In a twist of irony, Gov. Bobby Jindal was recently cited by the state ethics board for failing to report funds spent for his campaign by the state GOP. Jindal announced he would pay the fine and said the reporting error was an oversight. The headlines made for a great chuckle – the governor who ran on ethics was fined for an ethics violation less than a month after taking office. But the fact of the matter is the violation we are talking about is a minor one. This state has patted itself on the back long enough with pseudo ethics regulations. We think the occasional fine for making an accounting error is making progress in stopping corruption. The truth is we are only masking the problem. This state needs serious ethics regulations and serious efforts to enforce them. We will never combat corruption if all we do is tack a small fine onto someone’s election expenses. The state Legislature has been charged with reforming our ethics this year. It is imperative for the state that all necessary measures are taken to bring an end to a legacy of corruption. Corruption hurts our national appearance, drives away businesses, creates negative economic impact and damages the poor and working of this state. We need to begin holding our government accountable on every level. The upcoming legislative session should not turn into a game of political finger pointing in an effort to determine which group of government is the most corrupt. Efforts should be made to reform every facet. This state needs to require all elected officials to disclose the source of their income to make apparent any conflicts that may arise. Every member of government needs to take a stance to refuse gifts from all outside elements. Lobbyists need to be required to report all spending and have caps on the amount they may spend to influence state business. We need to stop allowing members of the Legislature to start non-profit organizations and then appropriate money to them. Ethics reformation affects every level of government and every resident of this state. Students need to stand up and inform our government that we will not accept anything but the best ethics standards. Without reform the quality of the workplace we will be entering post-graduation will suffer. Ethics reform is a serious issue and in the upcoming session should be No. 1 priority.
—-Contact The Editorial Board at [email protected]