Comments for Stimulating the Budget at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://www.theind.com Fri, 24 May 2013 10:21:19 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8613 NoName, if Louisiana would get 50% of royalties from wells drilled more than 3 miles off its coast (and comes through our port) just like other states get 50% from their federal lands, that would mean nearly another $2 Billion for us. We're getting robbed for what our state provides the rest of the country in terms of probably the most valuable consumer good, oil & natural gas. - RCajunRunner Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:51:00 +0100 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8601 I've bad news for Louisiana's "oppressed" who want to feel put upon by all those federal taxes: Louisiana takes in more from the federal government than it contributes in taxes...that's right, the rest of the country is subsidizing us. Good grief, it's embarrassing to read a half-sensible Louisiana article on what keeps this state afloat and then read the comments that indicate that demonstrate that some of us can't read. Just for the record, to make the article's point explicit: If if weren't for the feds we'd be in an even bigger mess than we are now after irresponsibly trashing the entirely sensible Stelly tax reforms. - NoName Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:34:44 +0100 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8585 You're on to something, Ragin_Cajun. Nice name, by the way. Though it would be nearly impossible to do federally, here in Louisiana, we should make a push to keep more taxes locally. Maybe a 2-3% shift in sales taxes, whereby say 3% less goes to the state, each parish collects 2% more and town/city 1% more. The trade off would be state government would no longer make apporpriations to local governments and local NGOs. That would be handled by the local governments with the extra revenues. - RCajunRunner Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:22:10 +0100 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8584 Moon Griffon this morning talked at length about higher ed funding, and I thought he made some great points. He said that under Jindal, Blanco, and Foster higher ed spending had increased. Over all that time, higher ed has not improved. His point was that LA politicians like to throw money at it, and that's not working. More money does not necessarily get us better education. He also said that we have too many public colleges in Louisiana. And that presidents and administrators salaries are too high. I totally agree with all that. If the number of students in LA colleges has gone down over the last 20 years, and the number of businesses employing college graduates has gone down, then why should the funding go up? If half of our students don't finish high school, and there's only a total of 3 Million people in the state, how many colleges do we really need? - ragin_cajun Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:07:20 +0100 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8578 that 1.9 Billion was laundered through Washington. Every hand it passed through on the way up there and back down here took a little cut for their department/agency/commission's "operating expenses". That 1.9 Billion might well have been 2.5 or 3 Billion if it had stayed in the state. I'd love to be exempted from federal taxes, even if it meant paying higher state taxes. That way I could pay state pensions only, instead of the state AND federal pensions I have to pay now. - ragin_cajun Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:43:56 +0100 http://www.theind.com/re/6484-stimulating-the-budget#comment-8575 "Specifically, I was seeking line items I could point to and ask, “They can fund this while making debilitating cuts to Decentralized Arts Funding and Statewide Arts Grants?”" Decentralized Arts Funding and appropriations to non-governmental organizations like Acadiana Arts Council should be cut during budget deficits, not to fund a district boondoggle, but rather to pump every dollar available into real state government responsibilities, like Higher Education. - RCajunRunner Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:48:07 +0100