“Bold,” to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, is a political organization and doesn’t describe the contents of her call for a special session beginning Nov. 6 – which it needed to be.
There’s plenty of the pedestrian – draw down the Budget Stabilization Fund, accelerate equipment tax cuts and corporate franchise tax reductions on debt (but only in “affected” areas of the hurricanes), tepid ethics tightening, etc. Only a couple of items even hint at the boldness required here, and they don’t even really address the catastrophic financial aspect – the possibility of state-run charter schools in Orleans Parish and consolidation of levee districts (Orleans being the worst but no doubt better off with a change in its leadership). For example, the legislature may tinker with the Minimum Foundation Plan for education, but real educational improvement and what would ideally meet these emergency conditions of short supply, vouchers, are off the table.
What you don’t see are avenues in the call’s outline to some good specific solutions that make the necessary extensive alterations to current fiscal practices. Nor will we see the necessary change in philosophy, both in terms of economic and development and fiscal priorities that can bring the state’s economy back and transform it.
Louisiana has been blessed and cursed with a very creative Legislature, where programs and policy can come out of nowhere. Perhaps it’s too much to ask for, but maybe enough legislators will find the requisite courage and wiggle room when the call comes out to do what’s really necessary for the state’s well-being in this time of crisis – cut the budget peripheral needs and lay the foundation for a commerce friendly state economic environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment