Wacko alarmists miss real LA CPRA report story

Predictably, environmentalist wackos took the draft 2017 master plan issued by Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and spun it to fulfill Luddite fantasies, thereby missing the actual story.

Every five years the state prepares one, which outlines the kinds of projects and estimated dollar amounts of these to protect the coast. As part of the process, it tries to gauge the utility of these through a forecast of future scenarios, including the input of climate change. This expresses itself through an estimation of sea level rise (SLR).

The draft 2017 version outlines three scenarios for the rise. In Oct., 2015, a team of scientists and others forwarded their best guesses concerning the range of estimates. Naturally, given the notorious imprecision and lamentable track record in past predictions of this nature, the data they used was fraught with peril. For example, the research leaned on work from the National Climate Assessment (NCA) issued in 2014 by the Pres. Barack Obama Administration, a document replete with overstatements and mischaracterizations that made it more a sales pitch than informed source, and also the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report long on politics and short on science. As another, it utilized a Maryland report the conclusions of which those data simply did not support.

Term limits deter insufficiently-committed legislators

Another term-limited Louisiana legislator trying to jump ship early just adds to the data points confirming the wisdom of term limits on the position.

In the past year seven legislators in their final term either have left their posts early or have signaled a desire to do so. With two, state Rep. John Schroder and state Sen. Neil Riser, they hope to become Sen. John Kennedy’s successor as treasurer in a special election, a definite chance for promotion of which they may availed themselves even if not in their third terms as they don’t lose their current jobs if unsuccessful. But former state Reps. Bryan Adams, Joe Lopinto, and Jack Montoucet left shortly after their elections for other jobs in government, former state Rep. Tom Wilmott made a downhill move in a parish council seat, and state Sen. Danny Martiny has become the latest, looking to emulate Wilmott.

Possibly except for Schroder and Riser, none likely would have sought to leave before term’s end, and probably would have run for fourth terms, without term limits. However, given their natures – like tigers who when killing a human find they acquire a taste for us – these politicians have discovered they like wielding power and having taxpayers compensate them for it.

Edwards looks to collect RINOs as House strategy

Perhaps Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards has thrown in the towel concerning state House of Representatives elections, judging by his pick to head the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Or has he simply shifted to a new strategy?

His selection of Democrat former state Rep. Jack Montoucet to lead DWF significantly departs from the preceding secretary Charlie Melancon. His pick a year ago seemed forced from outside, as Melancon had no real experience in that policy area, and while they ran around in the same political circles they had no real relationship prior to his becoming governor. By contrast, Montoucet and Edwards came into the Legislature together, became friends and allies, and Montoucet in his post-firefighter retirement runs a business related to DWF.

That all will help as Montoucet navigates tricky waters stirred by Melancon’s divisive leadership, wherein the former secretary tried to use the department as a shill for Edwards’ big government ideas, to run counter to other Gulf states’ policies on red snapper management, to halt next-to-no-cost popular programs with recreational fishers, and to kowtow to large commercial interests allied with fringe environmentalist elements. This resulted in internal turmoil, feuds with the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission that co-administers policy and with Republican Rep. Garret Graves, and an investigation into departmental practices that has political overtones.

The Advocate column, Jan. 2, 2017

In Medicaid expansion, there is no free lunch
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_f95ea4d6-cc8b-11e6-bb1c-b355bfae32f4.html

Links:
http://www.ldi.la.gov/docs/default-source/documents/publicaffairs/commissionerscolumn/october-column-aca.pdf
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_1eb8e894-9d1c-11e6-9760-eb195eb81968.html
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2006/09/bumbling-blanco-burns-political.html
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1012493
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1012540
http://house.louisiana.gov/housefiscal/DOCS_APPBudgetMeetings2016/Dec7/Department%20of%20Health.pdf
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_b361e964-bcd4-11e6-8cff-03319055977b.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/05/02/oregon-study-medicaid-had-no-significant-effect-on-health-outcomes-vs-being-uninsured/

The Advocate column, Dec. 21, 2016

Trying year in Louisiana showed cause for hope
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_6ff62b28-c7cd-11e6-abbe-2bf5208cc969.html

Links:
https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/south-severe-weather-flooding-impacts
http://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_flood_2016/article_bbf5263e-6646-11e6-a775-ebda9d5c17ae.html
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2016/08/voucher-deal-threatens-to-make-edwards.html
http://www.jsnoelcollection.org/about-the-foundation.html

Edwards must emulate Jindal mental health care move

It turns out that former Gov. Bobby Jindal had it right. Now if only Louisiana’s current Gov. John Bel Edwards would follow through.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice gigged the state for excessive institutionalization of mentally ill individuals. A letter to Edwards noted that Louisiana maintained too few options to treat such individuals in the community rather than in hospitals or nursing homes. Moreover, the document noted that unless the state came to some kind of agreement that began expanding community placements at the expense of institutionalization, the federal government would pursue legal action.

