Jindal calls for elimination of all Louisiana income and corporate taxes

[AstroCajun]

Property taxes are the most stable tax base period. Set things up like Texas and get out of our Louisiana politics mindset, them we'll actually be able to create a budget for higher education

Painful, but true.

[AstroCajun]

i think you should remember that if people can live a middle class lifestyle for free, wtf would they ever go back to work? Why should someone be able to buy filet mignon for dinner on government subsidy? or get boiled crawfish at a drive thru? The people who really need it would still use it and be grateful, the lazy people who abuse it wouldnt enjoy it as much. I buy rice, beans, flour and make my own meals, should i wear an im poor sign on my neck? Its become too acceptable to live off the government. It should effect a person pride living that way, thats the motivating factor to go back to work. The current system in no way motivates peole to go back to work. The other day a lady called in on a radio show and said that when she adds up all her gov'y assistance that it was the equivalent of clearing $2600 a month, thats food stamps, la purchase card, obama phone, low income assisted living...all that. When she worked full time, she cleared $1600 a month. What will ever motivate that woman to go back to work when she can sit on her a s s and collect?

I think you focused on the first part of my response and totally forgot about the second.

Do I believe that we should throw a rope out to help the less fortunate? Yes. There's enough of a stigma attached to it to start. And I think the benefits of doing somehing are better than doing nothing.

But help should only go so far and last only so long. It should never have been allowed to become a lifestyle.

[Hammer58]

if you made an isle at the grocery store that consisted of basic needs and that was the only things you could buy with gov't handouts, you know like rice, flour,dry beans, bread, tuna, peanut butter, eggs, etc. i would imagine all of a sudden a lot of these people wouldnt like being on entitlement programs as much.

Not really. When in high school I worked at a Winn-Dixie for a couple of years. that was back when being on government aid still had a bit of a stigma for most people. Even then, you would see the needy use the food stamps to purchase the "basic food necessities" but then use the cash they had for luxuries like alcohol, cigarette's etc. you would think that they would use the cash that they didn't need to spend on food for things like clothes and healthcare for their kids. But instead many just seemed to see the food stamps as a supplement to allow them to spend the cash as they pleased for enjoyment.

[CrazyCajun]

Not really. When in high school I worked at a Winn-Dixie for a couple of years. that was back when being on government aid still had a bit of a stigma for most people. Even then, you would see the needy use the food stamps to purchase the "basic food necessities" but then use the cash they had for luxuries like alcohol, cigarette's etc. you would think that they would use the cash that they didn't need to spend on food for things like clothes and healthcare for their kids. But instead many just seemed to see the food stamps as a supplement to allow them to spend the cash as they pleased for enjoyment.

Regardless it ____es me off when the person in front of me throws a 100$ worth of ribeyes on the counter and hands the clerk food stamps. People will always abuse the system but that doesn't mean it's should just be a free for all.

[CajunRebel]

Just like the Feds, we don't have tax problem we have a spending problem. There are basic government functions that need to be made a priority and the rest of this "feel god" crap needs to be eliminated. And everyone needs to feel the pain of taxes equally. This idea that "fairness" means those who have worked for and earned more should shoulder more of he burden creates this "tax the other guy" mentality that fuels runaway taxing and spending. Also, can you define "basic needs" that you want to give a certain segment a pass on? I'm always wary of that because idea because politicians and the beneficiaries of these we pins seem to have a very broad and generous oncept of "basic needs".

No way. The feds have an enormous spending problem. They bring in about 3 trillion/year and have a debt of over 16 trillion. And most of that goes to social programs or is spent on military research and equipment that will never be used. On the other hand our state is actually pretty damn good with spending. LA only spends what it brings in. And when it comes to taxes Louisiana stays in the top 5 for lowest taxes per individual so it's not like our legislature runs rampant with it's spending.

I don't exactly know what "feel good" crap means but I'm pretty sure I agree with you there. Of course college athletics is probably one of the biggest "feel good" thing our state spends money on. It's certainly not a basic need. So I take it you would love to have our athletic budget cut by 6 million dollars our state gives it?

As far as accounting for basic needs I like what the creators of the fair tax did to make sure the poor wouldn't have to shoulder too much of the burden. They came up with a monthly "prebate" that will be given to every american regardless of income so that everything you spend under the poverty line will be tax free. It's a very reasonable plan and it lets individuals determine what their own basic needs are, not politicians. I hope Jindal does something similar. http://www.fairtax.org/PDF/PrebateExplained2012.pdf

[NewsCopy]

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to eliminate Louisiana's personal and corporate income taxes, and he may suggest replacing the revenue with higher sales taxes, legislators said Thursday. But for now, the shift is just an idea.

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[Hammer58]

No way. The feds have an enormous spending problem. They bring in about 3 trillion/year and have a debt of over 16 trillion. And most of that goes to social programs or is spent on military research and equipment that will never be used. On the other hand our state is actually pretty damn good with spending. LA only spends what it brings in. And when it comes to taxes Louisiana stays in the top 5 for lowest taxes per individual so it's not like our legislature runs rampant with it's spending.

