Photo source: YouTube
Houston New Black Panther leader and a member of the Nation of Islam, Quanell X, had something to say about Donald J. Trump.
STONECIPHER: Initial Data ... Louisiana Flood of 2016
Photo source: KPEL 96.5
August 23, 2016
In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I hit the road from the undamaged north to the devastated south ... all along I-10 and I-12. The need for demographic information was pronounced, and given that Louisiana governors and legislators have never seen the need for a state demographer, I took up the slack. That pro bono work, as it turned out, continued for years.
For this latest natural disaster hammering a huge part of Louisiana, no name will be assigned. Regardless that nearly 1-of-3 parishes in our state have been to relative degrees damaged by rising rainwater, there is no such shorthand. To the victims, it is just plain hell.
The damage assessments we are now beginning to analyze clearly measure the depth and breadth of the suffering.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA - has already included 20-of-64 Louisiana parishes in last week's initial "major disaster declaration," as listed here.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) and Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce have initially reported additional assessment data, published by The Advocate newspaper. That report can be read here.
Included in that analysis are nine of the hardest-hit FEMA-identified parishes ... Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
In these 9 parishes alone:
... 110,000 homes, just under one-third or 31%, are in areas which received flood water. That is 34,000 homes ... the equivalent of all housing units in Lake Charles, reported by the Census Bureau to be 32,000.
... There are some 281,000 people in flooded areas.
... Sixty-six percent (66%) of these homes were owner-occupied, 22% rented and others vacant;
... In the overall region, including homes flooded and not, only 15% have flood insurance.
In hard-hit East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parishes:
... Just under 208,000 residents live in flood-affected areas, i.e., "experienced flooding."
... Just under 82,000 housing units in these two parishes are within the areas with flooding, 17% of East Baton Rouge housing and 87% of homes in Livingston.
... In East Baton Rouge, 61% of these homes were owner-occupied, as were 70% in Livingston Parish. Seventy-five percent (75%) of those East Baton Rouge homes carry mortgages, and 67% of those in Livingston do.
... In flooded areas of East Baton Rouge, the total value of homes is $5.7 billion. The comparable value of Livingston Parish homes is more than $9.0 billion.
Who Stays, Who Goes?
Given that Louisiana is already prone to population out-migration - just under 600,000 of us, net, have moved out since 1985 - should we now expect a new wave of such losses?
The most important part of that answer is that we were likely already experiencing the front edge of that even before this disaster. The implosion of oil and gas jobs has previously caused that response, and may well have already done so again. Whoever now moves away, we cannot expect to ever know the reason.
Next, we must remember how many important ways this is not Hurricane Katrina. Thank Goodness, we have not lost over 1,000 lives. This is no political or other cause celebre. There will be nowhere near $140 billion in combined public and private "storm relief." This is not about race: albeit early, this flood seems to have hit as many black as white residents.
Too, about six-of-ten households with damage causing displacement are in residences owned or being bought. The inability to sell a home and move, as with those who have lost their jobs to collapsing oil and gas prices, is determinative. Throughout my career, the results of every polling question even remotely related to home ownership feature such attachments.
More likely to leave are those who were renting their homes. Still, will these be in a position to walk away from their job, the school in which their children are enrolled, or the needs of other dependent family members? It is these tethers, renter or not, which matter most.
A different question entirely is whether or not those hardest-hit will rebuild only to stay and face a repeat event in their lifetimes. What is the chance that 20-inches of rain will again fall in 48 hours ... on the same householders? Each who lost their home in the past two weeks will make that decision in coming months, if they have not already done so.
As we already know, there is nowhere near enough housing stock in this region. This is another way to understand that all things considered, residents fare best - whether insured or not - staying and repairing their homes. Those who are in a financial position to do so, and simply do not care to run this risk again - relatively few of the total - may well move.
All said, it is far, far too early to reliably predict any of these answers. In fact, it was four years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in preparing for the 2010 United States Census, that I first believed I could "see" the Louisiana which emerged.
