Maybe Together
Baton Rouge ought to speed up plans to expand geographically and combine
forces with another equally short-sighted, ideologically mistaken group.
As
noted yesterday, the radical leftist interest group has taken not just a
public relations hit, but also likely a souring in the mouths of Baton Rouge
policy-makers, when its agitprop that sees corporations not as peoples and their
lives but as piñatas waiting
for bursting caused a real world backfire. Essentially, it goaded enough
members on the East Baton Rouge Parish School System Board to deny property tax
relief to ExxonMobil, already paying a seriously overburdening rate. In turn,
the company signaled it would scale back significantly its area operations, consequently
leading to the disappearance of jobs and wealth.
But no such resistance had cropped up in nearby
neighbor two-doors-down St. James Parish. Among the parishes it has the sixth-highest
property value exempted under this law, the Industrial Tax Exemption
Program, and policy-makers there with no opposition recently put it on the hook
to relieve an amount that would more than triple
the amount of foregone dollars from 2015.
Jeffrey D. Sadow is an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University Shreveport. If you're an elected official, political operative or anyone else upset at his views, don't go bothering LSUS or LSU System officials about that because these are his own views solely. This publishes five days weekly with the exception of 7 holidays. Also check out his Louisiana Legislature Log especially during legislative sessions (in "Louisiana Politics Blog Roll" below).
30.1.19
Maybe downhill from here for radical BR group
Baton Rouge policy-makers’ dalliance with the
radical leftist interest group Together
Baton Rouge has backfired, putting the city-parish and entity on the
defensive.
TBR, founded nearly a decade ago, got on its legs courtesy of the Industrial Areas Foundation. The IAF, founded by Saul Alinksy who stridently opposed “dogma” and promoted situational ethics, despite that cleverly markets itself as “faith-based” and pitches itself to religious entities. TBR, which remains affiliated with IAF, adopted this model and as a result the majority of its members, which it assesses annual dues, are religious-based organizations.
But TBR hews to a particularly intolerant model of belief, most closely matching an imagined social Christian gospel that takes precedence over the teachings of the actual Gospels. In essence, it conceives the state as a theocratic instrument to impose its peculiar religious beliefs. This mixing of religion and state echoes that promoted in Islam except that TBR’s creed argues for greater government control over people’s lives, primarily in the taking of what people own and redistributing it, rather than Islam’s having government enforce a code of moral behavior based upon its tenets.
TBR, founded nearly a decade ago, got on its legs courtesy of the Industrial Areas Foundation. The IAF, founded by Saul Alinksy who stridently opposed “dogma” and promoted situational ethics, despite that cleverly markets itself as “faith-based” and pitches itself to religious entities. TBR, which remains affiliated with IAF, adopted this model and as a result the majority of its members, which it assesses annual dues, are religious-based organizations.
But TBR hews to a particularly intolerant model of belief, most closely matching an imagined social Christian gospel that takes precedence over the teachings of the actual Gospels. In essence, it conceives the state as a theocratic instrument to impose its peculiar religious beliefs. This mixing of religion and state echoes that promoted in Islam except that TBR’s creed argues for greater government control over people’s lives, primarily in the taking of what people own and redistributing it, rather than Islam’s having government enforce a code of moral behavior based upon its tenets.
29.1.19
LA may end up traiblazer in abortion regulation
It may take awhile longer, but Louisiana looks set
to shape state powers to regulate abortion providers, in a good way.
Last week, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit refused to hear a decision made by a panel from it last September. The case involved operating restrictions upon abortion mills placed by the state back in 2014, but stayed from implementation because of the court challenge. The three-judge panel had ruled the state could proceed with the changes, which would tighten up provision standards on par with other surgical procedures and have doctors involved obtain admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles.
Affirming the panel would have allowed enforcement of the law starting yesterday. But opponents asked for a rehearing, which, although swiftly denied, automatically triggers a seven-day injunction. Undoubtedly, opponents will use that time to petition for the Supreme Court justice assigned to the circuit, Samuel Alito, to issue an injunction that invites the entire court to hear the case at a future date, further delaying enforcement of the law.
