Gov. Bobby Jindal bowed to public sentiment Monday and shelved his plan to immediately eliminate income taxes and raise sales tax.Jindal's withdrawal of the plan demonstrates what citizens can accomplish by working together. Hardly anyone except Jindal and his close advisers liked the tax plan, which was poorly crafted, with numbers that did not add up. Perhaps Jindal and his inner circle have learned a lesson about opening up their planning process to outside advice, rather than operating in secrecy and holding plans close to the chest until the eleventh hour before the legislature convenes. Still, Jindal and cohorts are crafty, so citizens must must remain vigilant and not let down the guard, for further nefarious schemes are likely to emerge.
The governor admitted defeat on the first day of the legislative session during a speech to a joint gathering of the Louisiana House and Senate.
Jindal said he heard the complaints that he moved too fast and that his approach was not the best one.
House Democrats, religious leaders, public research groups, the business community and even the governor’s own accounting consultant found fault with his proposal to eliminate the state’s personal income and corporate taxes in favor of a higher state sales tax rate and a broadening of the sales tax base.
“Let me do something politicians don’t normally do,” Jindal said. “We’re going to adjust our course. We’re going to park our tax plan.”
The people of Louisiana have won only a reprieve from the negative consequences of Jindal's tax plan and are left with many problems still to be solved. Political leaders in the state need to accept the reality of raising revenue to prevent further depredations on programs, institutions, and infrastructure than have already happened during the first term of the Jindal administration, but I doubt the will is there in either the governor or the legislature. The repeated rounds of mid-year budget cuts because of faulty projections of revenue must be addressed to enable state programs and institutions to operate with a measure of stability.
"Perhaps Jindal and his inner circle have learned a lesson about opening up their planning process to outside advice, rather than operating in secrecy and holding plans close to the chest until the eleventh hour before the legislature convenes."
ReplyDeleteExactly, Mimi, people confuse cunning with intelligence all the time. It was cunning...certainly...but not intelligent.
Jindal managed to ram his voucher plan for private schools through the legislature holding the details till the last minute, but now the legislation is under litigation. Surprise! I hope the Louisiana Supreme Court declares taking money allocated by the constitution to public schools and using it to pay tuition in private schools unconstitutional - as it should be.
DeleteWhat Sharon said.
ReplyDeleteBut at least Jindal didn't get to eat the whole cake this time.
He did not, but Jindal's not finished with us yet. And I'm always edgy when the legislature is in session. There's no telling what they might come up with.
DeleteYou were perhaps thinking, "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe when the legislature is in session"? (omitting a couple of [sic]s for clarity)
DeleteSo I just had to look that aphorism up. It's attributed to various people, but apparently it was made famous by judge Gideon J. Tucker of New York in 1866, when he referred to it as a familiar saying. A venerable thought.
Hopefully there are term limits in Louisiana and your governor is in his last term. He has got to be the most mentally challenged governor in America. Prayers for the people of Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteNorth Carolina seems to be willing to catch up though since a Republican governor got elected. So there could be a runoff in the making for the award of Most Mentally Challenged Governor. Some of the stuff that is going on here makes me certain that the gene pool here was decimated before it was illegal to marry your first cousin.
Louisiana limits governors to two terms, TBTG. The Louisiana Legislature is in session, and who knows what mischief the lawmakers will be up to? There is no rest.
Delete