What a week!
If spring break is heaven, then the week before is unquestionably purgatory.
Between studying for the onslaught of tests being given before we kill all our brain cells and the fact that we are all more concerned with missing our tanning appointments rather than missing class, it’s hard to focus on whatever else needs to get done.
That must be what it’s like in the state legislature. With everything that needs to be done to bring our state out of the bottom tier of America, legislators get easily distracted from aggressively pursuing tax reform.
Although economics are important to the voters of this state, few of them have much knowledge of how exactly our economic system works.
As long as the average Joe gets a tax break every now and then, he is usually content to worry about the lack of education his children are getting in our public schools or how poor his commute to work is because of our bad roads.
This session of the state legislature has seen more legislation dealing with economic issues, but we have yet to see much get done.
There are many economic issues on the ballot, however.
The most important issue to address is one that many who follow Louisiana politics should already be familiar with.
I am, of course, talking about the contentious Stelly Plan.
The state’s income tax deductions for excess federal itemized deductions were eliminated by the Stelly plan, which swapped cutting state sales taxes on groceries and home utilities in exchange for increased state income taxes for more affluent taxpayers.
The term “more affluent taxpayers” refers to anyone who makes more than $25,000 annually.
Senator James Cain of Dry Creek, in a bill proposed and endorsed by Governor Blanco, proposed an amendment to eliminate the excess taxation, but amazingly many in this state believe that these excess taxes are necessary to run our state.
As a future LSU graduate and prospective small business owner, I disagree.
I hate to subjugate myself to Louisiana’s taxation policy, but I believe that Cain’s bill would be a step in the right direction.
Another example of horrible taxation policies occurred this week in Denham Springs.
The School board is considering nixing a $55 million Bass Pro Shop development because the development would affect funding to the school board.
Louisiana awards financing to certain districts based on their tax revenue.
Because the new Bass Pro Shop would increase revenue flows in Denham, the school board would lose $750,000 in state funding. Only in Louisiana is an area penalized for economic development.
This kind of thinking is why Louisiana is where it is in the first place.
Not all that has occurred in our economy has been bad lately.
Louisiana is at least attempting to reform itself, and individuals like Governor Blanco (Who I am generally not the biggest supporter of) and Senator Cain are taking steps to do something about our problem. Louisiana has the potential to be great; all we need are individuals to lead us in the right direction.
I encourage our legislators to consider the future of Louisiana while they are in session.
I only hope that they, our congressmen, continue to think progressively and realize what the true future of our state is.
That future is us, the generation of 20-somethings who are well-educated and ambitious. I am nowhere near rich, but I would like to be one day, and I would like to make my living in Louisiana.
If Louisiana is wise, it will do all it can to keep its best and brightest minds in state, and that includes making tax policies that are fair to everyone, business and consumer, rich and poor.
One good step would be to realize that the best and brightest will pay taxes somewhere, and in the best interest of our state, it might as well be here.