Glover campaign finance travails show need for reform

The gamey smell one might have detected around Shreveport mayoral politics came from the campaign finance reports of Mayor Cedric Glover, as revealed in a Shreveport Times article. It just provides more evidence about why the system needs drastic reform, as in getting rid of most of it.

The Times piece highlighted a number of questionable entries in Glover’s reports – missing information, changed names, limits being exceeded, large donations coming from individuals that don’t seem to be in much position to make them or would seem to have any interest in the contest. Glover maintains that his campaign tries not to accept illegal donations but if they look legitimate he’s not going to question them, and he said it tries to be as accurate as possible in record-keeping.

While some of these appear very questionable, Glover does have a point. Unless there seems something very obviously wrong, campaigns are under no obligation to refuse a donation and have little incentive to do anything but this legal minimum in ascertaining the legitimacy of a donation. Further, checking in detail all reports not only is not a required function of the state’s Ethics Administration Program, but also it would have just a tiny fraction of the resources to do this in any effective way. Instead, historically all campaign finance regulations everywhere have relied upon a political solution; that watchdog interests like the media and political adversaries such as opponent’s campaigns or political parties police disclosure forms.

LA bribery strategy suffers another predictable failure

It’s probably too much to hope for, but perhaps the failure of Louisiana’s long-standing “bribe them and they will come” theory of economic development will merit some re-examination after the flop of one of its most high-profile attempts.

It turns out that the corporation that landed millions of dollars in state incentives to run a call center in a state-owned building now has all of 10 employees using it. At this time last year, Accent Marketing announced it would lay off almost all its employees at its Monroe headquarters, at the high-profile former State Farm building. State Farm, when it left the area, donated the building in 2004 to a quasi-public entity known as the Ouachita Economic Development Corporation.

This group, funded by local governments and business, in turn donated it to a private entity run by people connected to it until in 2007 it sold it to the state for $3.25 million. During that time, the entity collected almost a million dollars more from the state for various activities.

Already in over $4 million, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco had the decent idea of razing it and building a new Delta Community College campus into it. But then the huckster Michael Olivier, then her secretary of Economic Development, sang the siren song that those of his ilk use to justify their enormous salaries on taxpayers’ backs, to use it as an incentive with generous state subsidies to lure a private concern there. Half a year later, Accent Marketing showed up and for part of its now 42-month presence employed more than its promised 400 jobs to qualify for as much as $3.2 million in state subsidies on rent. Henceforth it must pay market rates for rent and claims it will stay; for that loss of money, we’ll see how long that lasts and soon the state will have an empty hulk on its hands again.

LA needs to join effort to end birthright citizenship

Last year controversy erupted over Arizona’s refashioning of immigration laws that provided for more state assistance in enforcement. That matter is pending in the courts, even as Louisiana has a similar law that goes farther than Arizona’s in most respects and is much like existing federal law.

As this gets hashed out in courts that may last well into the 2012 election cycle, another issue is gaining prominence: proposing the end of birthright citizenship, or the interpretation that anybody born on U.S. soil not under the actual jurisdiction of another country is a U.S. citizen. Opponents of ending this interpretation argue this is divisive and makes children of illegal immigrants suffer consequences of their parents’ actions, while proponents of the change point out the current situation rewards lawbreaking, encourages illegal immigration, and violates the spirit of current immigration laws (through the creation of “anchor babies,” by birth American citizen children who then years later may use that to bring into the country an unlimited number of relatives who otherwise never would qualify for residency).

States cannot constitutionally write their own policies on defining citizenship. However, they can lobby the Members of Congress either to make legal changes and/or press for a constitutional amendment to do so. Louisiana should join the fray as changing the current interpretation would produce more policy options in how to deal with the problems of illegal immigration. For example, European states do not follow this policy but instead offer paths to citizenship for the children (and their parents) which could be part of a broader overhaul of current U.S. policy. That option remains unavailable under the current interpretation.

Exemption reform must not index but broaden base

With the single most vociferous advocate of raising Louisiana’s homestead exemption on property taxes retired and his legislator counterpart deferring future activism on the issue, the issue itself deserves another vetting.

Louisiana has the most generous exemption in the nation, on a primary residence of what turns out as the first $75,000 in value on property taxes except for municipalities except in Orleans Parish. Other exceptions exist such as disability and veteran status and may apply to any jurisdiction (such as established by Amendment 3 from the last election). Proponents of the high rate, including those who wish it to go higher, argue it helps those on fixed and/or limited incomes afford home ownership. Opponents of any higher rate, including those who would want it reduced, assert that this shifts the major part of the tax burden onto those owning more expensive homes, business and renters, city residents, and shortchanges jurisdictions other than municipalities (except in Orleans Parish).

