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Mitch Landrieu goes out on a limb
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Brandonius Maximus |
| Last Edited | Brandonius Maximus May 14, 2009 06:40pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| News Date | Friday, May 15, 2009 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | A frequent criticism of Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu when he ran for New Orleans mayor in 2006 was that he was too risk averse, that he avoided taking positions on major rebuilding issues for risk of offending some voters.
Which makes it all the more interesting that Landrieu has decided to take a very public, pretty high-risk stance on the fate of a state income tax cut passed last year, during much flusher times.
Landrieu doesn't want to permanently reverse the tax cuts that sailed through the Legislature last year, which will cost the state about $360 million next year. But he did tell the Baton Rouge Press Club last week that he wants to delay the cut for three years, to at least minimize a massive looming budget shortfall.
It may not have been a Walter Mondale moment, but by making the suggestion, Landrieu was going out on a limb.
It doesn't really matter that Landrieu's got some good arguments on his side. That, waste and inefficiency notwithstanding, plenty of the things government spends money are politically popular, including the arts, mental health facilities, decent universities, and even incentives to keep chicken plants from closing. Or that, because they're not constitutionally protected, health care and higher ed, as always, are slated to absorb disproportionate hits in next year's budget.
"Louisiana has a lot of unmet needs, " Landrieu told the press club. "Louisiana continues to remain far behind. You have to query whether the way we handle this budget crisis will get us to where we need to go."
Nor does it matter that the cuts were approved when the state was enjoying a huge surplus fueled by post-hurricane spending and high oil and gas prices. At the time, cooler heads opposed permanent tax cuts spurred by temporary conditions. Opponents back then included Gov. Bobby Jindal, until lawmakers threatened to eliminate the income tax entirely, forcing him to strike a compromise and save face. Now firmly opposed to a reversal, Jindal neve |
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