In short, Louisiana is taking another one on the chin. My prayer is simple: may all necessary help reach every soul who needs it, with real dispatch. And, may no one use the attached, dramatic suffering to advance any partisan political agenda
Elliott Stonecipher
© 2016 ELLIOTT STONECIPHER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BOUSTANY: The Painful Truth About Louisiana's 'Forgotten Flood'
Nearly one third of Louisiana’s parishes were underwater last week, but the country’s attention was fixated elsewhere.
Rain began falling on Friday, August 12. In some of the hardest-hit areas, it rained for days on end. Rivers ran backwards, levies overflowed, and the water kept rising.
Once the rain stopped, I immediately began touring damaged areas, meeting with local, state, and federal officials, and helping coordinate response efforts. The incredible resiliency and spirit of the people of Louisiana is inspiring, to say the least.
On Sunday, August 14, as I toured neighborhoods with standing water several feet deep in Youngsville, Louisiana, our truck pulled alongside a young man fishing in his front driveway. I asked him if he’d caught anything. “Two bass and an eel!” he replied with excitement, brandishing a proud smile that belied the damage all around him.
I talked with residents as they floated supplies down the street to their neighbors who were in need of water and food. Flood victims waved from cookouts in their front yard, standing in water up to their calves. The Chief of Police, acting as our guide, pointed out his own flooded house. He had no time to begin cleaning up because he was working around the clock to keep his community safe.
The stories are powerful and heartbreaking. But in Louisiana, frustration is mounting that the rest of the country could care less.
It took the president of the United States over a week to come to Louisiana. While the floodwaters rose, he continued to play golf on Martha’s Vineyard – a decision that struck many in my home state as callous. Especially after the media took former President George W. Bush to task for a supposed lack of empathy for victims of Hurricane Katrina over a decade ago.
The New York Times, to its credit, apologized in an editorial to its readers titled “On Gulf Coast Flooding, The Times Is Late to the Scene.” In the editorial, the Times notes that reader Catherine Holmes of Georgia wrote to the paper: “Disappointing that Trump’s latest gaffe and the Olympics totally dominate your front page this morning, when so many in south Louisiana are suffering.” Similar stories highlighting the lack of focus on the crisis ran in USA Today, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, and Salon.
Arriving in Louisiana last Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told me, Governor Edwards, and Congressman Cedric Richmond that he didn’t believe official Washington had any idea of what was going on in Louisiana. It took the agency several days to declare sixteen parishes that had been hit with severe flooding a disaster area, unlocking access to federal assistance for affected families. By Wednesday, 70,000 people in Louisiana had applied for assistance through FEMA.
Many of the victims don’t live in a federally-designated flood plain, meaning they have no flood insurance to recoup damages.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon estimates only 14 percent of Lafayette residents affected by the flooding have flood insurance, and only 12 percent in Baton Rouge.
Even for those with flood insurance, the maximum disbursement is $250,000. While FEMA and private aid will help make up some of the difference, it could easily not be enough for many residents.
Applicants in non-flood zones may only receive up to $33,000 in assistance from FEMA. If this disaster requires supplemental assistance from Congress, I worry Members who haven’t been informed about the damage in Louisiana may not have the information they need to make good decisions when the body reconvenes in a few weeks.
The Red Cross labeled this 500-year flood “the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy.” On the ground in Louisiana, many are already calling this disaster the ‘Forgotten Flood.’
Governor John Bel Edwards surmised part of the reason this disaster has flown under the radar is due to the lack of a catchy name.
Unfortunately, now it has one. And that’s a shame.
Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, represents Louisiana’s Third Congressional District covering Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Morgan City.
Someone Finally Gets What We've Been Saying For Years.....
Sen. BilI Cassidy has reiterated what all of us in South Louisiana have been saying for years, which is our levee systems and restoration of levees need to be addressed. The flooding last week is just the latest episode in this drams, going back to Rita and Ike.