This extant rate last changed in 1982, providing fuel to those who wish to raise it. This prompted the likes of former Jefferson Parish assessor Lawrence Chehardy and current state Sen. John Alario to consistently agitate for its increase in the past couple of decades. But its high level means, even with consumer inflation worked in from it latest compuation in Nov., 2010, that today’s equivalent has sunk only to $32,324, well above many states such as neighboring Texas with its $10,000 exemption.

Given that the most efficient form of taxation in terms of revenue collection comes in the form of the lowest aggregate rate spread over the largest pool of payers, state Rep. Kevin Pearson has suggested through legislation in the past two sessions the excellent idea that owners pay on the first $10,000 (meaning practically every homeowner) and then the exemption applies in the $10,000.01 to $85,000 range. Under this arrangement, even the most strapped owners would pay a pittance; as an example in a jurisdiction where the combined millage equals 100 this would be a bill of $100 for the year.

Advantageously, it would achieve the optimal by spreading the burden and increasing revenues by bringing more payers into the system. After implementation, it might also create slower increases in tax rates as a broader range of voters would be affected by these, thereby making them less likely to vote for them, and it would make governing authorities less likely to allow millage levels to remain the same as property values increase, as more constituents would be affected and might disapprove. As Pearson’s past efforts have been rebuffed, hopefully he’ll try again this session.

Another reform attempt, indexation, should not be implemented. Not only would it lock in the artificially high level in Louisiana, it would not address the ability of authorities to roll forward millages as noted above. That is, they may become more likely to vote to allow the millage to go higher, above the level where, applied to reassessed values, the same total collections would remain the same for those properties not transferred in ownership, as a way to beat indexing.

Finally, while the best theoretical idea would be to have no exemptions written into the law or Constitution and instead to allow assessors to make case-by-case exemptions on the basis of numerous factors like income, disability, age, veteran status, etc., that assessors are elected officials threatens too much to bring political considerations into play. Thus, Pearson’s idea without indexing has the best chance for enactment that is fair and improves efficiency.

As for the level of the exemption, its relatively high level warrants no increase for some time, perhaps decades. With ardor for its argumentation cooled, perhaps more attention will shift to Pearson’s better solution.

An eternal lesson: keep close watch on all govts

As 2011 approaches and observing that Bossier Parish seems to have no difficulty, even in trying economic times, in finding money to service road construction, as well as reviewing the past year and digesting the renewed enthusiasm that the people have acquired courtesy of over-reaching national government to monitor the activities of government, it makes me think back some years ago about an object lesson concerning how government operates. The specific example is Bossier Parish's, and the apparent whimsy of situation might amuse save for the unsettling consequences implied had things turned out differently.

Perhaps somebody remembers in the days leading up to the 2006 fall elections that a sign touting an affirmative vote for Bossier Parish raising property taxes essentially threefold, at what was then the southern end of the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, was moved a short distance away only a few days before that election. Blame me for the consternation.

I first noticed the sign on Sep. 21 and became simultaneously curious and concerned. It didn’t state who sponsored it, and it was in a spot I thought might be part of the public right-of-way, and certainly was on public property (Bossier City’s). Obviously, it was an attempt to encourage passage of the measure which should bring pause to anyone who believes in fairness by government: Bossier City was permitting a pro-vote sign, supporting a Bossier Parish measure which would enrich the parish coffers by $2 million a year, to be placed on its property, regardless of whether its citizens supported such a measure.

Change, merge before expanding LA higher education

The call for increasing the capacity of Louisiana’s community college system underscores the mistakes of the past, and illuminates the pitfalls of the future regarding the state’s overbuilt system of higher education. From these observations, we can learn how to go about creating a more efficient system.

State Sen. Ben Nevers recently bemoaned that fact that the Florida Parishes area and central Louisiana had a paucity of community college choices. What he neglected to add was it had more than enough in terms of higher education and technical schools, the former condition a result of political machinations.

