I didn't mean Jindal.
I meant the author of the article:
Sorry for the confusion. I should have been more explicit.
Posted on 05/13/2008 4:29:00 PM PDT by Uncle Sham
Apparently, Louisiana legislators have decided that everything wrong in the state has been fixed. The Senate finance committee has passed Senate Bill 672 to the floor of the Senate for debate. This bill sponsored by Senator Ann Duplessis (D, New Orleans) will raise the base pay for Louisiana legislators from $16,800 to a whopping $50,000 per year. This is a 300% increase in the base pay for a part-time legislative position. An additional $12,000 or so would be added on to cover expenses.
This can only mean one thing. Louisiana is fully repaired from the damages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the highest priority item of Bobby Jindal's new conservative government is giving the legislature a 300% pay increase. This would move our legislators into the nation's top ten as far as compensation goes. It's much better than the teachers get, which is trying to keep close to the "southern average". It's also a heck of a lot higher ranking than most of the other things states are ranked on. I guess Louisiana has moved into the top ten in all of those categories without any of us noticing. I guess we'll have to pay better attention from now on.
Anyway, if you are not living in Louisiana, please let your own local greedy politician know that he no longer has to support stealing from you to help us. You have apparently helped us too much already.
There is no linked article or source.
Jindal’s backstabbing of the Louisiana taxpayer has been discussed on a couple of threads the past two days. May be of interest to you.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014818/posts
(Louisiana House) Committee delays proposed tax break (Jindal stabs taxpayers in back - again)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015146/posts
Bill to end (Louisiana) income tax stalls (Jindal stabs La. taxpayers in the back)
Who's the kid?
: )
I sure hope that Governor Jindal doesn’t blow it like the Republicans did after they gained the house and senate. Governor Jindal was elected to reform corruption, reign in run away spending, reduce taxes and reduce state intervention. This is not a good start.
I don't know if it's backstabbing as much as inexperience with dealing with the thieves in the good old boy network from the position of governor. This pay-raise is a complete joke and sends all the wrong signals to the rest of America about what condition Louisiana is in. He needs to do whatever is in his power as governor to stop it from becoming law. Period.
Don’t worry. When Bobby vetos the bill our favorite anti Bobby will post another anti Bobby rant about something else. Some people with limited .......should be taken with a grain of salt or a good shot of rum..
figures
I'm afraid you're in for a revelation. Jindal will likely sign this bill if it passes.
I wouldn't be shocked if this comes to be the case. I would be very disappointed to see his credibility totally shot if it does. I am paying very close attention to my representatives votes and comments on this.
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/
14.5.08
Jindal finally on board tax cut train, but paid high fare
Finally, almost a month later, Gov. Bobby Jindal finally jumped on the train spawned by state Sen. Buddy Shaw’s SB 87 which would provide a tax cut for middle-class households to the tune of $302 million a year. The wonder is why he didn’t leap early into the engine cab rather than catch onto the caboose, and what prompted him to do so?
Despite information showing excess state funds beyond what Jindal’s 2008-09 budget had anticipated, despite the House cutting spending that would have partially offset the “cost” of the cut, despite legislative criticism of some of Jindal’s spending plans, the most Jindal ever committed to on this bill was after initial opposition he agreed he would sign in it if commensurate cuts were made. Meanwhile, others perceived that in allowing a poison pill amendment that altered the bill to make it wipe out individual, estate, and trust income taxes over 10 years that would give Jindal an excuse not to sign it, Jindal really wanted to kill it.
This line of behavior, given Jindal’s stated desire to reduce the size of government and his goal of reducing or eliminating income taxes in the future, could lead only to two assumptions about Jindal’s thinking on the matter. One was Jindal had very serious concerns about looming budget deficits and the use of “one-time” money (generated from non-recurring sources like federal grants, even if they would be considered “recurring” under the state’s definition for budgeting purposes) to fund recurring commitments and even given his enthusiasm for tax relief he felt he simply could not do it.
However, Jindal never tried to make a public case to justify his opposition on these grounds, which either was a sign of poor political skill or implied the other potential motive, that Jindal really didn’t care about delivering tax cuts when he had a decent chance to do so. Whatever the reason, Jindal today announced his support for the original bill with only one change, beginning implementation in tax/budget year 2009 rather than 2008.
What changed Jindal’s mind? Was it irreversible momentum that made him go against his better judgment about the budget and/or skepticism about tax cuts? Did further review satisfy him that a 2009 start would not be imperiling state finances? Or was there some kind of deal made? (Maybe some of all of the above?)
If a deal is involved with the House and/or Senate, likely it would involve either or both of two things. One is with the issue of earmarks slipped into the state’s operating budget that Jindal promised to review very stringently, the other is legislator pay raises to among the highest in the nation and the highest in the South despite this being a part-time job in a state that underperforms in almost every way, which one might presume Jindal would oppose on the principle of smaller government.
