Louisiana’s Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards
has gone all in with a last desperate stand to grow state government – and which
might backfire to cost him any hope of reelection.
Near the conclusion of the 2018 Regular Session of
the Louisiana Legislature lawmakers passed a barebones budget that funded
completely health care and elementary and secondary education, but left big
cuts to some agencies through an across-the-board nearly 25 reduction from current
spending levels. The Republican-controlled chambers then hoped in the following
special session, currently meeting, to raise revenues and make supplemental
appropriations to that.
But Edwards
vetoed it. His goal all along has been to force the GOP majorities into, at
the very least, making permanent tax hikes. Better, from his perspective, that
these would hit incomes progressively and, best of all, rely more on corporate
than individual incomes. He reinforced that in speaking to a pep rally just
prior to the overtime session’s start, when he asked to renew as much as half
of the expiring one cent sales tax, to remove some sales and incomes tax
exemptions, and to raise income taxes on those who have large amount of federal
income tax deductions.