Long ago, in the former Gov. Huey Long era, smack in the middle of the Northshore area Southeastern Louisiana University was promoted from junior college status despite its fairly light area population and being only 50 miles away from the flagship school Louisiana State University Baton Rouge. In part this was as a result of the animosity of Longite forces towards New Orleans, considered the hotbed of anti-Long sentiment, in order to continue to deny the placement of a state university in New Orleans. In fact, that did not transpire until the 1950s and only about 50 years ago did New Orleans, through today’s University of New Orleans, gain an independent baccalaureate-and-above public institution.

Landrieu earmark defense illogical, disingenuous

While earmarks are just a relatively small contributor to the massive debt being rung up by the Pres. Barack Obama and (former in the House) Democrat leadership in Congress that threatens meaningful economic growth, their elimination by the new Republican House of Representatives leadership provides some savings and larger symbolic signaling. Yet at least one Louisiana federally-elected official continues to support the concept by framing in it in terms of a false dichotomy.

Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu contends that eliminating earmarks, or the process of federal spending targeted to a specific agency and/or area of the country inserted at the request of a Member of Congress to spending bills not recommended by the president, would give the executive branch all of the power of spending designated to the Congress (and is not shy about promoting this view). This view also to some degree Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander supported although he now is on the record as opposing them (with reluctance), and present lobbyist but former Rep. Bob Livingston has said the same.

Couching the argument in terms of constitutional powers makes for a good argument, but sloppily reasons that the only alternative to having Congress have no input in spending decisions is to have earmarks. This thinking is decidedly uninformed and disingenuous. At least two alternative approaches commend themselves for Congressional input.

Recall that one kind of earmark essentially asks that federal taxpayers foot the bill for a purpose that benefits only a geographically narrowly-defined range of individuals that, as a concept, to some degree runs afoul of the Constitution’s “general welfare” clause just as the Democrats’ health care provisions changes do. Others of them reflect agencies trying to make end runs around the White House to rectify what they consider unsatisfactory budgetary outcomes. This is what makes earmarks controversial in the first place and why they are thrown in all together into giant spending bills, to facilitate logrolling. That is, Members count on each other to vote for everybody else’s earmarks so everybody gets a piece of the action.

So the solution is to require that any line-item amendments to a presidential budget, either in insertion or removal or earmarks, be subject to a separate vote during floor debate and not be dealt with as a package at the committee level. Then, instead of everybody rubbing each other’s backs, each project will have to stand on its own merits. The time this will take and the publicity from the exposure will ensure few and only very worthy projects that have at least some national purpose will get added. The particularly would happen with the more local kinds of earmarks, where every Member who votes for a use of their constituents’ funds for another’s state or district would have to defend that vote.

As for projects that really only benefit specific areas of the country, if Congress wishes to provide more discretion to state and local governments in the use of federal money, there already exists an entire, if inefficient, grant structure replete with fairly unrestricted block grants. It can shovel more money to these, allowing states and local jurisdictions to apply on behalf of more projects. The earmark process as it has existed only subverts this and makes it work even more poorly.

These are extremely workable avenues by which Congress may impose its will on the spending choices of the federal government. To assert as Landrieu does that earmarks are the only method by which Congress may do so is a red herring designed to obscure rather than to clarify the debate, besides exhibiting a lack of critical thinking skills important to have in our policy-makers.

Proper spending priorities needed, mill saga reminds

As Louisiana grubs for money in what seems to be an approaching difficult budgetary year, a past mistake continues to haunt taxpayers and may be become worse next year, providing a harsh lesson.

As part of his multi-decade reign of error, former Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom conned the state into fronting $45 million for a processing plant in Lacassine to take sugar cane and extract it into syrup, arguing against the evidence that it would provide a needed service to farmers that would enable the state to pay for it. To make matters worse, he backed it by taking money intended to go for boll weevil protection (and also apportioned it to other capital projects) and then on top of all that brokered an $11 million unsecured loan for facility equipment.

Naturally, the wrong economics ensured the facility never has produced this syrup that would cover costs, and currently produces none because of that. In addition, Odom tried to get an ethanol plant built next to it to take cane refuse instead of paying to deal with it and offered a tremendous sweetheart deal to a company with no expertise in the field, Andino Energy, majority owner of the enterprise known as Louisiana Green Fuels, to own the existing facility and to build the other plant, after a deal to see to the Lake Charles Cane Cooperative fell through although the farming group has stayed in as a 20-percent owner. The Colombian-based majority owner has had to make minimal payments in the early years to the state, which for its part must take up the slack if the company can’t make full payments as the racetrack-generated revenue stream does not back the loan.

