Gov. Edwards: This is not the budget I wanted to present. Wochit


On Monday, Gov. John Bel Edwards released what is being called the "Doomsday Budget." It features extensive cuts to the TOPS college tuition program, higher education and state health programs.

At this point, the proposed budget and it's ominous sounding name is more about public relations than funding the state's activities for the coming year. It's reminiscent of the "shock and awe" approach to the beginning of the Gulf War in which the military heavily bombed Baghdad in a powerful show of force that was supposed to convince the enemy in Iraq that resistance was futile and the sooner they surrendered the better. 

In this case, the Doomsday Budget cuts are expected to be so dramatic that the outcry from citizens will convince legislators to rapidly agree to renewing the expiring taxes rather than having to explain to voters why they had to endure such catastrophic cuts.

But, just as the massive bombing campaign didn't crush the enemy's spirit, we doubt the Doomsday Budget will weaken the resolve of state legislators.

Does anyone really think House Republicans, for example, looked at the budget and were suddenly surprised at the cuts? Of course not. And, unlike the shock and awe campaign that had the full support of the president and military leaders to see it succeed, even the Doomsday Budget's author Gov. Edwards doesn't want to see it implemented.

As Governor, Edwards is required by law and the Louisiana Constitution to propose a budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, based on revenues that will be in effect at that time. With more than $1 billion in general fund taxes expiring June 30, Edwards has to assume that money won't be available.

The Governor's hands are further tied by all of the Constitutionally-protected mandates that have been placed on the state's revenues. As a result, higher education and public health are about the only places he, or the Legislature, can scale back.

So while there is much hand wringing, finger pointing and gnashing of teeth over the impending "fiscal cliff" created by the expiration of many current taxes, the real problem is the state's overall tax structure and the slew of revenue obligations that have been crammed into our state constitution over the years.

Yes, it sounds good at first when legislators seek to guarantee funding some priority by crafting a constitutional amendment. The sale gets even easier when they argue they are protecting the money from themselves and possible political games in the future.

But the reality is it's bad fiscal policy to paint yourself into a corner. The folks at the Public Affairs Research Council, a private, nonprofit research organization that studies and then makes recommendations concerning matters of public interest, have warned voters for years about the danger. 

In their annual voting guides to amendments you could count on a line being in the "cons" column about the perils of mandating too much spending and taking away the state's ability to manage the overall budget.

When times were great and oil and gas money was raining down on the state coffers like beads at a Mardi Gras parade, it wasn't a problem. But now, with the price of oil running in the mid $60s per barrel, the good times aren't rolling.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to the problem. The state needs to look at serious tax code reforms and stop trying to manage the details of the state budget via the state Constitution. Until our state leaders get serious about addressing those root issues, we'll just keep limping along from one cliff to another, reliving the doomsday budget scenario over and over.

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