Last week, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit refused to hear a decision made by a panel from it last September. The case involved operating restrictions upon abortion mills placed by the state back in 2014, but stayed from implementation because of the court challenge. The three-judge panel had ruled the state could proceed with the changes, which would tighten up provision standards on par with other surgical procedures and have doctors involved obtain admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles.
Affirming the panel would have allowed enforcement of the law starting yesterday. But opponents asked for a rehearing, which, although swiftly denied, automatically triggers a seven-day injunction. Undoubtedly, opponents will use that time to petition for the Supreme Court justice assigned to the circuit, Samuel Alito, to issue an injunction that invites the entire court to hear the case at a future date, further delaying enforcement of the law.
28.1.19
Perkins must not reprise Bossier shenanigans
The third time may not be the charm for
Shreveporters and paying for garbage pickup.
Democrat new Mayor Adrian Perkins has proposed an $18 per month charge for providing this service. Such a fee, which almost all medium-and-above-sized cities charge – and all do in Louisiana, with larger cities’ levying months bills from $16 to $36 – Perkins says could go to shoring up low sanitation worker wages (some defected recently to Bossier City’s new private contractor) as well as pad the city’s reserves.
Shreveport has gone down this road before. Almost a decade ago, it levied a $2.50 per month assessment, only to have a disappointed citizenry successfully lobby the City Council to remove that within a couple of months. In 2016, the previous administration included a $12 monthly fee in its 2017 budget, only to have to withdraw that ignominiously after a public backlash.
Democrat new Mayor Adrian Perkins has proposed an $18 per month charge for providing this service. Such a fee, which almost all medium-and-above-sized cities charge – and all do in Louisiana, with larger cities’ levying months bills from $16 to $36 – Perkins says could go to shoring up low sanitation worker wages (some defected recently to Bossier City’s new private contractor) as well as pad the city’s reserves.
Shreveport has gone down this road before. Almost a decade ago, it levied a $2.50 per month assessment, only to have a disappointed citizenry successfully lobby the City Council to remove that within a couple of months. In 2016, the previous administration included a $12 monthly fee in its 2017 budget, only to have to withdraw that ignominiously after a public backlash.
27.1.19
The Advocate column, Jan. 27, 2019
With John Bel Edwards running on his record this time, lightning won't strike twice
Links:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/david-vitter-tries-to-overcome-scandal-in-his-gubernatorial-bid/434910/
http://house.louisiana.gov/housefiscal/DOCS_TENYEAR/Means%20of%20Finance%20Trends.pdf
https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1
https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/unemployment-rate/?currentTimeframe=3&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/laus_01262016.htm
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/laus_12212018.htm
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html
https://ethics.house.gov/outside-employment-income/outside-earned-income-limitation-applicable-members-and-senior-staff
https://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2018/12/abraham-poses-serious-threat-to-edwards.html
https://twitter.com/JohnBelforLA/status/1086335449617043457
https://www.businessreport.com/industry/louisiana-candidates-governor-talk-industry
https://www.rollcall.com/news/hoh/rep-abraham-uses-pilot-license-give-back-constituents
Links:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/david-vitter-tries-to-overcome-scandal-in-his-gubernatorial-bid/434910/
http://house.louisiana.gov/housefiscal/DOCS_TENYEAR/Means%20of%20Finance%20Trends.pdf
https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1
https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/unemployment-rate/?currentTimeframe=3&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/laus_01262016.htm
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/laus_12212018.htm
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html
https://ethics.house.gov/outside-employment-income/outside-earned-income-limitation-applicable-members-and-senior-staff
https://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2018/12/abraham-poses-serious-threat-to-edwards.html
https://twitter.com/JohnBelforLA/status/1086335449617043457
https://www.businessreport.com/industry/louisiana-candidates-governor-talk-industry
https://www.rollcall.com/news/hoh/rep-abraham-uses-pilot-license-give-back-constituents