52; $53.1 billion; $3.8 billion);
• Best Buy—(53; $50.3 billion; $1.3 billion—terminated membership);
• Prudential—(55; $49 billion; $3.7 billion;
• Amazon.com—(56; $48.1 billion; $631 million—terminated membership);
• Merck—(57; $48 billion; $6.3 billion—terminated membership);
• Coca-Cola—(59; $46.5 billion; $8.6 billion—terminated membership);
• Express Scripts Holding—(60; $46.1 billion; $8.6 billion);
• FedEx—(70; $39.3 billion; $1.5 billion);
• DuPont—(72; $38.7 billion; $3.5 billion—terminated membership);
• Honeywell International—(77; $37.1 billion; $2.1 billion);
• Humana—(79; $36.8 billion; $1.4 billion);
• Liberty Mutual Insurance Group—(84; $34.7 billion; $365 million);
• Sprint Nextel—(90; $33.7 billion; –$2.9 billion);
• News Corp.—(91; $33.4 billion; $2.7 billion);
• American Express—(95; $32.3 billion; $4.9 billion);
• John Deere—(97; $32 billion; $2.8 billion—terminated membership);
• Philip Morris—(99; $31.1 billion; $8.6 billion);
• Nationwide Insurance—(100; $30.7 billion; -$793 million).
Of course, ALEC also pushes its agenda of lower taxes very strongly (who do you think helped write Gov. Jindal’s proposal to eliminate the state individual and corporate income taxes in favor of increase sales taxes? Surely, one would not believe he came up with that all by himself).
It’s no coincidence that Louisiana is pushing to ditch the state income tax at the same time as several other states, including Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Carolina. Each state has read the ALEC playbook.
“Money is spent more efficiently by the private sector than by governments, so it is reasonable to expect that states with lower overall taxes have better economic environments than states with high taxes and more government spending,” the Rich States, Poor States report says.
Apparently the authors of that statement did not bother to review the histories of the subprime mortgage crisis, junk bonds, Enron, Bernard Madoff, Stanford Financial Group, the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), Tyco, WorldCom, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and the bursting of the dotcom bubble.
Be that as it may, let us go back to ALEC’s mantra of lower taxes and see how that might apply to its corporate membership.
General Electric is the poster child for tax dodges. With $19.6 billion in net profits for the years 2008-2011, GE managed not only to pay no taxes, but got $3.7 billion in tax refunds.
Other ALEC members, their net profits and taxes/refunds for years 2008-2011 include: http://www.ctj.org/pdf/notax2012.pdf
• PG&E—($6 billion; $1 billion refund);
• CenterPoint Energy—($3.1 billion; $347 million refund);
• Duke Energy—($5.5 billion; $216 million refund);
• Con-way—($422 million; $23 million refund);
• Ryder System—($843 million; $46 million refund);
• DuPont—($3 billion; $325 million paid in taxes—10.8 percent, less than one-third the standard 35 percent tax rate);
• Consolidated Edison—($5.9 billion; $74 million refund);
• Verizon—($19.8 billion; $758 million refund);
• Boeing—($14.8 billion; $812 million refund);
• Wells Fargo—($69.2 billion; $2.6 billion paid in taxes—3.8 percent, barely 10 percent of the 35 percent standard rate);
• Honeywell International—($5.2 billion; $102 million—2 percent).
Some of the CEOs for ALEC member corporations received more in compensation in 2010 than their companies paid in taxes. Here are a few with salaries first, followed by taxes paid: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/31/ceo-pay-vs-corporate-taxes/
• International Paper: $249 million refund; CEO John Faraci received $12.3 million;
• Prudential: $722 million refund; CEO John Strangfeld received $16.2 million;
• Verizon: $705 million refund; CEO Ivan Seidenberg paid $18.1 million;
• Chesapeake Energy: paid no taxes; CEO Aubrey McClendon paid $21 million;
• eBay: $131 million refund; CEO John Donahoe paid $12.4 million;
• Coca-Cola: paid $8 million taxes; CEO John Brock paid $19.1 million;
• Dow Chemical: $576 million refund; CEO Andrew Liveris paid $17.8 million;
• Ford: $69 million refund: CEO Alan Mulally paid $26.5 million.
If you still believe that ALEC favors smaller government over, say, being able to exercise control over government taxation and spending, then consider the General Services Administration’s list of $69 billion in federal contracts held by these ALEC members in fiscal year 2011: https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng/index.php/reports
• Boeing: $21.6 billion;
• Northrop Grumman: $15 billion;
• Raytheon Co.: $14.8 billion;
• Humana: $3.4 billion;
• General Electric: $2.8 billion;
• Honeywell International: $2.2 billion;
• Dell: $1.4 billion;
• IBM: $1.7 billion;
• FedEx: $1.6 billion;
• Merck: $1.3 billion;
• Shell: $913 million;
• Pfizer: $1.2 billion;
• UPS: $701 million;
• AT&T: $743 million;
It’s easy to preach small government and lower taxes but to achieve this, a lot of ALEC members would stand to lose a chunk of business with Uncle Sam.
And that doesn’t even include state and local contracts like the $18.3 million in state contracts currently held by ALEC member Hunt, Guillot & Associates of Ruston and the $11.4 million state contract awarded to Northrop Grumman.
Smaller, more streamlined and accountable government sound great, most would agree. But the implementation of changes across the board may well affect one’s bottom line and that, as they say, is when the cheese gets binding. It is then that we simply must follow the money.
Charter schools and vouchers, for example, would benefit investors who see a fortune to be made in private education—especially when most of that money would be paid by the state.
The continued growth in the number of private prisons (along with more laws that send more people to prison) would be quite a windfall for those operators who contract with state and local governments to incarcerate lawbreakers.
Elimination of personal and corporate income taxes in favor of sales tax increases would further lighten the financial burden of business and industry—and shift that burden onto the backs of low- and middle-income citizens.
The rejection of a federal grant to build a broadband internet system for rural Louisiana certainly benefitted commercial cable companies like AT&T which contributed $250,000 to the Supriya Jindal Foundation.
Likewise, relaxed environmental regulations endorsed by ALEC certainly aided member Dow Chemical which coincidentally kicked in $100,000 for the Supriya Jindal Foundation. Soon after that donation, proposed fines of subsidiary Union Carbide for allowing the release of a toxic pollutant and failing to notify authorities of the leak were dropped.
Or Marathon Oil, whose $250,000 donation to the foundation may have greased the skids for the awarding of $5.2 million in state funds to a Marathon subsidiary.
Instead of listening to the rhetoric of ALEC’s membership, one would do well to watch how certain specific proposals might affect that membership.
In other words, don’t listen to what they say; watch instead for what they do.
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