The problem begins with Louisiana having too many nursing home beds. Historically, public policy has favored nursing home interests, to the absurd point now that the state pays tens of millions of dollars annually to maintain empty beds in private facilities. This has given the state one of the highest per capita number of beds in the country, ranking fourth highest among the states (2014 data) and thereby diverts dollars that could go to home- and community-based programs.

LA policy should encourage buying flood insurance

Reaction to a provision in the recovery action plan for 2016 in Louisiana highlights the moral hazard involved in disaster relief, and suggests how the state can reduce that by judicious future policy-making.

Through next Tuesday public comment remains open regarding the Gov. John Bel Edwards Administration plan to deal with the flooding that occurred mainly in northern part of the state in the spring and in the southern part in the summer. As the funding for relief comes not in the typical fashion – instead of through the Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Administration rather by way of a Community Development Block Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development – the state must develop a plan according to HUD rules and solicit for two weeks’ commentary from the public. This approach also makes likely much higher payouts per home than through the standard FEMA use of the DRF.

As far as distribution eligibility, HUD has few rules, but given what state policy-makers consider a low amount appropriated for the size of the disaster in the first tranche of money, it established additional rules that it plans to submit to HUD. One is that aid will go only to those individuals who live outside the 100-year flood plain; that is, the area in question has a less than one percent chance of flooding in any given year. This rule has riled some who lived in such areas but declined purchasing insurance, who now must hope the second and any later tranches include them.

Reform LA higher education before frisking taxpayers

You can whine about a problem or get busy trying to solve it. Louisiana State University’s leadership prefers the former approach while some students affected by reductions in Taylor Opportunity Program for Students awards have opted for the latter.

When appearing earlier this month in front of the House Appropriations Committee as part of its budget vetting, System Pres. F. King Alexander moaned about how that cut, which causes in the case of LSU a couple of thousand fewer dollars made available for each student to pay his tuition, might discourage LSU students in the spring. He used this as another example to argue that taxpayers must fork over more to higher education, who collectively want $100 million more in general fund money and $89 million put into TOPS to allow it to pay at 100 percent again.

That view ignores the facts that, when considering the per capita income of Louisiana and its relative ranking to other states (34^th), its average tuition and fees for senior institution (29^th – but this doesn’t include TOPS that would lower its placement several positions even if less than half-funded), and state support per full-time enrollee (33^rd), these balance pretty well. While taxpayer ability to pay seems fairly maximized, if anything students could pay more.

Christmas Day, 2016

This column publishes usually every Sunday through Thursday after noon (sometimes even before; maybe even after sundown on busy days) U.S. Central Time except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Monday through Friday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Independence Day or Christmas or New Year's when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, there are six of these: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. My column for The Advocate will run on Easter Sunday.

With Sunday, Dec. 25 being Christmas Day, I invite you to explore this link.

Slidell ordinance promises to shape free speech law

The actions of Slidell may end up shaping First Amendment jurisprudence, as result of an ordinance it enacted requiring licensing for panhandling.

Interpretation regarding this area of law went topsy-turvy last year in the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which did not even involve panhandling. But the constitutional standard made in that case, dealing with signage, quickly became applied to a host of municipal ordinances that had prohibited various permutations of panhandling. In essence, almost all instances of panhandling acquired automatic non-neutrality in speech content, meaning that almost all regulation of it unjustifiably restricted freedom of speech.

A wide swath of challenged laws, often by a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, fell as a result. In response, Slidell abandoned its own ordinances restricting the prevalence and venue of the practice and instead turned to licensing, an approach that then had no challenge in the few places with something similar. The ordinance requires that 48 hours prior to commencing of begging that prospective solicitors obtain a free annual license that aims to provide some kind of positive identification of the holder. Information gathered for that purpose the city may use to conduct background checks.