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Friday, March 9th, 2018

Louisiana, ‘a Failed State’

Author:     David Leonhardt
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     MARCH 8, 2018
Link: Louisiana, ‘a Failed State’
Stephan:   Louisiana is a "failed state." Once again we have another example demonstrating the failure of Republican controlled governance. Republicans cannot govern, that is the sad truth, and it is damaging the lives of the millions of Americans who voted for them. You get what you vote for. You might bear that in mind in November. Also Kansas and Louisiana, and their tax cutting policies may be the precursors for the United States as a whole under the Trump tax cuts.

A special session of the Louisiana state legislature adjourned this week without resolving a budget crisis that could lead to cuts in public programs.
Credit Bill Feig/The Advocate, via Associated Press

‘A failed state.’ Until recently, Kansas offered the clearest cautionary tale about deep tax cuts. The state’s then-governor, Sam Brownback, promised that the tax cuts he signed in 2012 and 2013 would lead to an economic boom. They didn’t, and Kansas instead had to cut popular programs like education.

Now Kansas seems to have a rival for the title of the state that’s caused the most self-inflicted damage through tax cuts: Louisiana.

“No two ways about it: Louisiana is a failed state,” Robert Mann, a Louisiana State University professor and New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist, wrote recently.

A special session of the State Legislature, called specifically to deal with a budget crisis caused by a lack of tax revenue, failed to do so, and legislators adjourned on Monday. No one is sure […]

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