Photo source: Daily Review
“Whether it is south or north Louisiana, we’ve got a lot of levees that need to be updated. We’ve got flood protection that needs to be redone,” he said. “The advocacy of the people who are in affected communities is essential... No one else can present your case as well as you.”
Read more: Cassidy: Flooding proves need for regional focus
Jeff Landry Requests Assistance for Acadiana Following Flood
Per Jeff Landry's Facebook:
This afternoon, I sent the Governor a letter asking for his assistance in getting Acadiana's impacted parishes declared for Federal assistance.
Boustany Requests Disaster Declaration for Additional Parishes
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) sent a letter urging the President to issue a Major Disaster Presidential Declaration for Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Cameron, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, and West Feliciana parishes. Currently, only East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes have received a federal disaster declaration.
Boustany said: “The flooding has turned our roads into rivers, washed away homes, and forced more than 10,000 individuals to seek temporary shelter. Louisianans are resilient and ready to rebuild, but we need some assistance to get back on our feet. I am thankful that the President quickly granted four parishes with disaster declarations, but the damage extends far beyond those parish lines. I am urging him to quickly provide these additional parishes with a Major Disaster Declaration as we continue to evaluate the damage.”
On Sunday, August 14, in response to historic flooding, both Louisiana Governor Edwards and the Louisiana Congressional delegation sent letters to the President urging him to expedite a federal disaster declaration for Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Cameron, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, and West Feliciana parishes. The declaration will provide vital resources to protect our communities and support the recovery effort. Late Sunday night, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent notification that four of the requested 23 parishes were declared a federal disaster.
In light of more than 20,000 individuals rescued, over 10,000 people forced from their homes, and the 15 rivers throughout south and central Louisiana that are in record flood stage, Dr. Boustany sent a letter urging President Obama to the fulfill the State of Louisiana’s full request for a Major Disaster Presidential Declaration and allow Louisiana to continue its rescue missions and begin rebuilding efforts.
The full text of the letter is copied below.
Dear Mr. President,
I write to you in support of the State of Louisiana's full request for a Major Disaster Presidential Declaration as a result of unprecedented rainfall and flooding. On Friday, August 12, Governor Edwards declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Louisiana. All of us throughout Louisiana are thankful for the federal government's quick response to our request for an emergency declaration, provided on August 14, 2016 for four specific parishes. The situation remains precarious as rivers, bayous, canals and streams continue to rise throughout the state.
I urge you to grant the State of Louisiana's request for all parishes affected by the rainfall and historic flooding, specifically: Individual Assistance for Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Cameron, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington and West Feliciana, to include Categories A and B under the Public Assistance program and Hazard Mitigation statewide.
According to most recent reports, over 20,000 people have been rescued and five people have died as a result of flooding caused by historic amounts of rain falling on South Louisiana. As of Sunday night, more than 10,000 people have arrived at shelters scattered throughout the state. Rescue workers are currently focusing on search and rescue missions of people who need to be evacuated from residences, nursing homes and vehicles. Complicating matters more, the state Department of Transportation and Development has also reported the closure of about 200 roads, including more than 30 washouts of state highways. Another 1,400 critical bridges need to be inspected before traffic can freely travel over them. Reports indicate that 15 rivers throughout South Louisiana are in record flood stage.
The National Weather Service is predicting more rain throughout the region. As the waters continue to rise in parts of South Louisiana, creating the need for additional evacuations and rescue operations, a Major Disaster Presidential Declaration for all parishes impacted by the rainfall and flooding would go a great length to help ease the fear and uncertainty for many Louisianans.
Thank you again for your quick response to the Governor's request.
Why Not Acadiana John Bel?
For the morally outraged in our area who couldn't vote for David Vitter and are now being overlooked by Edwards for the rest of the state. Don't blame me. #IVotedForVitter
Have You Seen This Piece on Rob Maness?
Photo source: The Shreveport Times
The following information was provided by the folks over at The Hayride concerning Col. Rob Maness' working with a group that advocates amnesty and immigration. Maness has cast himself as the outside the Beltway candidate not in the mainstream and is a Tea Party favorite.
