At a governors’ panel held Wednesday, former Louisiana governors Kathleen Blanco, Edwin Edwards, Murphy “Mike” Foster and Buddy Roemer all expressed the similar idea that from their experience as governors, the people of Louisiana ultimately have the final word.
“I came here today, not to do anything but simply to tell you that in the long run, it is what the people want and will finally be decided,” Edwards said.
Following the presentation of the Public Administration Institute’s MPA Alumnus of the Year Award to Patrick Goldsmith, the panel host, Jim Engster of “The Jim Engster Show” addressed the group as the “fearsome foursome” and asked them to share their thoughts about the state of higher education in Louisiana as well as tax reform and healthcare.
The governors agreed on the importance of higher education and its role in moving the state forward, although they expressed opposing ideas regarding the state of higher education in Louisiana.
“You have to put your money where your mouth is, or else it is not a real priority,” Blanco said.
Blanco, who said she was the first governor to move funding for higher education and elementary and secondary education to the Southern regional average, said education is the most important facet in creating jobs in Louisiana.
Edwards said he supported higher education in 1987 by using the $640 million he “wrestled” from the federal government in a one-time settlement to give teachers a one-time pay raise, and said he also put $540 million into a trust fund that has since been constitutionally dedicated to education.
“Since 1987, every university in the state has enjoyed a windfall of revenue from this source of money,” Edwards said. “No other state has a similar fund, and I’m very proud of that because education is very important, as all of you know,” Edwards said.
Roemer said he salutes Gov. Bobby Jindal for the accountability standards he has set for public education but also warned that the state has a serious problem.
“The lessons for the future for me come to one simple fact, and that is our state is disappearing,” Roemer said.
Roemer said in the 40 years since Edwards became governor, the number of representatives in Congress that Louisiana receives decreased from eight to six as Louisiana’s population continues to plummet — while the populations of 14 other Southern states have rapidly increased.
“We the people are going to decide what we are going to be,” Roemer said. “Are we going to be a place that sees our kids more than at Christmas because they live in Cincinnati or Kansas City?”
To solve this problem, Roemer stressed the importance of bringing more jobs to Louisiana and applauded the announcement of the IBM facility coming to Baton Rouge.
“That is literally a game-changer. It attracts you people. It attracts educated people. It attracts people of the 21st century,” Roemer said.
Foster said after doing some research to prepare for Wednesday’s panel, he was surprised by the amount of money that has disappeared from the budget in the past decade.
However, Foster said the state has successfully managed the budget and has learned to use the money wisely.
“It has been tough, but I have to give credit where credit is due,” Foster said. “The legislature has done a lot less harm than you would think.”
The governors also expressed similar views that Jindal’s most recent decision to pull back from his income tax proposal is the result of the strength of the people of Louisiana letting their views be known.
“When an ill-advised program that transfers the tax burden of the state from the wealthy to the poor, the public becomes aware of it and will rise to defend or oppose it, and that is an example of what we just saw and that is the way it should be,” Edwards said.
Roemer said Jindal was unprepared with his income tax plan, but he applauded him for proposing tax reform.
Blanco said she disagrees with Jindal’s initial proposal to remove the state’s income tax and instead supports generating income by eliminating tax breaks.
“The list of exemptions is endless, and we have some obsolete rationale for some of the exceptions on the table,” Blanco said.
Foster supported Jindal, saying the state should eventually eliminate of the income tax. But the key is attracting more people to the state to spend money, he added.
“What I think is in Louisiana, we have to have a tax system that attracts people,” Foster said. “We are on the right track.”
Edwards said the final decision lies with the public.
Roemer said the state needs to use teamwork, and Jindal needs to call on the wisdom of the past governors.
“You don’t learn from your victories. You learn from your mistakes,” Roemer said.