Numbers show coming clash of LA redistricting plans

Now confirmed that Louisiana will lose a seat in the House of Representatives beginning in 2013, the redistricting issue involved that did not seem so unclear may get much murkier when the results get released in February, 2011.

Conventional wisdom would assert that today’s Third District, with freshly-minted Republican Rep.-elect Jeff Landry to take the helm within a couple of weeks, would be the odd man out. The Second District, currently just the black-dominated areas of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, will have to stay majority-minority to satisfy legal requirements but, because of population loss, also expand. It can’t head north across Lake Pontchartrain because geographically boxed-in First District is mostly there, except for grabbing white dominated areas of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, the latter particularly important because its incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Scalise resides in Metairie.

So, only two real choices exist. One would be for the Second to head south and west, taking in parts of the Third. The Seventh would move east as it would be shaved from the north by the Fourth and Fifth reaching down. The latter also would impact the Sixth which would expand all but to the north, in fact being pushed down from there, also impacting the Third. Dismantling the Third also seems likely because of Landry’s freshman status where all other members of the unprotected districts, Republicans like him, have at least a term’s seniority on him and presumably more clout with state policy-makers making the reapportionment decision.

Using 2009 estimates, with six seats each district equiproportionately would have about 747,000 residents, and using the White v. Weiser standard (even as the judiciary has never laid down a single, determinate formula that signifies malapportionment) with a population variance of ±4 percent from that, except for splitting Jefferson along the lines it is presently, the other 63 parishes can be fit into six districts meeting this qualification and this plan (as well as the judicial standards of compactness and contiguity). But from the perspective of some legislators, the problem may be that the Second, which also would have all of Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Lafourche, St, James, and St. John the Baptist Parishes, would have a black majority of only about 21,000. Despite it being a very friendly district to Democrats with a 9:2 ratio of them to Republicans, some black politicians may think this is cutting it too close to ensure that a black politician wins, especially after outgoing Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao managed to win (under admittedly special circumstances) prevented that with even less favorable numbers.

Perhaps in response, one of these black Democrats, House and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rick Gallot, who will be one of the most important figures in redistricting, suggested an alternative which would create, in essence, a north Louisiana district and a coastal district although the reason he cited was along the lines of another judicial standard, “community interests.” He argued the present Fourth would have to gulp in Calcasieu and Cameron, while the Fifth would reach to the borders of East Baton Rouge. The former isn’t necessarily the case – it can be done without those two parishes but with Jefferson Davis – but he’s basically correct on the latter, which would curve around and take in Point Coupee and the Felicianas. The question here becomes whether Jefferson Davis has all that much in common with Caddo and Bossier, as opposed to Calcasieu, and whether the Felicianas do with Ouachita relative to East Baton Rouge or Livingston.

Gallot hints that maybe a more tortuous Second, snaking up the Mississippi River, might work. This would then require a coastal district because then St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and Lafourche must be accounted for, and also a snaking (presently) Sixth District as well. This would end up creating a sprawling district in the middle of the state with potentially huge community of interest questions – do any of Jackson, Tensas, St. Helena, and Jefferson Davis have that much in common?

It’s much more complicated than this because of side deals – trading support for a Congressional plan in exchange for it for one dealing with legislative districts, for example – but, all things equal, this sets up the potential conflict. If the path of least resistance is followed, the ending of the Third as far as plans go creates more contiguous and compact districts and fits the community of interest stricture at least as well as the alternative. Whether interests such as black or southern state legislators agree is another matter.

Resignation may complete GOP legislative takeover

When waiting upon the switching of parties didn’t prove to be fast enough, perhaps Gov. Bobby Jindal thought he might accelerate the process of a Republican takeover of the Louisiana Legislature by dangling appointments in front of sitting senators who were not Republicans.

First, Troy Hebert got tabbed for state government, although his exit merely got expedited as he had said he would not run for reelection. But with the announcement by state Sen. Nick Gautreaux that he would head out to take over the Office of Motor Vehicles, this removes a Democrat who previously had given no indication he would resign or not run for reelection anytime soon.

Still, that Gautreaux was rumored to be a switch possibility gave a hint that another Democrat domino was to fall in the Senate which his departure now sets up a probable 19-all tie between the two major parties in the upper house early next year as long as the seat remains unfilled (if there are no more switches). This comes on the heels of the latest, most opportunistic switch that gave the GOP the lower house majority of 53 (versus 48 Democrats and four independents).