Read more: Rob Maness Once Served On ‘Hispano’ Board Which Advocates For Mass Immigration And Amnesty
Or Maybe He Was Praying????
Photo source: YouTube
Bill Clinton falls asleep during his wife's "historic speech".
10 Days and Counting with No Comment from Louisiana Democrats on Senator Troy Brown’s Domestic Assault Arrests
Press release from the Louisiana Republican Party
Ten days ago, State Senator Troy Brown (D-Napoleonville) was arrested for the second time in under a year for domestic assault. Ten days later, Louisianians have yet to hear a single word from Governor John Bel Edwards or leaders of the Louisiana Democrat Party regarding this matter. Not one. Not a rebuke…nor a call for his resignation…There’s not been so much as a whisper from the fourth floor of the Capitol.
The Republican Party of Louisiana has called into question on numerous occasions why nothing has been said; why little has been reported on in the media.
“Where’s the outrage?” asked LAGOP Executive Director Jason Doré. “Where is the call for his resignation? Were he a professional athlete, he would have been fired for attacks on women. Were he a Republican, the Democrat headquarters on Government Street would be abuzz with activity calling for his ouster.”
The fact that Troy Brown hasn’t stepped down is one thing, but the LADEMO chair’s silence is another. State Senator Karen Carter Peterson should be outraged at Senator Brown’s behavior. She said on the floor of the DNC Convention this week in Philadelphia that violence “does not define us.” Why, then, is she complicit in violence against women, by remaining mum on the matter?
“If love trumps hate, then why do leaders in the Democrat Party here in Louisiana not stand up to such hateful acts of violence and call on Troy Brown to resign?” asked Doré. He went on to say that, “Inaction by those who have the ability force the issue only shows one thing: Louisiana Democrats are trying to ignore this story and hope it will go away.”
Just as Democrats have done at their convention in Philadelphia by pretending the threat of terrorism doesn’t exist, to protect their image, they are pretending charges of the assault on two women by Senator Troy Brown isn’t a reality to protect one of their own. This behavior is ridiculous, and Louisiana deserves better.
The Republican Party of Louisiana calls on Senator Troy Brown to resign and encourages Louisiana Democrats, especially Governor Edwards, to practice what they preach and stand up for victims of domestic violence by joining our call for Brown’s resignation.
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain Endorses Dr. Charles Boustany
(Henderson, LA) – Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain, D.V.M., endorsed Dr. Charles Boustany in this fall’s race for the United States Senate in Louisiana.
Strain said: “No one fights harder for Louisiana’s agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry industries than Dr. Boustany. Serving on the House Agriculture Committee, Dr. Boustany wrote common-sense Farm Bills supporting Louisiana agriculture. He has worked to open markets for Louisiana-grown and manufactured products, and written law to stop illegal foreign products from undercutting our domestic producers. Louisiana agriculture needs Dr. Boustany in the U.S. Senate to fight for us. I support him as our next Senator.”
Boustany said: “There is no better friend to Louisiana agriculture than Commissioner Mike Strain. I’m tremendously humbled by his endorsement. Louisiana agriculture remains the backbone of our economy and we cannot afford to send a Senator to Washington who does not understand the importance of this industry to our state’s future. Our next Senator will be in office when the next Farm Bill is written and we need an effective leader at the table. That is why I’m working hard to earn the support of the Louisiana agriculture industry this fall. As our next Senator, I will deliver results.”
Serving on the House Agriculture Committee from 2005-2009, Dr. Boustany played an integral role in authoring the 2008 Farm Bill preserving the no-cost sugar program and supporting Louisiana agriculture. He was a leading voice supporting passage of the 2014 Farm Bill making market-based reforms to national agriculture policy, preserving the no-cost sugar program, and ensuring southern crops like rice and soybeans have workable crop insurance policy in case of disaster.
As a Member of the House Ways & Means Committee, Boustany fought tirelessly to open new markets for Louisiana products, spearheading efforts to increase market access for Louisiana rice to Iraq, Japan, and Cuba.
