A New Orleans board that doles out lucrative tax breaks to developers is lacking transparency and a set of clear criteria for approving projects. That’s according to New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel, who issued a public letter Tuesday urging the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans to reform the process for approving payments-in-lieu-of-taxes deals, also known as PILOTs. Verite’s Katie Jane Fernelius explains: 

PILOT deals allow developers to forgo annual property taxes, instead agreeing to pay local taxing bodies a fixed rate, which is typically lower than a property’s potential tax burden. Such deals, which can last for decades, are used to attract economic development to the city. … The stakes are high for the city. According to the 2018 report, the IDB’s PILOT program cost $109 million in property taxes between 2007 and 2016 but failed to attract the high-paying jobs developers often promise. 

Angola reforms border on bad faith

The Louisiana Department of Corrections is not complying with a federal judge’s order to improve working conditions on the “Farm Line” at the state penitentiary at Angola, according to lawyers representing prisoners. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson ordered prison officials to provide more shade, rest and protective materials, such as sunscreen, for the men forced to toil away in fields for little or no pay. The Lens’ Nick Chrastil explains what lawyers from the Promise Justice Initiative witnessed when they visited the Farm Line:

Farm Line workers — including the elderly — are still being forced to work in brutal conditions with limited shade, water and rest, they say. The few changes the prison has made to Farm Line operations, including the purchase of a 10×10 popup tent for shade, are “wholly inadequate.” … During their visit to Angola, Farm Line men were taking breaks in the direct sun, as seen first-hand by PJI lawyers. … During the lawyers’ visit to Angola, the single porta-potty for workers did not have any soap or toilet paper. 

Sales tax holidays are bad economic policy

Sales tax “holidays” are popular with politicians. They also are bad economic policies. They’re expensive, costing states and localities nearly $1.3 billion in lost revenue in 2024, draining revenue that supports important services like education and police protection that communities need. And they do little to promote economic growth or make state tax systems more fair. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Marco Guzman explains: 

Policymakers tout sales tax holidays as a way for families to save money while shopping for “essential” goods. On the surface, this sounds reasonable. However, a two- to three-day sales-tax-free shopping spree for selected items does nothing to reduce taxes for low- and moderate-income taxpayers during the other 362 days of the year. Sales taxes are inherently regressive. In the long run, sales tax holidays leave a regressive tax system unchanged, and the benefits of these holidays for working families are minimal. These temporary exemptions also fall short because they are poorly targeted, costly, can easily be exploited, and create administrative difficulties.

Bloomberg donates $5 million to Xavier medical school

The recently established Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine is slated to receive a $5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The donation is part of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s organization’s effort to provide $600 million to historically Black medical schools in the United States. The AP’s Thalia Beaty reports:

“These funds set the stage for a new HBCU medical school and propel the medical profession forward by nurturing a new wave of doctors who genuinely reflect the societies they serve,” said Dr. Leonardo Seoane, founding dean of Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine and Ochsner chief academic officer. “This truly is an investment in a brighter, healthier future for America and is a catalytic investment for XOCOM and New Orleans.”

The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will be just the fourth medical school to be operated by a historically Black university in the United States, and the first in the Gulf South.


Number of the Day

15.7 million – Number of workers who are in households where someone participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 2022. This represents 10% of all workers. (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)