Budget & Taxes

Commentary: LA’s High Incarceration Rate Drives Costs, Privatizing Prisons Doesn’t Solve Problem

Privatizing a state-run prison in Avoyelles Parish might save the state some money, but it would come at a steep cost to state workers and public safety, according to a new commentary by the Louisiana Budget Project. Still, the Legislature deserves praise for scrapping an earlier plan to sell the Avoyelles Correctional Center.

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Report: Louisiana Taxes Working-Poor Further Into Poverty

While most other states exempt working-poor families from the income tax, Louisiana is one of a small number of states that continue to levy an income tax on working families living in poverty. By reducing state income taxes for working-poor families, Louisiana could help these families work their way toward the middle-class, according to an annual report on state income tax trends.

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One in Five Louisianans Receive Food Stamps

An article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week highlighted the importance of SNAP (which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) to Louisiana families. The article noted that, in August, nearly 20 percent of the state’s population—more than 900,000 people—received food stamps benefits under SNAP. Nationwide, the number was 15 percent of the population.

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