Democrats use playbook on PSC candidate Atkins

Democrats’ national playbook surfaced in the candidate forum between Republican Caddo Parish Commissioner John Atkins and Democrat City Councilor James Green.

They contest the Public Service Commission District 5 seat, which stretches across north Louisiana. Incumbent Democrat Foster Campbell faces the three-term (18 years) limit at year’s end, although he served an additional one after being grandfathered in.

Atkins works in asset management, principally in energy. He has served the three-term limit on the Commission and is due to leave office at the end of 2027. His latest campaign financial disclosure, which doesn’t include anything from regulated utilities since he eschewed publicly donations from them, isn’t hurting with nearly half a million bucks bankrolled through late last month.

NO housing issues exemplify leftist misdiagnoses

The cognitive dissonance, or perhaps strategic planning to sustain its mission, of the political left truly can amaze at times, as continuing housing provision struggles in New Orleans and conflicting government housing policy demonstrate.

Last month, the Louisiana Housing Corporation took another step in reorienting the state’s housing policy away from the failed housing first model to a treatment first paradigm. The former insists on finding or building permanent spaces for the homeless regardless of whether behavioral problems hold back persons from engaging with the world in a way that permits them to use own resources in housing provision, while the latter emphasizes temporary housing for them while they participate in procedures and programs designed to produce positive behavioral change that facilitate their abilities to obtain housing using own resources.

One vocal critic was the nonprofit organization HousingNOLA, which advocates for greater government involvement in encouraging or building “affordable” housing in New Orleans, i.e. housing designed for residence by lower-income individuals. But only days later the Republican Gov. Jeff Landry Administration’s shift in approach found vindication when a report critical of the city’s housing efforts came out, with almost simultaneously the city changing policy of a few years that tried to strongarm developers into building more low-income units.

Huge money advantage boosts Arceneaux chances

If winning the Shreveport mayor’s race were only a matter of money, Republicans would control that office for another four years. As it is, that only may determine which Republican advances to a runoff.

After months of campaigning in 2026, submission of campaign finance reports through Sep. 24 were released yesterday. Incumbent GOP Mayor Tom Arceneaux lapped the field with resources remaining of about a third of a million dollars, after having spent almost that much, although raising only around $78,000 in this period. His donors this year to date comprised a number of long-time party activists (he sat on the City Council four decades ago) as well as a few from the near the city, and his spending reflected a broad spectrum of campaign communications.

Technically, challenger Republican Caddo Parish Commissioner John-Paul Young outraised him by a $100,000, with the bulk of his contributors being from his Highland area neighborhood. But his biggest contributor by far was himself, plunking down $130,000 of his own dough on himself that meant others’ donations were fewer than $50,000 that left him with just over $50,000. He spent disproportionately on electronic media and billboard advertising.

LA needs comprehensive wind power regulation

With recent help from the federal government, Louisiana can ensure wind power advocates don’t take advantage of the state.

A recent article in leftist media lamented how Republican Pres. Donald Trump short-circuited efforts to spread windmills from sea to shining sea. Trump appears to have a visceral dislike of wind power and early in his second term basically brought offshore wind power to a halt by declaring no permits would go to new projects and by discouraging, even in a sense through bribing, existing projects from moving forward.

But states control wind power regulation on land except for that owned by the federal government, and that has steadily marched on. However, Trump did address an unfair advantage that wind power had, federal tax credits, by eliminating with the help of Congress those for projects not started by the middle of this year or if not completed by the end of next year. There was no defensible intellectual reason to give preference to this source of intermittent energy production when none existed specifically for other fossil fuel-based reliable power-generating activities.

Best for Caddo voters to reject ballot requests

Caddo Parish voters will face one boondoggle and a subset additionally will deliberate about a search for relevance in their making decisions next month about two tax propositions.

