Letter: Bobby Jindal tax plan insane

It’s a shame that Gov. Bobby Jindal has made it more difficult for individuals to receive mental-health assistance because of his rampant cuts to mental-health facilities, for he is certainly in need of these services.

His latest proposal to eliminate the income tax in this state, which has faced budget deficits every year except one during his reign, calls into question his present mental state.

Has he lost his mind?

According to his own staff’s analyses the leading contributing factor to the deficit is decreased revenue, or in other words, people not buying enough goods in the state (sales tax revenue). The Stelly Amendment, approved by the voters, sought to rectify this very problem by relying less on sales tax revenue, which most experts agree would have lessened or prevented the state’s present fiscal mess.

Jindal ignored the wishes of the voting public in this state and worked to have it repealed. His legislative puppets granted his wish.

Now he wants to increase the state’s part of the sales tax by as much as 3 percent for a total of 7 percent. Let’s not forget that figure is added to the local sales tax which in several parishes is 5 percent. So if you think this no income tax is a good deal, be prepared to pay 12 percent on the items you buy.

Gee, it seems like you’d depress state revenue from commodity sales even more.

Some of our neighbors have no state income tax. Texas, for example has no state income tax, but while its sales tax is slightly higher (6.25 percent) than our present 4 percent, local sales tax only adds another 2 percent, not the 5 percent that many parishes in Louisiana now charge.

I guess Jindal expects the local parishes to decrease their sales tax accordingly and bankrupt themselves.

How did Texas do it? By getting their fair share from the oil companies when they drilled off their coast.

Louisiana has no such deals because we were so anxious to stimulate drilling off our coast that we gave away those revenue rights.

Bottom line, “no income tax” is great public relations, but this proposal comes from a man who has bankrupted this state because of his fiscal mismanagement.

Education and health-care services have been completely raped by the Jindal administration.

Do you really trust this latest fiscal proposal from Jindal based upon his past fiscal solutions?

James Anderson

retired educational administrator

Ponchatoula

Comments

1) Comment by DMJ - 22/01/2013

People, people...budget deficits aren't an unfortunate consequence of Jindal's policies; they're the direct and intended result of such policies. Jindal is a lot of things, but he isn't stupid. He knows his policies will result in deficits; that's the whole point. He can then use the deficits, to cut services (health care and education) and privatize. Cutting services and privatization are his favorite things to do on earth. Let's stop pretending Jindal is stupid or crazy and that he's really surprised to have to make "tough choices." He knows exactly what he's doing. He's cunning, he's ammoral and he's wrong...but he's not dumb.

2) Comment by Attila - 22/01/2013

@postscript56: First, I do not support Lil Booby's plan. You have never seen a post from me that says or indicates that. Second, I have a solution to your dilemma. When you see my name on a post...just don't read it. That may help keep your blood pressure under control.

3) Comment by postscript56 - 22/01/2013

attila - if you end up paying more of your income through various sales taxes than income tax, what then? Will you still be dogging liberals for championing a progressive income tax? 8point6 - you always have some half-witty comment to make, but never anything to say.

4) Comment by ScotB - 21/01/2013

Not to be too critical, but is this letter full of hyperbole or what? Tax plan is "insane", governor has "lost his mind", the governor's term is his "reign", legislative "puppets", parishes going "bankrupt", the state itself has been "bankrupted", and finally - education & health care have been "raped". With this kind of rhetoric, it is very hard to take the letter writer seriously. Good day!

5) Comment by Attila - 21/01/2013

Twinkie: Here's a fact that you may want to digest before making any more foolish statements (like that is going to happen). Almost 60 million people voted for the other guy...do you honestly believe that all of those people are "rich"? If so, you are far more uninformed than I presumed. In your haste to condemn Republicans you let your bias control your common sense.One of the things that liberals/democrats seem to conveniently forget is that we are a representative republic. The founding fathers were very wise when writing our Constitution to protect the rights of the minority so that the majority could not run roughshod over them. The fact the your Messiah won re-election does not negate the fact that those folks who voted for Romney have the same right to representation as those who voted for BHO. Your maniacal obsession with the rich, who by your definition make more money than you, have consumed you to the point or irrationality.

6) Comment by Maelstrom - 21/01/2013

Actually, t1cat, Bobby Jindal wasn't only conceived in India, he was born here. Therefore, he is an American citizen. Unless of course, life begins at conception, then he'd be an Indian resident and couldn't run for President.

7) Comment by 8point6 - 21/01/2013

There, there, mr. anderson. It will be ok. Now take your meds and watch some reruns of oprah.

8) Comment by Ivy - 21/01/2013

Unfortunately, Twinkle, there will be a Republican in office next term, they are already laying the groundwork by tempering their rabid refusal to respect the office, cause hey, if they continue going around screaming it's a farce, then they won't be taken seriously when it's their turn. But to the article, Jindal drank the koolaid a long time ago, and there's no reasoning with him.

9) Comment by Bighug - 21/01/2013

Why is it that losing residents in the state is bad and gaining residents is good? For anyone with that mindset, I suggest moving to Brooklyn or Jersey City. There are plenty of residents there, litterally living on top of each other. As for me, I don't wish to move to the desert, but the low density population here is just fine as it is.

