That's what tax reform means in Louisiana. More of it. Our economy is still sputtering along under twin burdens, a combination of last year's disasters and the continuing burden of regulatory government. Our governor, of course, is a Democrat who has never had enough money in any budget. Unlike every household in Louisiana, the state can't live on its income.
Louisiana currently pays 38.41 cents a gallon, which is on a par with Texas (38.4 cents), a little higher than Mississippi (36.78 cents), and lower than Arkansas (40.2 cents)
I believe, though, that rather than jacking up gasoline prices, our legislators time would be better spent by reducing regulation, cutting state government, and improving roads in places other than the I-10/12 split in Baton Rouge, where they've been working for the past decade. (Seriously, are they ever going to get through with that? It's kind of like I-35 in Texas. They're never finished.)
What Americans want, generally, is more freedom, and less government. That's what drove the country to Donald Trump. We'll generally be fine if the government would just get out of our way, but more taxes is not the way to do that.
2 comments:
Pawpaw: It looks like the increase in taxes is motivated by years of underfunding public pensions.
"The UAL is largely the result of chronic government underfunding of the pension benefits promised to workers. Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring those debts to be paid off by 2029. That debt plus interest on it is responsible for most of the unfunded liability. Just recently, the debt payments started paying on the principal. The state and school boards, as employers, are making those debt payments as well as the usual contributions for employees, putting a strain on their finances." (http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_82444dee-2fa0-59fb-8398-bbd4d2b4aab6.html)
Looking at just the Teacher's Pension, they are $17.2 Billion in the hole and have $28 B in assets so it is sitting at 60% funded. This is the week after a month of drunken, binge drinking. Now is when the bills start hitting the mailbox.
But cheer up. Illinois is is much worse shape. One of their public pensions is 13.5% funded and sinking like a rock. (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-14/illinois-general-assembly-retirement-system-only-1352-funded)
It's not highway repair, it's a Federal/State jobs program. They've been "repairing" the stretch of I-45 in Joe Barton's district for 25 years now...
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