Bad & good of unprofessional professor incident

Just what Louisiana higher education needs, another black eye that invites only more disdain and scorn when it needs to reassure the public it’s there to teach critical thinking and all various theories and information to achieve that, not as a platform for proselytizing.

It turns out the reelection of Republican former Pres. Donald Trump proved somewhat unnerving to one special snowflake in Louisiana State University’s School of Law. Assoc. Prof. Nicholas Bryner shortly afterwards loosed a diatribe to one of his classes in which he asserted (1) if you voted for Trump, you have to prove you’re a good person because apparently that behavior makes you otherwise suspiciously evil and (2) a vote for Trump is a “rejection of the idea that we are governed by a people with expertise.” Not only are these statements easily falsifiable, but they also drew the ire of GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, who fired off a note to LSU’s president, law school dean, the LSU Board of Supervisors, and Republican Atty. Gen. Liz Murrill suggesting some kind of legal violation may have occurred requiring some sort of punishment.

There is quite a bit of self-deception and/or lack of awareness by Bryner in his screed that careens to the hypocritical. He claimed “my job is not to teach you about politics” while clearly making politicized statements. Even more laughably, his comments included a summation of an administrative imperative for government to make “rational” decisions “ideally based on evidence” – risible because in at least one public forum he opined in a way that explicitly rejected that in the most ironic way.

Thanksgiving Day, 2024

This column publishes every Sunday through Thursday around noon U.S. Central Time (maybe even after sundown on busy days, or maybe before noon if things work out, or even sometimes on the weekend if there's big news) except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Sunday through Thursday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Easter, Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, or New Year's Day when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, in addition to these are also Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

With Thursday, Nov. 28 being Thanksgiving Day, I invite you to explore this link.

Plaudits due not just to Landry for reform win

Certainly Republican Gov. Jeff Landry gets to take a lot of credit for changes poised to alter significantly Louisiana’s fiscal structure. But he crossed the goal line after others had helped him down the field, some of whom no longer serve in government.

It took quite a bit of political capital investment for something of this magnitude, the biggest change in half a century, to be pulled off, and not all political leaders have the skill to do it. That may have been where over a decade ago GOP former Gov. Bobby Jindal came up short. As originally constituted, Landry’s plan looked at its core like Jindal’s – swapping income taxation for broader sales taxation and increasing the overall load on business – and became even closer when hiking the sales tax rate after broadening the sales tax shriveled substantially as did curtailing income tax breaks.

Jindal, however, threw in the towel rather quickly in the face of opposition, while Landry rolled with the punches and kept on the pressure. He had to reduce benefits enjoyed by individuals to appease corporate interests, although these were done in a way that benefits trickled down to individuals also with the exception of a few things like keeping the wasteful Motion Picture Production tax credit that benefits enormously only a few. What Landry ended with (technically still be to be signed into law by him and dependent upon passage of an omnibus constitutional amendment next spring) wasn’t nearly as promising as what he started with, but it is a considerable improvement over what currently is.

LPSC can't let climate alarmists botch project

Finally, Louisiana’s status as a low-cost destination for huge power users has begun to pay off. Now its up to wise heads to make sure deluded climate alarmists don’t spoil things.

At the last Public Service Commission meeting, as part of a filing it was announced that Meta would build a data site at the state’s Franklin Farm location just off of Interstate 20 on State Highway 183 in Holly Ridge, Richland Parish. The 1,400 acre tract has been owned by the state since 2006 and until recently was considered a white elephant as the state had hoped to have a large manufacturer with thousands of jobs take up the spot. However, that never caught on since the site was undeveloped without utilities infrastructure.

Instead, it hit the jackpot with Meta, who said it will employ only 300 to 500 but with an average salary of $82,000 and will plow in as much as $5 billion to develop essentially a server farm. Information technology companies generally have been on a buying spree for servers as the backbone for artificial intelligence application, which take an enormous amount of computing power.

BC councilors choose deficit over prudence

Electoral politics in all of its glory gave Bossier City a 2025 budget in deficit, complete with an upside-down spirited if fantasy-based defense right out of George Orwell’s 1984 and a bowdlerized version of the ridiculed old saw that begs, “Trust us, we’re the government.”

The City Council unanimously passed a budget about $8.5 million unbalanced, knowingly and willingly engaging in deficit spending for city operations through the general fund. That was shaved to under $6 million by the transferring in from a few other funds along with the usual (over the past few years) transfer out of $4 million to pay in part debt. The bulk of the transfer in also is typical, $6.8 million from the “1991 Sales Tax,” a shorthand for transfer from funds collecting for the 1991 half-cent levy that can go to towards fire, jail, and municipal buildings operations, along with other things not eligible for general fund backing.

This is unprecedented. Councilors Democrat Bubba Williams and independent Jeff Darby have served since 1997, Republican David Montgomery since 2001, and Republican Jeff Free since 2013. Since 2013, the city never intentionally passed a budget with a deficit, much less one with expenditures about 110 percent of revenues, transfers included. In fact, from 1997 through 2017, the city consistently in budgeting for surpluses missed every single year with deficit spending that had to be balanced by tapping other funds. 2018 saw for the first time actual revenues (and expenditures) exceed those budgeted, but then the next three budgets missed with actual numbers below those budgeted, but unlike the previous two decades excepting 2018 their actual revenues exceeded expenses. Only in 2022 and 2023, skewed by Wuhan coronavirus pandemic fiscal dynamics that have since passed did the budget underestimate expenses and overestimate revenues, rapidly building up general fund reserves.

