Comments for State cuts have LEH tightening belt at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 4 out of 4 comments http://www.theind.com Thu, 23 May 2013 10:45:54 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9342-state-cuts-have-leh-tightening-belt#comment-24578 "but let one oil rig operation be in danger of closing and suddenly we have all kinds of millions to offer a private sector business to stay open." If any oil company or other private business being given public tax dollars to subsidize their salaries and operations, then we should discontinue the practice. Are there any businesses in the oil & gas industry currently receiving public tax dollars? - RCajunrunner Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:16:50 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9342-state-cuts-have-leh-tightening-belt#comment-24575 So what Cajunrunner suggests is that the culture of the state is not worth preserving; that a cut from $1.5 million to $500,000 within 2 years time is reasonable. It is interesting to me that in this state we can cut higher education, we can cut healthcare, we can cut the arts and humanities by millions of dollars, but let one oil rig operation be in danger of closing and suddenly we have all kinds of millions to offer a private sector business to stay open. And we wonder why our children stay ignorant and unable to compete academically on a national level- why we have a 60+ percent drop out rate- why we have the majority of highschool graduates unable to enter college without remedial classes first. Yup- we have our priorities straight right here is Louisiana! - nubbsytheone Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:58:59 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9342-state-cuts-have-leh-tightening-belt#comment-24566 Budget cuts are tough, but we are in a recession, so they are necessary. Higher Ed and healthcare have also taken some hits. What Louisiana is doing is not much different from every other state in the union right now. In fact, we are weathering the recession better than most. And remember, we have to balance our budget. We can't, and shouldn't, operate like California. - RCajunrunner Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:15:47 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9342-state-cuts-have-leh-tightening-belt#comment-24553 I appreciate this coverage of the issue and would just like to clarify that the $2 million was only the LEH's state appropriation (now slashed to $500,000). The LEH operating budget is still in excess of $3 million from other sources, but overall our agency loss is more than 30%, a loss that if not recovered will continue to damage the cultural community and economy each year it is permitted to happen. Michael Sartisky, PhD LEH President - Michael Sartisky Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:12:06 +0100