The House and Senate may have threatened Jindal to send the amended bill through and dare him to veto it unless they got these kinds of concessions. If they did and Jindal blinked, in a few weeks he unenthusiastically will pursue these ends. Thus the people would suffer unwise spending if so in addition to Jindal’s squandering of political capital. But if he shows zeal with his veto pen, nothing may have been brokered.
Regardless, Jindal took a big hit to his reputation on his issue. In order for him to reassure a number of conservatives and reformers that heretofore have supported him, in the future he may have to be act more boldly more quickly than he had planned on their agendas.
posted by Jeff Sadow | 5/14/2008 03:15:00 PM |
Thanks for the info. I haven’t heard anything else on the pay raise yet. Have you?
It is up before the State Senate. I do not know when it will be brought up for debate. The bill is SB 672.
http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/byinst.asp?sessionid=08rs&billtype=SB&billno=672
Here’s some more on the Stelly Bill repeal. It is worth noting that I have posted several threads about Jindal’s efforts to block our tax cut. I immediately drew flak from Jindalites who have been taken in by his hokum.
To be clear, I voted for Jindal last year and in ‘03. And I hoped he would be the next reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. But after the first two special sessions where all that happened was runaway government spending and pay raises for government deadheads, I got suspicious. If you asked anyone about an income tax cut all you got was “that’s for later.”
Well, I’ve heard that crap for fifty years. So when a month ago he actively tried to block SB 87 (Buddy Shaw’s tax cut) that was the last straw.
I’ll be the first to say Jindal’s an improvement over MeeMaw. But he’s not going to run as a hard-core conservative - which he did and we’ve got the video - and then turn around once in office and become a Big Government Republican. At least not without being called on it.
Baton Rouge, like Washington DC, is a bloodsucking leech of a town that lives off the taxpayers. Both need to have their blood supply shut off.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/grace/index.ssf?/base/news-0/121082945440410.xml&coll=1
Jindal grabs the reins
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Stephanie Grace
File this tidbit away: Eliminating the Stelly tax increases was not Gov. Bobby Jindal’s idea.
It’s worth remembering, if only for the sake of historical accuracy, that the income tax reduction Jindal now fully supports was not part of the governor’s legislative agenda until Wednesday.
In fact, Jindal’s administration used to be so skeptical of slashing revenues by $300 million a year, absent one-for-one spending cuts, that it tried to kill the popular measure in committee.
snip
Still no word on what is going on with this proposal. My bet is that they’ll end up giving themselves a pay raise that is far lower than the one mentioned. Stupid voters will have no problem with this since it will have been compared to the absurd amount they originally asked for. Jindal can stop this in it’s tracks before any of this happens and should.
I didn’t see much in any of this morning’s newspapers. Moon will be on the lookout for when this bill moves. If I hear anything, I’ll ping you.
KPEL FM105.1 had three legislators on this morning, one of which was Sen. Mike Michot. Michot is chairman of the senate finance committee and said that he passed it through committee so as to allow for debate on the floor. Later in the show, his dishonesty surfaced when asked whether or not he would vote “for” the bill and he said he supported it as written. He’s part of the problem in this state with his “me first” attitude. He’s been in office for several terms at the current pay level and has never complained about it before. In fact, he’s spent money running for this low paid position. What a crook.
Rush sold Jindal as the next Reagan back in Nov.
I didn't mean Jindal.
I meant the author of the article:
Sorry for the confusion. I should have been more explicit.
Bobby Jindal: The Disappointing Governor of Louisiana
Written by: Jeff Crouere
Bobby Jindal was elected Governor in a landslide last year, riding into office on the hopes and aspirations of the vast majority of voters in this state. He campaigned as a fiscal and social conservative who would make major changes to state government. Sadly, after four months of his administration, the results have been mixed and somewhat disappointing.
For example, today we learned that the Governor’s floor leader has introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 87 that would delay tax relief until July 1, 2009. This is the bill that would rollback personal income tax rates to the levels that existed before the dreaded Stelly plan was enacted in 2002. Last week, Governor Jindal implied that the tax cut would be enacted on January 1, 2009, but this early enactment will have a $62 million impact on the current fiscal budget, so Jindal’s leaders now want to delay it until the following year. This is leading some commentators to remark that the Governor “oversold” the tax cut plan that he championed last week.
This is just the latest in a series of disappointments for citizens who were quite optimistic about Jindal. While there has been progress in reforming our ethical climate and making minimal business tax cuts, the Governor has not been aggressive enough in reducing the size of government. In fact, he submitted a budget that was larger than his predecessor. Just last week, his top budget adviser asked the legislature to restore cuts that were made in health and education spending.
With record government spending and surpluses driven by surging oil and gas prices, legislators are proposing a 300% increase in legislative pay. Unfortunately, the Governor has not forcefully denounced this reckless plan. He has taken a stand on the ridiculous effort to repeal the commonsense helmet law, doing the bidding of his political mentor, Mike Foster. Jindal then fired James Champagne as Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission for opposing the repeal.
