Expectations broaden issues in treasurer's race

Talk of extraneous issues during the special election to fill Sen. John Kennedy’s former Louisiana treasurer position comes because voters see the job as a training ground for higher office.

Republican Kennedy ascended to the U.S. Senate at the beginning of the year, leaving a couple of years left on his term. Into the fray have jumped three major candidates, all Republicans: Angéle Davis, for two years commissioner of administration under former Gov. Bobby Jindal; state Sen. Neil Riser; and former state Rep. John Schroder.

At a recent local Republican Party forum, Davis and Riser found themselves answering a myriad of questions that had really nothing to do with the treasurer’s job, such as their Second Amendment views and religious backgrounds. Schroder could not attend because of a scheduling conflict.

Landrieu bears blame for flood consequences

So maybe anthropogenic global warming isn’t such a great existential threat to New Orleans after all? Instead, maybe it’s the policy and personnel decisions of Mayor Mitch Landrieu?

The Landrieu Administration found itself flatfooted last weekend when parts of the city flooded. While the heavy rains that swept the area obviously set the stage for the semi-disaster, as time went on it became clear failures by the city’s quasi-autonomous Sewerage and Water Board, controlled by Landrieu, bore the major fault.

From the time waters began rising clearly something seemed amiss. For example, an area essentially dry in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the corner of Dauphine and Esplanade, took on a couple of feet of water. (Looking out my window at that intersection 29 years ago during Tropical Storm Beryl, no water accumulated there.) Over queries prompted by events like these, Administration figures kept insisting collection and drainage mechanisms worked correctly. Then-Executive Director of the SWB, Cedric Grant, hypothesized climate change had caused the flooding.

Wage/race pay gap myths live despite facts

No matter how little factual support they have, you can count on proponents of the gender “wage gap” myth to keep peddling their buncombe. And it gets even more hyperventilated when you can throw race into the mix.

Some Louisiana media outlets regurgitated the breathless proclamation of special interests wishing to perpetuate the myth last week, when the alleged “Equal Pay for Black Women” day occurred. That means in the state that it took this much of 2017 plus 2016 for black women typically to earn as much as white non-Hispanic men did in 2016. By the numbers, the median earnings for that female was 48 percent of that male’s – something to consider as minority females made up a sixth of Louisiana’s civilian labor force in 2014, most of them being black.

Of course, the statistic is bogus from the word “go,” beginning with the fundamental recognition that average earnings differs enormously from average wage. Conceptualized as “wage,” that does not take into account a myriad of factors that affect the average amount of money per year earned by individuals and how they differ by sex and race, including most conspicuously hours worked per year, occupational choices, experience in current jobs, and willingness to work in less desirable locations while travelling more.

Denying gimmickry making Edwards hypocrite

From the governor who said he is “committed to open and honest budgeting that does not rely on the gimmicks of the past,” yet another past budget gimmick he endorsed surfaces.

It turns out that about $28 million used in the fiscal year 2018 budget does not exist yet, and may not before the close of the year. That money depends upon resolution of lawsuits favorably to Louisiana, which an additional about $8 million did come available recently.

Two sources encompass the disputed dollars: money paid in protest by medical device manufacturers over a tax on those items and by businesses contesting a temporary one cent increase in sales taxes on utilities. There is no guarantee that either will be settled in the state’s favor or even that if a settlement occurs to its liking that this would occur before Jun. 30, although the utility tax case appears very probably to end in a victory for the state. But that case has dragged out for more than a year, and those funds originally appeared in the FY 2017 budget only not to become available.

The Advocate column, Aug. 6, 2017

Cities and law enforcement offices can learn from Sid Gautreaux on immigration enforcement
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_8ece1944-77ad-11e7-ad9b-2f2fde3a02e1.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_cb72543a-7151-11e7-8001-cb2c8aa11d4e.html
https://www.nola.gov/mayor/press-releases/2017/20170125-pr-statement-on-president-trump-s-executi/
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_f6a6ac70-5084-11e7-974b-9b983b6825e8.html
http://house.louisiana.gov/H_CmteRecordRolCallVotes/RollCallVotes/JUD_04212016.pdf
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1000716
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2016/05/edwards-stages-bill-neutering-for.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_6f669750-6cc4-11e7-a649-678b5cb9ac4f.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_c93b2cfa-763d-11e7-8dfd-9b7b5783ed5d.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-chooses-12-cities-to-receive-more-manpower-to-fight-crime/2017/06/20/4951b5b4-55d5-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/delegation-and-divergence-287g-state-and-local-immigration-enforcement
https://cis.org/Vaughan/Tale-Two-Programs-Secure-Communities-vs-287g
https://cis.org/Vaughan/New-Report-287g-Works
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/05/26/departing-from-sanctuary-cities-some-sheriffs-embrace-immigration-enforcement-role
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_e6d0bc34-5dd9-11e7-bf14-ab17795955dd.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-order-enhancing-public-safety-interior-united
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/memorandumsofAgreementUnderstanding/287gBatonRougeLa2017-05-03.pdf

