The past month has not presented an ideal period
for Edwards to impress the state, courtesy of Republican Pres. Donald Trump’s
delivery of substantial federal tax cuts that will lower
amounts paid by roughly 80 percent of filers. By contrast, Edwards
wants to raise taxes to maintain inflated state government spending.
Still, Trump’s triumph gave Edwards a chance to unveil
a clever distraction from his tax-and-spend governance. He called
upon the state’s private utilities to provide rate reductions to consumers –
residents pay the lowest rates in the country already and commercial users the
12th-lowest – as a result of lower federal taxes on their incomes.
Rate-setting, done by the Public Service Commission, is a pretty complicated matter so whether companies can pass along any or all of the cuts is uncertain. The PSC likely will take up the matter at its next regular meeting.
But, only a couple of weeks before, Edwards
had advocated tax increases on consumers of utilities. Specifically, in the
broad sketch of his tax proposals designed to close a billion-dollar fiscal
year 2019 budget – in which Edwards prefers largely to keep current spending
levels – he recommended repealing the break businesses receive on utilities.
That exemption of three of the four cents has been suspended for almost two
years but will revert back on Jul. 1. Edwards would have any exemption
eliminated, except for industrial customers who would have half shielded.
In other words, Edwards jawbones utilities to drop
their rates, yet at the same time he wants to increase taxes on their product. So,
while the one hand apparently triggers rate cuts, prices on goods go back up because
now the tax Edwards would impose with the other hand will make firms pass onto
consumers that additional cost. All the while, he hopes the public credits him with
its paying less through rate reduction while behind its back he works to make its
members pay more when engaged in commerce.
He reached the same level of hypocrisy when, last
year after Trump declared he would end the federal government’s illegal
subsidization of insurance companies participating in insurance markets
under the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he joined
other governors in calling for restoration of such payments by legal means.
Without this propping up, insurers will raise rates even more than the dramatic
premium escalation the law has prompted.
However, when Edwards proclaimed Medicaid
expansion into force early in his term, that automatically
imposed tax increases on insurance premiums (including those the state pays
through its Healthy Louisiana program) and on many state hospitals. These get
passed on to ratepayers, consumers, and taxpayers.
So, if Edwards was serious about health insurance
rate relief, he would work to eliminate that tax to be consistent with the request
lodged to federal policy-makers. But, he isn’t: it’s all for show where he publicly
wants others to give his constituents a break while behind the scenes he soaks
them to pay for his profligacy.
Many politicians do have two faces. But Edwards
seems particularly unaware and/or unashamed of that particular condition of his,
given his enthusiasm to project a certain image at odds with his actual
political views. Making himself seem something he isn’t not only elevates the
chances of getting the people to trust him enough to let him cram substantial tax
increases down their throats for next year, but also hikes the probability that
he can gain reelection.
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