The guy otherwise known as Democrat Gov. Edwards, in his
handling of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has followed the liberal Democrat
playbook perfectly: create a problem, then claim that more government intervention
will solve it. Edwards, because
of his persistent ignoring of science, continues to employ some of the most
draconian restrictions among the states as Louisiana, despite that
restrictiveness, continues to suffer more than any other state. It now is the
only state ranking
in the top ten of total virus cases (first), current hospitalizations from it (tenth),
and total deaths by it (fifth) per capita.
Even as his policy hasn’t proven very effective – because
it has slowed the acquisition of herd immunity from a more saturated start
point (because of Carnival celebrations that acted as accelerants) that has
allowed the virus to linger longer and thereby threatening more vulnerable
individuals longer – it has proven brutally effective in punishing the state’s
economy, more
than any other state’s.
This has created two immediate crises, one
involving state finances, the other its local governments. The state’s
unemployment trust fund has become depleted, necessitating borrowing from
the federal government which will demand repayment with interest in late 2021,
as well as trigger tax increases and benefit reductions. Local
governments have lost significant sales tax revenues and in many cases
gambling excise taxes.
A recent Legislative Auditor report pegs the cumulative
loss to all these governments for next fiscal year at $714 million and about
$400 million more through 2025. It would not be surprising if something like
that figure the state will end up borrowing. And the longer Edwards keeps current
restrictions going, the higher those figures will go.
Regrettably, Louisiana could have avoided having
to pay back so much, if anything, and its local governments didn’t have to come
under so much pressure. While the Legislature slogged through two sessions earlier
this year, Congress passed the CARES Act which apportioned about $1.8
billion in aid to the state. Among permitted uses of these dollars: unemployment
benefits payouts and pass-through funding for local governments for anything
remotely related to battling the pandemic.
Instead, Edwards shoveled as much as he could to
prop up current levels of state spending – even working in a $600 million increase
in year-over-year general fund expenditures for this year – handed over $600
million to local governments, and spent nothing on refreshing the trust fund.
Foolishly, the Legislature agreed.
At least it seems ready to try to correct its
mistake, with a special
session on the way that might include budget cuts; whether Edwards wouldn’t
veto any is another matter. But that can’t do much to undo the damage already
done that Louisiana easily could have avoided.
Because a number of states showed foresight. In
fact, almost
every one in the south, with Alabama
becoming the latest, made sure they set aside CARES Act money to prop up
their trust funds. Rather than do that, Edwards blew it all and now claims the
federal government must cough up more to compensate.
The same tune comes about local governments, to which
the federal government has been anything but tone deaf. Republicans in Congress
have proposed CARES Act rules changes and an additional
$150 billion to go directly to local governments that would provide $300 billion
of relief. Louisiana’s share of the extra by population would amount to over $2
billion.
Except that Edwards’ party, in tune with his strategy,
won’t approve because it wants a cash figure over six times as high. That intransigence
guarantees nothing will happen for another four months, or until either Democrats
sweep the majoritarian branches in fall elections and launch a spending orgy to
bail out spendthrift governors like Edwards or they don’t and will acquiesce to
a much lower figure.
Either way, Edwards has been the grasshopper,
spending away while letting problems mount, if not causing some of them with needless
economic restrictions, when the state needed an ant.
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