LA fiscal reform needs to keep striding forth

Well, it’s not a giant leap for Louisiana fiscal sanity, but it is one small step -- maybe even a stride -- which puts it ahead of anything since the 1974 Constitution came into being. Meaning we won’t see any giant leaps any time soon.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry won a partial victory in rejiggering the state’s taxing and spending regimes more towards something comprehensible when the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned, a confabulation he called. Landry campaigned on making a more economic growth-friendly structure and he delivered as best he could with the cooperation of almost all Republicans and a few Democrats here and there – needed since almost all matters required supermajorities to approve, and some awaits voter approval Mar. 29.

On the plus side, a flat individual income tax of 3 percent with standard deductions almost tripled (and more in some cases) ensured far more filers would pay no income tax at all and almost none would not see some kind of tax cut. The corporate franchise tax disappeared and some corporate filers saw a rate cut as well with a new flat corporation income tax rate of 5.5 percent and a higher deduction that makes it likely few corporate filers will pay more. Those that may might find themselves in that undesirable situation because the inventory tax break was reduced, although a mechanism to eliminate that was set in place with uncertain prospects about how well it might work. And voters will consider constitutional changes that increase spending flexibility that could redirect collected revenues to higher-priority purposes and make some provisions in the Constitution turn into statute that will make them more malleable for revenue collection and spending choices.

Landry plan roars in, now facing strangulation

While Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s fiscal reform agenda may have come in roaring like a lion, as the Louisiana Legislature’s special session to vet it comes around the backstretch it may not be going out with whimper, but more like emitting the sounds of strangulation.

Special interests – not a new story when it comes to the history of dealing with the state’s convoluted fiscal structure that instills higher income and sales tax rates than necessary then tries to offset these with far too many carveouts exempting discrete industries who win lobbying battles – have done their best to pervert Landry’s plan of broadening tax bases in exchange for extending sales taxes to activities commonly subject to it in other states and eliminating income tax breaks. Enough Republican legislators have responded to these blandishments to deny the narrow two-thirds majorities each chamber would need to pass changes that reduce tax breaks or increase rates, while almost all Democrats have opposed them from the start since the reforms increase overall sales tax collection at the expense of income tax collections, and as income tax receipts grow faster than sales tax receipts the change would put a natural brake on the growth of government that arouses Democrats.

Snapping at the heels of legislators caused deletion of many activities that would have become taxable at sale, even as that bill continues hung up in the House. The Senate also ratcheted back severely some income tax exceptions that also detracted from revenue. In essence, that caused three major changes to the plan to make up for this, one of these indifferent in impact but the others not so good.

Career-threatening problems mount for Arceneaux

Over the past couple of months, Shreveport Republican Mayor Tom Arceneaux’s margin for reelection error has become quite a bit smaller.

Arceneaux attained office in the majority black, plurality Democrat city almost two years ago largely because he emanated an air of competence after the previous amateurish and detached rule of his predecessor Democrat Adrian Perkins and because he maneuvered his candidacy into a runoff with Democrat former state Sen. Greg Tarver who brought a controversial past and baggage of old political rivalries within the black community to a contest he would lose. With several black Democrats building power bases for 2026 that could challenge Arceneaux successfully, in order to win reelection he would have to govern well with as little drama as possible.

Not unexpectedly, when opportunity arises Democrat councilors oppose Arceneaux. Saddled with a consent decree on water and sewerage that forced higher property taxes in bond sales and higher rates (incrementally increasing over several years), Democrat councilors dragged their feet on the rate hikes and decried it all until (inevitable, given the decree) their approval, using that as a way to cast blame on Arceneaux and deflect it from themselves for the hikes.

More conflict ahead in Monroe govt, over DBE

Looks like heads needlessly will butt again in the future between Monroe independent Mayor Friday Ellis and rookie members of the Monroe City Council, this time over what proportion of contracts should go to disadvantaged business enterprises.

A DBE is a firm owned in the majority by individuals with a presumptive characteristic such as race or sex or any individual found to be socially and economically disadvantaged on a case-by-case basis. Federal law dictates for projects of a certain size eligible for federal funds in transportation they must set an approved goal, and Louisiana requires this as well for state money going to a local project.

New councilors Democrats Rodney McFarland and Verbon Muhammad at the start of their terms complained about DBE goals for work at Monroe Regional Airport. Using the standard methodology, that was computed at 8.31 percent, but they wanted it much higher. As the contract had been let, that could not be changed. This amount was higher than the aspirational goal set in Louisiana for aviation projects of 5.5 percent.

GOP's best plan at risk by greasing squeaky wheels

The same dynamic that sunk Republican former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s fiscal reforms of nearly a dozen years ago now threatens GOP Gov. Jeff Landry’s related measure.

In 2013, Jindal proposed sweeping but basically revenue neutral changes to the state’s fiscal structure that eliminated income taxes, increased business sales taxes, added services to taxation, got rid of some exemptions connected to mineral resources, and increasing the cigarette tax. In 2024, Landry has proposed an essentially revenue neutral plan that creates a low flat income tax with an increased filer deduction that eliminates income taxation for lower-income individuals, increases sales taxes, adds services to taxation, gets rid of some exemptions, and makes permanent a business utilities tax.

Jindal’s plan, which also included some attempt to rebate higher sales taxes passed through to individuals, foundered because it was complex in its attempt to make sure as few people’s taxes increased overall as possible. Only a bit less intensely does Landry’s plan try to do the same thing, and like Jindal’s has run into opposition from those most likely to suffer financially from the changes.