Boustany authored the PROTECT Act, legislation that was signed into law earlier this year granting greater enforcement mechanisms for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to identify and stop illegally-dumped foreign seafood and other manufactured products at the border.
And John Bel Edwards is Supporting This
Bananas Foster: Talks straight, can't spell!!!!
This wants to be your next Senator from Louisiana.
Photo source : Twitter
LAGOP Statement on Baton Rouge Law Enforcement Shooting
(CLEVELAND, OHIO) -- Following the Baton Rouge, Louisiana shooting of multiple members of law enforcement by currently unknown suspects, Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr. released the following statement:
Moments ago, the Louisiana Republican delegation here in Cleveland was notified that our home was attacked. Our delegation, elected by our neighbors, is mournfully awaiting details on this reported attack on our police force by multiple assailants.
This tragic shooting affects black and white, rich and poor, civilians and public servants alike.
This cowardly crime is an attack on the values of law and order that members of the Baton Rouge community so desperately tried to maintain in the 12 days since the eyes of the world focused on our state.
We send this message to those who would threaten to divide us: We are Louisiana and we will stand united and prayerful against evil.
We are reminded in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Boustany Announces $1.1 Million Raised in Second Quarter
(Lafayette, LA) – The Boustany for Senate campaign announced it raised $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2016. This is the biggest fundraising quarter in the 2016 cycle for Boustany, who leads all U.S. Senate candidates with nearly $4.3 million raised in 2015-2016.
Boustany Communications Director Jack Pandol said: “Louisianians from Abbeville to Zwolle are coming together to support Dr. Boustany because they want a conservative leader they can trust to get things done. Dr. Boustany is humbled by the incredible support across Louisiana and energized by the growing momentum for his campaign.
“This quarter’s fundraising number is a strong statement that Dr. Boustany is building support in every corner of Louisiana. The Boustany campaign will have the necessary resources to run a first-rate campaign and bring Dr. Boustany’s conservative, results-oriented leadership to the United States Senate.”
Here's the Video of the Baton Rouge Police Shooting of Alton Sterling
Photo source: YouTube
Warning, this is graphic.
This video was obtained from the Facebook page belonging to East Stackz.
You be the judge on this.
Boustany: In Light of FBI Decision, Clinton Should Withdraw Candidacy
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) said that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should withdraw her candidacy for President of the United States after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey said the FBI will not recommend criminal charges against her for using a private email server while serving as head of the State Department.
Boustany said: “Today’s announcement by the FBI may be a victory for Hillary Clinton’s personal ambitions, but it is a tragedy for the American people and the integrity of our institutions. No one should be surprised the American people no longer trust their government when they continue to witness people at the top getting away with breaking the law while families and small businesses are struggling. We need honest leaders who can work to rebuild the trust of the American people in their government.
“Given the FBI admitted Hillary Clinton’s email may have been hacked, this puts her at an unprecedented risk of manipulation and blackmail by foreign governments with sensitive classified material at her fingertips. No candidate in history has run for President as such a national security liability. It’s clear Hillary Clinton doesn’t belong in the Oval Office. She should immediately withdraw her candidacy for President of the United States.”
In Comey’s address, he said the FBI identified 110 emails in 52 separate email chains that included classified materials at that time. While the FBI could not directly confirm Clinton’s private server was hacked, Comey acknowledged it was possible. Comey characterized Clinton’s use of a private server as “extremely careless” but said the FBI could not identify any intent to break the law.
On June 26, former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately on the tarmac of the Phoenix, Arizona, airport amid the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the use of a private server by Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.
Vitter: FBI Recommendation in Clinton Email Scandal Sets Dangerous Precedent
FBI Says Hillary Clinton Was "Extremely Careless"
(Metairie, La.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) today released the following statement upon the conclusion of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's inappropriate and controversial email practices during her time as secretary of state. The FBI concluded they will not recommend pursuing criminal charges. FBI Director James Comey has previously stated, “We (the FBI) don’t normally make public our recommendations to the prosecutors….”
