A Time Of Uncertainty For Louisiana And Its Budget

Recently there has been an issue that has been plaguing the Louisiana state government and school board that a new superintendent has managed to draw attention to. The budget crisis involving too many scholarships being currently provided by TOPS, a program that helps student pay for college. As of now, 91% of freshman students attending ULL are having some sort of financial aid from TOPS and some may not be able to pay for college without the help from the program.

This budget contains grants, reimbursements from schools, and payments that is from schools. $72.9 billion was set aside for public and higher education institutions. Most of the money is difficult to get if it is for a project that it was not intended for. Since the legislature cannot take money out of these two accounts when they would like, they just cut the budget. This is to give them more wiggle room in other areas that they would like to see the budget go to. There is a cycle that can be seen throughout the government. If the state wants money they need to spend what they have in order to receive federal

The South Carolina Radio Network published an article stating that Governor McMaster has assured its citizens that he would work on fixing road conditions by using a one billion dollar loan lent by lawmakers. Even though a proposal to pay back lawmakers hasn’t been discussed yet, you can make the initiative to find one and solve what seems to be a perpetual issue. I could not find any comments from you addressing the issues with roads nor anything that shows your support for McMasters plan, thus Senator I am wondering what steps you believe need to be taken to address this issue. I believe that you should propound a bill similar to what McMaster opposed, which would tax citizens 10 cents more on gas. This plan would be a sound solution to augment tax revenues without increasing taxes at a higher percentage, and will be more likely welcomed by South Carolinians. Regardless of the work you have to deal with, senator I urge you to address this problem quickly. The longer it takes to come up with a proposed bill to fix these issues the more lives will be taken.

While Governor Bentley revealed the Great State 2019 plan, it appeared not to be the primary focus of his speech falling behind the achievements of the government. Bentley only added on to by the several minutes' long tales of the hardships of individual Alabamians, such as that of his guests or from personal experience. Ultimately Bentley’s speech could have saved face by providing a certain procedure to attaining the end goals laid out in his speech. The State of the State Speech is an excellent platform for a governor to launch major legislative initiatives with coinciding plans, but sadly Governor Bentley’s speech fell flat on its

Following the staggering desolation of Gulf Coast hurricanes and levee failures, 2005, Louisiana started undertaking its infrastructure issues, which includes some very poorly maintained roads and bridges in the state. Louisiana has a backlog of more than $12 billion in needed road repairs, highway upgrades and bridge work.1 The congestion is just getting so bad in some areas that people are revolting about and it threatens the economic development of the state. Also, several communities have mega-project needs and desires that push the political candidates and leaders to plan their developmental plans accordingly.1

John Kenneth Galbraith once said “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” While in many ways this is an accurate statement within the political realm of the United States there are many times that politics is greatly affected by the memories of the past. This is especially true of the Southern United States. The South has its own perspective and history that impacts the political environment and unities the region unlike anywhere else in the United States. However, as united as the South has been on the national level there are vast differences to be found on the state level. This paper will offer an overview of one of the Southern States politics in particular, that of Louisiana. Rather it is European

Initiative 42 is the result of nearly 200,000 Mississippians signing petitions to have an initiative placed on the November ballot to amend the state Constitution. If passed, this citizen led initiative will hold the Mississippi Legislature accountable for keeping its promise to fully fund public schools, which the Legislature has only done twice in the past 18 years. That should be simple enough, but Governor Phil Bryant, Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, and Speaker of the House Phillip Gunn have used their power and position to help confuse the public about the Initiative. Why? Such action is contrary to statements the Governor has made in the past regarding the public’s role in education. For example, in a December 2, 2014 article

* On May 9, 2006, Secretary Jackson approved Louisiana’s initial supplemental CDBG Disaster Action Plan and awarded the state $368.4 million to help meet the state’s infrastructure needs, provide interest-free small business bridge loans and support long-term planning efforts. On May 30, 2006, Secretary Jackson approved an amended plan and awarded an additional $4.6 billion of the state’s original $6.2 billion to fund Louisiana’s Road Home Program. This program provides up to $150,000 to eligible homeowners whose primary residences were located outside pre-Katrina designated flood zones and were destroyed or severely damaged following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Hurricane Katrina:  What Government is Doing, 2006)

Limiting what revenues can be used for funding puts unnecessary strain on the budget and causes different areas that are significant to suffer. Alabama’s highly restrictive fiscal environment is a significant problem.

As a result of this added financial strain, states have had to either cut funding for other services like education, increase taxes, or heighten eligibility requirements for these publicly funded healthcare programs (Emanuel, 2014).

As the federal debt grows, the search for ways to reduce spending or establish new revenue sources will increase. “If states are to be the laboratories of democracy, they need the freedom, power and flexibility to innovate, create and adapt policies that best meet the needs of their citizens. ”William T. Pound is executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. State and Central government will always have a high expense rate.

Within the United States, there is an unequal collection and distribution of resources. The current unequal or socially unjust tax system is a direct contrast to the social justice theories of John Rawls. The taxation discrepancy has ramifications on many important aspects of our society, such as health care, employment, old age security, and education. These issues affect everyone in our society, regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Thorough more equal taxation, we have the potential to create a more society as a whole.

As mentioned by Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press, “Lawmakers bridged a $19 billion shortfall, more than 20 percent of the $87.5 billion general fund spending plan”. This shows that the state was heading towards a financial crisis and more deficit creation. Moreover, Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press also points out that “It includes no tax or fee increases but uses a combination of cuts, funding shifts, delayed corporate tax breaks and assumptions about money the state hopes to receive”. The budget gave rise to other dependent costs such as delayed tax refunds. It was uncertain that the State will receive the required funds from the federal government to ensure that the important programs will function the way it used to be until the funds are received.

Taxation systems are usually modeled in such a way that they take into consideration the social welfare of the citizens. The government and other policy makers have the responsibility of ensuring that the system takes into account the needs of the citizens. The bottom line is that taxation should foster equal distribution of resources. The rate of taxation is usually arrived at after several considerations have been made. The rates are not fixed as they depend on the various economic changes. The issue of how taxation should be distributed among the different economic classes is yet to be addressed.

Taxation, a definition of which according to business dictionary is a means by which governments finance their expenditure by imposing charges on citizens and corporate entities. Governments use taxation to encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. For example, reduction in taxable personal (or household) income by the amount paid as interest on home mortgage loans results in greater construction activity, and generates more jobs.