LA Budget Featured at Lunch with the League

May 16, 2012 at 1:09 pm

Louisiana Budget Project Director Jan Moller will be one of the featured panelists Thursday at the monthly luncheon hosted by League of Women Voters of Baton Rouge. The discussion will center on the effects of tax cuts, exemptions and rebates on Louisiana’s state budget.

The other presenters are: Democratic State Rep. John Bel Edwards of Amite; Kevin Kane, president of The Pelican Institute for Public Policy; and former Republican state Rep. Woody Jenkins of Baton Rouge.

The lunch will be at Noon on Thursday, May 17 at Drusilla Seafood Restaurant, 3482 Drusilla Lane in Baton Rouge. Reservations are highly recommended due to limited dining area. Tickets are $25.00 per person and LWVBR Members receive a 20% member discount. For more details, click here. For directions, click here.

 

Creating a Health Insurance Exchange is Right Choice for Louisiana

May 10, 2012 at 6:43 pm

A report making the rounds this week gave several reasons – all of them misleading – for why Louisiana should not try to set up a competitive marketplace for health insurance. But a new fact sheet from the Louisiana Budget Project sets the record straight, and explains why Louisiana will benefit from establishing its own health insurance exchange instead of outsourcing the job to the federal government.

The reality is that a state-run exchange will expand access to affordable private health insurance and be an asset to families and small businesses in our state.

Read the new fact sheet, “Creating a Health Insurance Exchange is Right Choice for Louisiana,” by clicking here.

 

The Case for Need-based College Aid

May 9, 2012 at 4:48 pm

By: Tim Mathis

A new fact-sheet on state financial aid programs released this week by the Brookings Institution paints a sobering picture for low-income Louisiana college students by confirming what we already knew: Louisiana does not provide nearly enough support for low-income college students.

Just 16 percent of state aid for Louisiana students is based on financial need, compared to the national average of 73 percent. In contrast, the majority of financial aid is merit-based, which makes Louisiana out of line with both its regional and national peers.

Louisiana provides financial aid through the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, in which the state pays in-state tuition for state high school graduates with above-average grades and college aptitude scores. The TOPS program is supplemented by a second program, called GO Grants, which provide small tuition stipends for students from low-income families.

But postsecondary education is increasingly out of reach for those who need it most. Tuition at public colleges and universities has grown by 30 percent over the past four years, and only one- third of all full-time students receive TOPS. Unlike TOPS, need-based aid often provides make-or-break assistance to low-income college students. Without Go Grants, many students would probably not go to college at all and many more would drop out of college before earning their degree. Click to continue »

 

LBP Releases Payday Lending Fact Sheet

May 4, 2012 at 10:46 am

Louisiana Allows Lenders to Charge up to 1,043% APR

LBP releases a payday lending fact sheet with key statistics about the impact of predatory lending on working families. Louisiana has one of the highest concentrations of payday lenders in the country, which undermines many of the successful anti-poverty policies.

Poor state regulations allow lenders to charge up to 1,043% APR for a $50 loan, and 782% APR for a $100 loan. Working families in Louisiana pay an estimated $205 million in fees per year, money that could be spent in more productive ways such as paying off other debt, investing in education, or owning a home.

Read the fact sheet here. For more information, see the 2011 LBP report, “Payday Lenders: Trapping Louisiana’s Working Families in a Cycle of Debt.”

 

 

Revenue Estimating Conference: LBP Breaks Down the Numbers

April 26, 2012 at 3:38 pm

By Jan Moller

The sullen look on Rep. Jim Fannin’s face on Tuesday evening told the story better than the numbers ever could.

Fannin, the chairman of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, offered little except shoulder shrugs and gallows humor after the Revenue Estimating Conference finished revising the state’s budget forecast.

That’s because the figures were startling: Tax revenues for the current year are falling $210 million short of expectations. Next year’s forecast is $304 million short of earlier predictions. That’s $514 million in proposed spending that lawmakers have to cut before they adjourn June 4, starting on Tuesday when Fannin’s committee takes its turn.

And that’s not counting additional reductions that might be needed if lawmakers refuse to go along with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed overhaul of the state retirement plans. At least $120 million is riding on those bills. Click to continue »

 

Commentary: LA’s High Incarceration Rate Drives Costs, Privatizing Prisons Doesn’t Solve Problem

April 24, 2012 at 3:27 pm

Privatizing a state-run prison in Avoyelles Parish might save the state some money, but it would come at a steep cost to state workers and public safety, according to a new commentary by the Louisiana Budget Project. Still, the Legislature deserves praise for scrapping an earlier plan to sell the Avoyelles Correctional Center.

Here is an excerpt from the report by LBP budget analyst Steve Spires:

While privatization may reduce the state’s costs in the short-term, it is the wrong way to save money in a state that leads the world in incarceration. A better way to lower the state’s prison costs is through policies that result in fewer people being locked up for non-violent offenses in the first place, and investments in programs that reduce the risk of offenders committing another crime and being sent back to prison.

Read the full commentary here.

 

Press conference against changes to the retirement plan

April 24, 2012 at 11:52 am

LBP’s Jan Moller speaks against the proposed retirement plan at the Capitol.

Watch a clip from WAFB or read an article from The Advocate.

 

 

The Reminder of Tax Day

April 17, 2012 at 11:13 am

By Jan Moller

With the April 17 tax deadline looming, it’s a good time look not just at what we pay to the government each year but what we all get in return. Because while no one especially enjoys paying taxes, they are the  essential building blocks of a fair and open society that gives every citizen the chance to reach their full potential.

Here in Baton Rouge, taxes pay for one of the best park systems anywhere in Louisiana, where sports enthusiasts of all stripes have a place to play. Click to continue »

 
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