“Hillary Clinton gravely mishandled sensitive information and put our national security at risk—not by mistake, but as part of an elaborate system of private servers and the like designed to hide politically damaging information,” Vitter said. “Despite the facts uncovered during the FBI's investigation, today's announcement essentially gives her a pass based on politics, pure and simple. The American people are sick and tired of the Washington elite insiders living under a different set of rules than everyone else, and Director Comey’s statements today sets a dangerous precedent moving forward.”
In a press conference this morning, Director Comey recommended no criminal charges against former Secretary Clinton, although he said that she was "extremely careless" and her colleagues were irresponsible in the handling of sensitive information. Comey continued noting that “this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.” Click here to read Director Comey’s remarks.
Last week and just days before Comey was expected to make a public recommendation, Bill Clinton met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch aboard a private plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, raising serious concerns over conflicts of interest. A formal announcement from Lynch on the Justice Department's next steps in this case is expected in the near future.
Vitter has been a vocal advocate for pushing the U.S. State Department to turn over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s records from her private email domain, including emails regarding the State Department’s decision against designating Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), citing concerns about conflicts of interest between Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and her position as Secretary of State. As of yet, he has not received an adequate response. Click here to read more.
In 2015, Vitter also wrote to the Inspector Generals of the Department of State and Inspector General of the Intelligence Community over Administration efforts to shut out oversight of Secretary Clinton’s emails. Click here to read more. Following Vitter’s letter, the Intelligence Community IG (ICIG) responded that Vitter “correctly state(d), that the ICIG had not had unfettered access with regard to the (ICIG) ongoing review of classified Intelligence Community (IC) information in personal emails of State Department employees.
Boustany Says Democrats’ Misguided Sit-In ‘Misses the Point’
Photo source: Flickr
(Washington, DC) – Dr. Charles Boustany released the following statement as House Democrats held a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives to protest lack of action on gun control measures after the terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month.
Boustany said: “The Democrats gutted the military, tied the hands of the intelligence community, and deny the murderous nature of radical Islam, but they still blame the Constitution for terrorism. This sit-in shows the Democrats haven’t just missed the point on this issue; they’re not even playing in the same ballpark. Louisiana families have lost their jobs, their healthcare, and now their security is at risk because of the policies of this President and congressional Democrats.
“Why won’t they sit-in to lower healthcare costs, reform the tax code, and get our economy moving again? The people of Louisiana are waiting for an answer.”
STONECIPHER: Governor Edwards: Honor Louisiana's Taxpayers
Photo source: KPEL 96.5
June 19, 2016
No matter anything else, many Louisianans believed John Bel Edwards would shoot much straighter with us than did ex-Governor Bobby Jindal. It gives me no pleasure to say that he is busily proving us wrong.
Our governor's already infamous tax-and-spend war against Louisiana's bedraggled taxpayers is anything but straight-up, regardless that his campaign portrayed him as honor-bound by his military code to so act.
Many a fact and truth clearly debunk the governor's most basic assertions about Louisiana's financial condition. Although it is tempting to accuse him of taking advantage of a "crisis," such assumes there even is a crisis.
Our here in the real world where Louisiana's tax payers live, labor and, well, pay taxes, basic facts - truth - instead expose tax-and-spend dogma, not a crisis.
A key such fact is this: with "only" the $2 billion in new taxes Governor Edwards has already authored and the state legislature raised, core state spending, after adjustment for inflation, is already set to be +23.8% higher than only 11 years ago.
The Numbers
Louisiana's budget and spending for fiscal year 2004-2005 is the perfect baseline for such analysis. As that spending ended, Hurricane Katrina hit, followed during the period since by Hurricanes Rita, Gustav and Isaac, the Great Recession's "Obama Stimulus" windfall, and the BP disaster.
... Louisiana's core, general fund budget for fiscal 2004-2005 was $6.8 billion (here). Adjusted for inflation, that is equivalent to $8.4 billion today (calculator here).