Columnist critique of rival newspaper overblown

Looks like a little counting of coup has broken out concerning Louisiana’s top two newspapers over Prisoner #03128-095, now known as Democrat former Gov. Edwin Edwards.

Next week he will celebrate his 90^th birthday, and a number of overenthusiastic well-wishers will pony up big bucks to honor him. Headlined by admirer-in-chief Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, donors include John Georges, former Democrat candidate for New Orleans mayor and no-party candidate for governor who now owns The Baton Rouge Advocate.

This raised the hackles of New Orleans Times-Picayune/NOLA.com columnist Tim Morris, who wondered why a sitting governor should laud a convicted predecessor. He also questioned Georges’ explanation of his link the event, as Georges said he personally paid for his portion but put the newspaper’s name on it to generate publicity, and understood it was a charity event. Morris noted the prominence of The Advocate’s logo on the official website for the occasion, and that the event appeared to support no identified charitable purpose.

Defunding superior option to Cassidy overhaul

Another attempt, another stalled action to pare the bad aspects of the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). Where does that leave Louisianans and what does Sen. Bill Cassidy have to offer about this?

As to the first question, if you’re a more productive member of society, in a bad place. Keep in mind the law does little to improve health care access for the population as a whole, mainly achieving dramatic wealth redistribution. For Louisianans, health care insurance premiums for Affordable Care Act-compliant plans have increased on average between 10 percent to 20 percent in 2015; 6 percent to 30 percent in 2016; 23 percent to 41 percent in 2017; and scheduled for 2018 in a range from 12 percent to 36 percent.

In other words, in the worst of all scenarios, the law has helped triple non-group rates in Louisiana. Nationally, the average increase from 2013 to 2017 was 60 percent, well beyond the pace of medical inflation.

Offer shows merit of Shreveport water privatization

Maybe Shreveport should take a quick peek around the horse’s mouth on a deal that saves it hundreds of millions of dollars, and take this very seriously.

A local lawyer representing SUEZ’s North American operations pitched an idea to city government that the company would buy Shreveport’s water and sewerage operations for $508 million. SUEZ, a French corporation that also deals in environmental and energy matters, contracts for operation in or outright owns and runs about 100 municipal systems in America, making it the second largest firm doing that.

A deal like this would create a windfall for the city. Recent years have seen dramatic rate hikes endured by Shreveport consumers to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements mandated by the federal government. Not only would this relieve the city of this burden, it also could save money by Shreveport not having to run water and sewerage operations and this puts a lot of money into its coffers for other capital improvement needs.

Raising minimum wage subverts intended purpose

An outstanding argument against raising the minimum wage was delivered by one of its recipients, underscoring that this increase should not happen in Louisiana.

The Advocate recently asked Gov. John Bel Edwards about whether he still champions the idea of the state adopting a law moving Louisiana higher than the federal level of $7.25 an hour. Through a spokesman, he confirmed he did.

For the story’s introductory material, it gave comments rendered by a woman who apparently once had worked for some time at minimum wage. At age 27, she had two children and tried to go to community college while working at that wage. She eventually had to quit attending and picked up an additional job. Apparently, she has moved on to a more prosperous station in life since.

The Advocate column, Jul. 30, 2017

If Louisiana politicians don't halt nursing home gravy train, they should at least do this...
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_769e012a-7228-11e7-ab6a-0f56831240d8.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_9518b0fa-6b34-11e7-ab6c-4b0bce7c17f6.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_b399f0dc-14ce-11e7-be73-9307a966036f.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_b399f0dc-14ce-11e7-be73-9307a966036f.html
http://new.dhh.louisiana.gov/assets/medicaid/AnnualReports/MAR_SFY2014_15.pdf
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fpc/rcworkgroup/071316doc1.pdf