With much hoopla, Jindal ordered a hiring freeze in state government, but it had so many loopholes that it was practically ineffective. The list goes on. Jindal asked for $240 million in new state government spending, but while spending is pushed, why have tax cuts been postponed? Jindal had to be brought kicking and screaming to the bargaining table with legislators on the issue of income tax cuts. Initially, Jindal did not support rolling back personal income taxes levels to the pre-Stelly rates. Only when he was pressured by constituents and conservatives did Jindal reluctantly change his mind. Now, we learn that the tax relief will not begin until July 1, 2009. So legislators want to increase spending, hire more employees and pad their own legislative pay immediately, while tax payers have to wait for tax relief. So it is quite infuriating that bureaucrats and politicians will enjoy the benefits of the surplus, but not long suffering taxpayers.
The bottom line is that Jindal was not the conservative that many people believed he was. In his first four months, he has not forcefully fought for reduced spending or lower taxes. He has not advocated the type of bold fiscal reform that is necessary to move Louisiana forward.
What has interested Jindal the most is the opportunity to be interviewed by national media outlets, such as the Glenn Beck show or the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. At the same time, Jindal has been reluctant to engage the statewide media and answer questions from local reporters.
It seems he is continuing to audition for the Vice Presidential position, but back in October of 2007, he was elected to a four year term as Governor. He should consider nothing else but how to fulfill this term in the best possible way.
Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com
Wrong amount, wrong time for pay raises
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:18 a.m.
The issue: Legislative pay raises.
We suggest: This is not the time.
An ongoing legislative effort to give our senators and representatives in Baton Rouge an unseemly pay raise seems to be gathering steam.
A committee of the state Senate last week approved the measure by Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, that would raise the legislators’ salaries from $16,800 a year to $50,700.
That kind of bump in pay might be justified if the lawmakers were woefully underpaid compared to their peers in neighboring states, if the state were flush with cash after having seen to other, more pressing needs, and if we could expect three times more work in exchange for the vast raises.
None of those conditions is present here.
Louisiana legislators make more than the southern average of their counterparts in other states.
And they are performing a part-time job that they all asked to do.
Each member of the Legislature ran for his or her office fully aware of the salary and of the responsibilities it would entail.
To argue now that their pay is far less than what they deserve is disingenuous.
Finally, the work involved in the job will not change, meaning that the members will be paid three times what they are being paid now to do the same jobs.
The sheer magnitude of the raise — in dollars and as a percentage of the current pay — is enough to raise eyebrows and hackles.
Although we respect the jobs our lawmakers do on our behalf, we don’t think they deserve to be the ninth-highest-paid legislators in the nation, which they would become according to news accounts.
Our students routinely score at or near the bottom of most national measures. Our roads and bridges are mired in decay. And we continue to face a mounting coastal crisis that will require commitment and creativity to solve.
The last thing we need our leaders spending time doing is handing out pay raises to themselves.
Unfortunately, that is what they were doing in the same week that members of the House approved drastic cuts to proposed spending on education and health care.
We hope that the full Senate shoots down this poorly conceived bill and keeps the pay at its current level.
An independent review board that looked into the pay issue recommended a 12 percent pay raise. Something along those lines would be much more appropriate than this proposal, but even that raise should be better defended than saying the lawmakers must work long hours, the primary argument for the current proposal.
The hours might be long and the pay might be short, but there are people who will serve without the state trebling legislators’ salaries.
In short, if the conditions aren’t suitable to you, leave office and let someone else take a turn.
Editorials represent the opinions of this newspaper, and not of any one person.
Thanks for the updates. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be the day they pass something if it’s going to be passed. This gives them the “Bill Clinton” weekend cover so people don’t notice.
Nothing but silence on this issue from Baton Rouge. Lets hope it’s a good sign.
I just heard on KPEL that the Senate passed this measure by a vote of 24 for and 16 against. We need a list.
PLEASE help us here in Louisiana by contacting YOUR congressman or senator and letting them know we here in Louisiana no longer need federal aide of any kind if we are using our money to TRIPLE our legislative salaries. Thanks in advance. This legislative body needs to feel the heat.
ping into action
We need to gather at the office of Senator Duplessis with signs asking for Federal aide to end, along with others thanking the Feds for bringing our state back to a FULL recovery. Perhaps other signs can ask for MORE Fed aide so that we can ALL triple our salaries down here in Louisiana.
I guess you saw where the “conservative” Mike Michot voted yea on the pay raise.
He’s a “Con”serve-himself-ative as far as I can see. His new nickname should be MeMeMechot. Recalls should be iniated on every last one of those who voted FOR this crap. Especially the multi-termers who seem to have had no problems with the payscales all these election cycles.
Ping
"I meant the author of the article:"
That's Jeff Crouere(crew-air)
From Wikipedia
"Jeff Crouere is a Conservative political commentator in the Greater New Orleans area.
He has held several positions within the Louisiana Republican Party, formerly including executive director. In 1995, Crouere unsuccessfully ran for a seat at the Louisiana Legislature against Democratic incumbent Mitch Landrieu."
FWIW, I went to school for a while with one of his older sisters, he has four. He comes from a very nice family
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