Nobody thought it wouldn't be a disaster. The only question was how bad it would be.Originally Posted by Dawg06
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Nobody thought it wouldn't be a disaster. The only question was how bad it would be.
Yes, everybody knew. Edwards knew better than anybody and he PROMISED he would not cut higher ed again AFTER he was elected.
I did not vote for Edwards. But for the next two years I don't think there will be a lot of difference in what the Governor and legislature does regardless of who was elected. The options are limited. Few know that the number of state employees has come down by 30,000 in the past 5 or 6 years. So we've cut a lot of waste. Few realize the extent that surpluses in various departments and programs were pulled down by more than 50%, moving them from being financially secure to dependent on current cash flow. So we've spent our financial reserves when times were better.
There's conservatism and then there's draconian. Much of what Jindal did was good but it went beyond being fiscally responsible. The result has left us excessively dependent on the price of oil, and its linchpin position in the state budget. We have a 3/4 billion dollar current budget deficit between now and June 30th. There are no easy fixes here.
The opportunity here is maybe they'll make some hard decisions about where we spend our money. They need to begin pushing to end the constitutional protection that probably 75% of the state budget enjoys so there are options beyond higher education to spread the pain. But that takes a vote of the people and will take a couple of election cycles to fix. Providing they come up with a good program and bring it to a vote.
So like I said, for the next two years there aren't a lot of options. And the results under a Vitter, Dardenne, Angelle, or Edwards administration would be pretty darn similar. Had this happened a year ago, even Jindal would have been forced to do what is about to be done, though you could bank on more smoke and mirrors instead of long term fixes. But conservatives would accept it from Vitter or Jindal as the gospel while calling Edwards approach a lie.
My concern for Edwards comes in 3 years. Between now and then, it isn't going to matter much who was elected. We're stuck in corner and the house is on fire.
I agree with you for the most part. The big concern that Edwards voters ignored is what is going to happen when we lose our government match on medicaid expansion. We know that year one won't make much difference in the overall budget because we get the match. It's going to be even more hell to pay when this bill comes due in approximately 2018.
Jindal didn't leave much for legacy, but he knew we would never be able to afford this bill.
http://theadvocate.com/news/14688093...-as-exorbitant
And so it goes....
I suppose I could be like that moronic libtard on this forum who laughed when the RINOs approved obummer's budget. But, that hurt taxpayers and so will this. There is nothing to laugh about.
"Supposedly" there is a way for us to get out of the Medicaid deal if/when the subsidy goes south. Vitter, Dardenne & Angelle wanted additional assurances as I remember it while Edwards said we were already protected. If it turns out to be a problem and Edwards is wrong about our ability to get out, I'll be for impeaching him.
It will be too late by then. Approving medicaid expansion was a rubber stamp for Obamacare and done to prevent it from being repealed. That's the reason Obama came to Louisiana. Edwards fulfilled a promise to him.
I asked a state senator today about Edwards keeping all those exorbitant salaries, all those admin positions, and even doubling down by giving some raises! After JBE promised he would fix all of that during the campaign. The senator said, can't blame Edwards, this was all Jindal's doing. I said, right, but now Jindal is gone, we have a new guvnar and he can do what he wants regarding HIS administration. The senator blamed Jindal again. So, I tried one more time to explain that Edwards does NOT have to adhere to Jindal's practices in building his administration. Edwards campaigned on hiring good people but at more reasonable salaries and, reducing headcount in BR since Jindal created some positions and the new guvnar has only to NOT fill the slots and make those positions go away! That senator stared back at me with a "duh" look like I was speaking quantum mechanics and he didn't comprehend what I was saying.
We are doomed!
Yeah, he ran against a guy who paid a prostitute 10 years ago. His sheeple voters ignored his public and prideful ties to Obama and Obamacare. We are not a month into his term and they are blaming his first two unsettling moves on Jindal.
What a bunch of BS! They are either idiots or liars. We know they are cowards and Jim Fannin leads the pack.
I was told by a reliable source that there is a likelihood that once the special session which Edwards has called convenes in February there will be an immediate motion made from the floor to adjourn the session.
Good old Memorial Gym
I have not heard that from my sources, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least. However, the legislature better think long and hard about taking any such action and punting, again, on budget issues for this state. It is waaaay past time that the Louisiana legislature, like the US Congress, needs to use its Constitutional authority of the "power of the purse."
I will comment on another thread about the national budget crisis issue, and it applies exactly to Louisiana's situation as well.
This is unfair. You're totally ignoring those who are both.
http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/new...says/79512696/
"It's absolutely, completely untrue," said GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris, R-Alexandria. "I haven't heard it from a single member from either party."
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