I don't exactly know what "feel good" crap means but I'm pretty sure I agree with you there. Of course college athletics is probably one of the biggest "feel good" thing our state spends money on. It's certainly not a basic need. So I take it you would love to have our athletic budget cut by 6 million dollars our state gives it?

As far as accounting for basic needs I like what the creators of the fair tax did to make sure the poor wouldn't have to shoulder too much of the burden. They came up with a monthly "prebate" that will be given to every american regardless of income so that everything you spend under the poverty line will be tax free. It's a very reasonable plan and it lets individuals determine what their own basic needs are, not politicians. I hope Jindal does something similar. http://www.fairtax.org/PDF/PrebateExplained2012.pdf

When I wrote that statement I figured someone would bring up the athletic budget. I think the 3% limit on general fund transfers is a fair use. Keep in mind that athletics benefits the university and the students plus many students would not have the opportunity to attend college if not for athletics. When viewing the benefits athletics contributes to the university and the student body I don't think it is a waste, certainly not as much of a waste as some of these pet slush fund projects our legislators waste money on every year.

[Just1More]

Rebel, we probably agree on a lot of tax reform concepts (although I believe the Feds are incapable of achieving any of it). I very much want a simplified tax code. I like exploring national sales tax - consumption taxation is simple and equitable. The "prebate" to ease the pain on everyone's "necessity spending" is sound.

I'm afraid, however, everything in the US economy, including and especially politics, revolves around the current Federal tax code in such an intentionally massively complex spider web, there's no way we will ever get the political foxes to change the locks on the public hen house... short of a bloody revolution. Neither party, even in complete control of both houses and the White House, will take on this task and see it through. They'd never do it with split party leadership.

As for state university athletic budgets and the "feel good" talk... the state does not mandate universities have to have athletic departments any more than they mandate they have to have student unions, covered walkways, research centers or professors that publish. They force a cap on universities' athletic spending, but UL could forego athletics and the state would not take that money away. Just like the university makes decisions that a student union is something other competing universities have, and that provides students a gathering place for a variety of functions, so too does the university realize the necessity to have university athletics as part of the complete university system offering.

If all state schools eliminated, or even massively scaled back athletics, from the extremely low budgets we currently have, they would all shrink in enrollment, lose a great deal of their community tie, lose a huge amount of alumni connections, and all of that would have an enormous overall negative impact on the university's academics.

You need to stop referencing athletics in your comparative arguments. I believe you think you've made several sound arguments on this topic. You simply have not. You fail to accept the relationship aspect of athletics and academics in their healthy cohabitation. You think one penalizes the other, monetarily, when in fact they are inseparable from each other's welfare. Take away the $6 million going to athletics, give it strictly to academics, and watch the systematic collapse of the entire university is all you will accomplish.

[CajunNation]

Property taxes are the most stable tax base period. Set things up like Texas and get out of our Louisiana politics mindset, then we'll actually be able to create a budget for higher education

Ding....Ding

We have a winner.

[TechAlum05]

You have to worry about the motives...is he doing this just to bow down to his base? Or is he doing this for our well-being? If you take one hand from one pocket, it has to go into another pocket somewhere.

It's a bit of both.

Replacing the current convoluted state income and sales tax system with a simpler, flatter sales tax system would make Louisiana more competitive against states like Texas. Eliminating the income tax will help attract more businesses to the state and make Louisiana appear to be more business-friendly. It is better for the state to tax one's consumption than to tax one's hard work and income, especially with the current progressive state income taxes on individuals and corporations.

Bobby Jindal is looking into the future. The governor cannot run for reelection, so there's only one bigger prize in front of him...the Presidency. The 2016 Presidential race is wide open on both sides. There is no favorite on the GOP side, yet. Jindal is the current head of the Republican Governors Association which serves as a springboard for governors onto the national stage (see Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie next year). Eliminating the state income tax and greatly simplifying the state sales tax would be a great boost for a Presidential run in 2016 among the party's conservative base.

[Just1More]

It's a bit of both.

Replacing the current convoluted state income and sales tax system with a simpler, flatter sales tax system would make Louisiana more competitive against states like Texas. Eliminating the income tax will help attract more businesses to the state and make Louisiana appear to be more business-friendly. It is better for the state to tax one's consumption than to tax one's hard work and income, especially with the current progressive state income taxes on individuals and corporations.

Bobby Jindal is looking into the future. The governor cannot run for reelection, so there's only one bigger prize in front of him...the Presidency. The 2016 Presidential race is wide open on both sides. There is no favorite on the GOP side, yet. Jindal is the current head of the Republican Governors Association which serves as a springboard for governors onto the national stage (see Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie next year). Eliminating the state income tax and greatly simplifying the state sales tax would be a great boost for a Presidential run in 2016 among the party's conservative base.

Good post. But, we're going to see Ronald Reagan next year?

[CharlieK]

Good post. But, we're going to see Ronald Reagan next year?

If only.