Gov. Jindal's Disaster

Dear Editor: 

We read in the American Press that Gov. Bobby Jindal “won’t support any tax changes he—or national anti-tax activist Grover Norquist—consider a net tax increase.  The Republican governor has closely guarded his record on taxes as he builds a likely presidential campaign.”  In fact he has signed a pledge to Norquist that he will not allow a net tax increase.  Can you imagine? He pledged to a man who doesn’t live in our state, and has given that man basically control over the Louisiana budget, no matter what the consequences to the citizens of our state that elected him.  Shouldn’t he be pledging, instead, to do what is best for Louisiana and its citizens instead of a political power broker who has no interest in our state? 

And the elected sheep in the Louisiana House and Senate fearfully (for some reason) go along with this self serving governor and allow our health and education systems pay the price over and over again.  They play games with our money and allow the state’s infrastructure continue to deteriorate as they steal from Peter to pay Paul, the Louisiana version of a Ponzi scheme. 

How do our elected officials in Baton Rouge solve their problems of a budget shortfall that is nowhere close to being resolved?  They come up with no new taxes but rather new fees, that they in their wild imagination do not consider taxes. And look who pays the penalty once again. The Middle Class and the Poor. 

Raising the state sales tax hits the pocket book of those not making enough to make ends meet already.  Increasing the sales tax means nothing to those making $100,000 or more, but it sure hurts those in the lower income brackets as they have to pay more for everything they buy.  Increasing the “fee” paid on a car you might be buying has the same effect.  To the person buying an expensive Mercedes paying a higher “fee” doesn’t mean anything.  But to the average Joe buying a lower priced new or used car an increase in the “fee” could be a deal breaker on the auto they want. 

Gov. Jindal has stated that he is leaving the state in a better financial condition then when he first came to office.  I’m sure whoever succeeds him in office will argue that point, for the financial standing and condition of our state that he or she inherits will be a disaster, to say nothing about the effect these eight years have had on our health, hospitals, education and infrastructure.