10) Comment by twinkie1cat - 21/01/2013

And what if we get a Republican in the White House next time (God help us, but with the Republican voter supression it could happen.) and go into another recession. Throughout the one that just ended people were buying a lot less because they had little money. So the places with high sales taxes suffered. The mayors are always talking about lowered sales tax revenue now.

11) Comment by twinkie1cat - 21/01/2013

jdk944: They do about the same as states with income tax economically. That is the FACT. The difference is the suffering caused by high sales tax and the reward wealthy conservatives get from not having to pay income tax. They have more money to hoard. Oh, and government employees are not "at the feed trough". They take less pay for more job security and benefits and do jobs that require employees of skill and who are long term, experienced and dedicated to to the work they do. Contract out and you get workers, here today, gone tomorrow, and with no concern for doing quality work because it does not mean a better job tomorrow. Contracting also costs more in the long run because the cost of the contract, just like when a for- profit runs a charter school, their profit comes off the top of the budget. They take their part first, you know, things like overpaying the CEO and then give the left overs to the organization.

12) Comment by twinkie1cat - 21/01/2013

It is clear that Bobby Jindal continues to consider the only Louisiana residents to be of any significance wealthy, conservative Republicans who will vote for him. After cutting out the programs that serve everyone else----mental health for children, physical,occupational and speech therapy for adults who are not incarcerated in nursing homes, hospice care outside of nursing home incarceration (which, of course are usually for-profit businesses), and the destruction of the public schools, and the only career, secure, benefitted jobs available, those with government, what else is there to do to us except force the average person to pay more in taxes by upping the sales taxes and cutting out income tax for the wealthy and businesses? He cannot legally bring back slavery, although I am sure he would if he could since his home country of India still has children who are bought and sold to work in rug factories. But then what is a minimum wage job with no benefits and only part time hours (to avoid Obama care) but an introduction to slavery when most of your paycheck will go to sales taxes? Surely, by now he has done enough to warrant impeachment, or at least a bi-partisan rebellion to stop him with majorities too large to veto. Do your job state representatives. Lock Jindal up in what is left of our state mental hospitals, impeach him, or do whatever it takes to get this demon out of office this year. Don't let him finish his term. Disgrace him.

13) Comment by jdk944 - 21/01/2013

Mr. Anderson, unfortunately, for you, THE FACTS on this issue do not support your position. Check out how other states have done economically when they have taken this action.

14) Comment by Lannonmac - 21/01/2013

Rgeraldwallace keeps saying that Louisiana “has five times as many public servants at the feed trough as Texas” and I keep correcting him, unfortunately facts don’t seem to matter much in his right-wing universe. The fact is that Texas has 1,452,324 state and local public employees, while Louisiana has 246,173 state and local employees, so in reality Texas has OVER five times the number of public servants at the feed trough as does Louisiana. Of course that does not tell the true story, because Texas has a population of about 26.4 million, while Louisiana has a population of about 4.6 million, so both have one public servant for every 18 state citizens. So the reality is that Louisiana and Texas have almost exactly the same numer of state and local government workers per capita. See in rgeraldwallace’s worldview it does not matter what is true or false, what is important is discrediting political beliefs that he disagrees with. It is clear that he thinks federal, state and local government is the problem, therefore it must be maligned at every opportunity.

15) Comment by [e-mail] - 21/01/2013

Also don't forget that Louisiana has five times as many public servants at the trough as does Texas. Hmmm.....?

16) Comment by [e-mail] - 21/01/2013

Mr. Anderson is spouting the Democrat line, talking points and all, in opposition to whatever Jindal proposes, but how does that logic reinforce his own argument that would seem to preserve the status quo?

17) Comment by crazycajun - 21/01/2013

If and when this proposal comes to fruition and the property taxes sky rocket, I wouldn't want to be a republican holding a public office. All an opponent has to run on is, "look what they did to you last time". Do you want more of the same?

18) Comment by SuzanneMS - 21/01/2013

And don't forget that Texas has much higher property tax than Louisiana. The strongest argument against this plan is the fact that sales tax revenues have never been as high as predicted for the past 5 years. We have had mid-year budget cuts every year during that time. Why would anyone believe that this would change if the income tax were eliminated or that increasing the tax by a mere 3% would be sufficient? What is astounding to me is that those who will be most affected by that -- those in the middle -- are clamoring for it. Clearly they cannot do the math. The poor spend most of their discretionary income on utilities and food, which are not taxed. The wealthy not only can afford to pay a few more percentage points of their discretionary income, they spend much of it out of state -- what they do spend, rather than invest or save. It's those in the middle who will find that their purchases other than food and utilities will cost them 4-6% more.

19) Comment by postscript56 - 21/01/2013

I am skeptical of the governor's plan, but I'm also willing to keep an open mind as long as the governor and his supporters talk honestly about what this means long-term for me, you and the state. But saying things like states with no income tax are growing faster than states without an income tax is not talking honestly because it isn't true. It may be true when compared against some states, but not against all states. So the "why" is vitally important. If the governor isn't going to talk about that then I can't help but feel I'm being shafted.

20) Comment by Bighug - 21/01/2013

I agree with Mr. Anderson. Jindal wants to save the rich at the expense of the poor. Purely self-serving politics.