On the ballot Nov. 3 will appear a measure that authorizes the Caddo Parish Commission to blow $70 million on a sports complex. As previously noted, it’s a bad idea that’s not even totally funded – the issue would be only up to $60 million, with $10 million more to be found elsewhere preferably by donations – which rests on pie-in-the-sky hopes of attracting tournaments (which will have the effect of crowding out less-affluent families from having children participate in sports) in an area with plenty of all of government, nonprofit, and for-profit venues. It would waste a lot of money with little return even on the account of amorphous “quality of life” and doesn’t even guarantee that property taxes won’t rise to find it as it only disallows raising the rate for the first year of issuance.

Shreveport voters will have a crack at another one, an item that on the surface begs to renew. The city’s quasi-independent Downtown Development Authority has 9.04 mills – 1.05 mills higher than the expiring levy, due to a decline in the value of downtown properties in aggregate – ready to ramp up in 2028 for 25 years. That funds the agency that many may think doesn’t cost them anything, as the tax is levied only on commercial properties in the district for administration, operational expenses, acquiring property, project expenses and/or the retirement of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness.

Democrat power trip leaves Monroe in lurch

The crybaby majority on Monroe’s City Council, fuming it couldn’t get its way, last week decided to take its toys home and put the city in a bad spot.

At its regular meeting, shortly after convening Democrat Councilors Juanita Woods motioned and Rodney McFarland seconded passing over the entire agenda, and they with Verbon Muhammad approved that over the objection of Republican Councilor Gretchen Ezernack, who at least got a chance to ask why. GOP Councilor Doug Harvey was running late and missed everything.

The Democrats remained closed-lipped about their rationale – with McFarland waving off Woods from even speaking to a reporter – until the next day, when they took to social media to complain their act showed displeasure at “disrespect” from independent Mayor Friday Ellis. The group and he have locked horns over many issues since McFarland and Muhammad took office in mid-2024, and from the timing it appeared on this occasion over the city’s new-old fire chief, Timothy Williams.

CD 5 forum distinguishes little among GOP foes

An issue-oriented candidate forum for Louisiana’s Fifth Congressional District gave viewers a chance to see three repeat candidates and four new ones vying for the office in November (with a likely runoff in December) that did little to set apart competitive Republican candidates.

This was the second such forum conducted by a Monroe television station, public radio station, and the local Chamber of Commerce and the University of Louisiana Monroe. Some months ago, under a prior and unconstitutional district map these entities held a forum featuring present GOP candidates Board of Regents chairwoman Misti Cordell, state Rep. Mike Echols, and independent businessman Austin Magee. Joining them were four of the other six new contestants: Republicans state Sen. Stewart Cathey and state Rep. Gabe Firment, and Democrats lawyer Dan McKay and state Rep. Pat Moore.

Through the course of the questions and their opening and closing statements, McKay demonstrated himself as the least informed and most out-of-touch with the district’s sentiments (judged by party registration numbers favoring Republicans). For example, he erroneously said removing Social Security tax income caps would solve for the growing depletion of its trust fund, when in fact it, using static analysis only, only about half to two-thirds of the gap would be covered. This may have been due to the severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome he exhibited, and its prominent symptom of suspended critical thinking abilities.

Senate polls reveal strategy, not state of race

Polling by Democrat Senate candidate Jamie Davis released to the public denotes more an effort to chip away at a national Republican fundraising advantage and bolster the state’s depleted Democrat bench than serving as an assessment whether Davis can win.

Twice now, the campaign has released polling data that purport to show Davis trailing GOP Rep. Julia Letlow by only four points, which would be a remarkable showing for a Democrat in a statewide election. The firm doing it, Hart Research, is a venerable firm that deals almost exclusively with Democrats but ranks in the top quarter or so firms under one study of quality in 2024 (although its record was based on only three presidential polls, none for a Senate contest).

This particular poll does have some problems. The sample size was a bit low (500) which accentuated that it didn’t apportion by geography and likely oversampled Democrats, positing an enthusiasm gap that might exist in more competitive states but unlikely does in the Bayou State. It also had two push questions in Davis’ favor that after their rendering actually showed him with 53 percent, nine percent additionally.

