This is the Louisiana Radio Network Legislative Report for Tuesday, May 20th. I’m Andrew Greenstein.
Whether you’re an elected official or a private citizen; a Republican or a Democrat; or an adult or a child – nearly everyone will tell you that taxes in Louisiana are too high. In fact, according to LSU’s annual Louisiana Survey, the percentage of residents who feel that way is going up.
Survey Director Dr. Michael Henderson says what’s interesting in this finding is the fact that even though sales taxes ticked up at the outset of this year, state income taxes actually fell for all Louisianans, thanks to the tax reform package that the legislature passed in the special session last fall.
But what about the essential services that those tax dollars fund? Dr. Henderson says there are certain things that people would be willing to pay higher taxes for.
Cut 9 (10) “…teacher pay raises.”
The number-one issue that people in Louisiana are concerned about – the economy. More than one-thousand people were surveyed both over the phone and online.
Much of the chatter at the Capitol lately has been about the 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Parish Jail late last week. And the fingerpointing is underway. Governor Landry is slamming the criminal justice system in New Orleans for acting slowly on the inmates’ cases, and State Representative Aimee Adatto Freeman, a Democrat who represents New Orleans, is calling on Sheriff Susan Hutson to resign, saying she has failed in her most fundamental responsibility in keeping inmates in custody.