... Our comparable general fund budget for the current, now ending, 2015-2016 fiscal year is just over $9.0 billion (here).
(The exact amounts are $8,360,420,415 in 2004-2005, inflation-adjusted, and $9,042,826,000 in fiscal year 2015-2016.)
... That is a real increase of $682,405,585, or +8.2% in core state spending since 2004-2005, before any new taxes.
... A bedrock fact in all of this should be population growth rather than partisan political whim. Between July 1, 2005 and July 1, 2015, our population grew a very weak +3.3% ... from 4,523,628 to 4,670,724 (data here and here). Now, it may well be dropping.
... An on-going drop in Louisiana government employees should greatly impact any need for more spending. A go-to Associated Press article from 2014 (here) - still applicable I am told - explains this simply:
"Today, thatworkforce (of 93,500) hovers at 62,000 employees - fewer than it's been in more than two decades. Spending on payroll has decreased by about $1 billion annually."
With $2 Billion in New Taxes Already Raised, Edwards Threatens Doomsday
Using ages-old tax-and-spending doomsday hokum,our governor bangs the table saying he MUST have another $800 million in new taxes in the five final days of the special legislative session.
Bullfeathers. As explained, the $2.0 billion in new taxes already raised is +23.8% higher than in fiscal 2004-2005. Since then, Louisiana hauled in some $160 billion in extraordinary, never-budgeted revenue - over $140 billion from Hurricane Katrina alone. When that gusher of money ended, many programs - and much spending - remained in place.
That is our problem ... it is a spending problem, not a revenue problem. That gusher significantly grew state government, and Governor Edwards & Friends are hellbent on locking it in with fiscal madness.
An honorable state budget would match spending to available, existing revenue.
Nothing in Louisiana is more endangered than a tax payer. State government has called the dance as 558,000 of us - net - moved away since 1985. Those remaining pay Louisiana's bigger and bigger tax-and-spend band.
Governor Edwards does not care. If he did, he would honor tax payers.
Elliott Stonecipher
(Elliott Stonecipher does this work pro bono ... no compensation of any kind is solicited or accepted. He has no client or other relationships which in any way influence his selections of subjects or the content of any article. Appropriate credit to Mr. Stonecipher in the sharing - unedited only, of course - is expected. The use of his work without such credit to him is unethical and will not be quietly accepted.)
Boustany Continues Fight against IRS Overreach
(Washington, DC) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) supported passage H.R. 5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act introduced by Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL). The bill prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from requiring a tax-exempt organization to include the name, address, or other identifying information of any contributor in annual returns.
Boustany spoke in support of H.R. 5053 on the House floor today.
Speaking on the House floor in support of the bill, Boustany said: “Back in 2012 when I was Oversight Subcommittee Chairman on Ways & Means, I started the investigation into the IRS’s unconstitutional targeting of conservative groups for their political beliefs… Taxpayers deserve to know whether the IRS is violating their privacy. This bill furthers that effort by preventing the IRS from targeting non-profits, prohibiting the agency from collecting the identity of donors who contribute to these organizations.
“The IRS still operates under the shadow of a scandal in which it admitted to targeting organizations based on their political beliefs… To successfully carry out its mission, the IRS must be viewed as an unbiased arbiter of the law. It cannot do that without coming clean. H.R. 5053 is a necessary step to require more accountability and transparency at the IRS, and I urge my colleagues to support this critical bill.”
Boustany launched the original investigation into the IRS as Chairman of the House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee after conservative groups approached him with complaints of unlawful targeting by the agency. Boustany authored three bills to bring greater transparency and accountability to the IRS that passed the House in 2014. The bills are:
Ø H.R. 5418: Prohibiting officers and employees of the IRS from using personal email accounts to conduct official business.
Ø H.R. 5419: Providing a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status by the IRS of certain organizations.
Ø H.R. 5420: Permitting the release of information regarding the status of an investigation to aggrieved individuals or organizations.
