The March 25, 2010 Advocate’s Inside Report, “Another View of State Needs and Cutbacks,” focused on the Louisiana Budget Project’s recently released research paper, Louisiana’s Fiscal Crisis .
In his article, the author notes that “it’s helpful to remember—despite the protestations of the current leadership—that [Louisiana’s current fiscal crisis] is not caused just by reckless spending . . . .” The article then highlights LBP’s findings that there are insufficient state revenues to meet the state’s growing needs and that the state’s loss of revenue is exaggerated by previous cuts in income taxes, Louisiana’s large number of tax exemptions and tax breaks to businesses, and reductions in federal aid.
The article closes with the following commentary: “The Budget Project’s focus on the effects of state spending—or cutbacks—on lower- to moderate-income families is a helpful addition to state policy discussions, which usually are driven by lobbyists for well-heeled interests and lawmakers who slavishly do their bidding.”