Curb Edwards legacy to close looming cliff

Some federal government relief on the issue of Medicaid, as well as some overdue diligence in the program, could help Louisiana to address tightening budget conditions.

Last week the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference essentially reaffirmed projections for the next few fiscal years. With tax cuts coming unless the Legislature lengthens the duration of the sales taxes to roll off, revenues are projected essentially to remain flat for fiscal years 2028-30. That means unless the Legislature reduces spending and/or consents to use of the Budget Stabilization Fund at least in FY27, the general fund budget may go into deficit given the impact of price inflation.

Use of the BSF may not be all that bad, as it sits at a near-record amount, but legislators can’t use it two years running. Happily, final budget production last year by the federal government invites reductions in Medicaid spending, and as does better diligence by states.

As previously noted, reforms encapsulated in that budget process will give the states strong incentive to cut back on this spending by the federal government limiting extra payments to states to encourage reimbursement rates for Medicaid to be only at the same level as for Medicare. They also create disincentives to levy taxes on providers that are used as a device to grab more federal dollars, which if applied to Louisiana would make the presumed deficit a bit worse independently of the fewer dollars spent on Medicaid because of lower rates.

But the state has to help itself, and over the past several years Louisiana has offended among the worst in refusing to do this, at least up until 2024. Research shows that since 2019, under the most plausible take-up rate (the proportion of Medicaid expansion-eligible clients who do enroll in it), the state has one of the highest rates of ineligible recipients, a shocking 62 percent, with in that period the stunning highest per capita upwards change (nearly doubling) of all the states, in that final term of Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards who practically begged anybody and everybody to sign up except the obviously wealthy.

Worse, this includes even the first year of unwinding after the artificial inflation of roles during the pandemic period. Not all of this comprised people flat-out ineligible for Medicaid; many eligible under regular Medicaid likely were misclassified as expansion-eligible, and given the perverse incentive that the expansion population receives a 90 percent federal match while those with lower incomes and sicker receive get matched about 25 percent lower in Louisiana, states pay less by carelessness in categorizing recipients.

In part, that explains why Louisiana in 2024 paid out only an estimated $90 million extra. But if all of the ineligibles were otherwise qualified in no way – and remember the winding-down already largely had been accomplished by the end of that period who were all ineligible under regular standards – it would have been closer to $250 million. It’s not difficult for that figure to be zero – several states managed that, and neighboring Oklahoma had a misclassification rate of only one percent.

 Using data for the upcoming 2028 rate equalization assuming Louisiana will make up two percent of the total Medicaid population nationally and its having a (among the highest of states) regular reimbursement rate of 65 percent (it varies among states), the state with great diligence in eligibility determinations could save $600 million annually by then. That would solve for and then some any predicted budgetary shortfall. It’s low-hanging policy fruit and should be pursued.

Coming Medicaid reimbursement changes good for LA

The good news is the alleged bad news about Medicaid changes is good news for Louisianans.

One reform encapsulated in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill knocks out a loophole that disfavored Medicare patients over those on Medicaid, increased the number of less-valuable interventions, and distorted private sector pricing. At the tail end of the Democrat Pres. Barack Obama Administration to encourage greater Medicaid enrollment including sucking in states to accept expansion (which Louisiana foolishly followed), the federal government began subsidizing state Medicaid plans to boost rates. Often, states reimbursed at rates below commercial charges and even Medicare’s, which could reduce the supply of providers that would lower the amount of care to the Medicaid population.

This wealth transfer from federal taxpayers to states also was supplemented in most states by allowing them to levy provider taxes and have straight-up government appropriations count as matching monies. These policies facilitated boosting of spending on Medicaid to prop up rates to commercial levels, which could be double or more Medicaid rates. For example, for Louisiana’s managed care organizations that provide insurance for almost all of the non-waiver Medicaid population – the vast majority of Medicaid clients – for hospitals all of state-directed payments, provider taxes, and (for Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans) intergovernmental transfers are used to peg Medicaid rates at or near commercial rates.