Louisiana has the highest combined state and local sales tax in the country. In order to change this over the long-term, restoring revenue through the income tax – whether through rate increases or elimination of costly deductions – must occur. Large income tax cuts a decade ago are the chief reason Louisiana finds itself in perpetual budgetary crisis mode. The Advocate’s Lanny Keller applauds Gov. John Bel Edwards’ work to find a fix by building a broad coalition for real tax reform that funds important state priorities like health care and higher education. Keller notes that business involvement in the effort should be coming from both social responsibility and self-interest.

People aren’t stupid. They know that the chaos of the State Capitol’s current budget crisis hurts their communities. It’s hurt most families through vastly higher tuition at colleges, and at purchases at the cash register. But it hurts business most of all. Not only because of the financial crisis in colleges and universities that has hampered the state’s overall economic competitiveness, but in the uncertainty that hobbles business planning.

Health debate continues

Leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have hearings scheduled to discuss bipartisan ideas for strengthening the Affordable Care Act’s health care marketplaces. Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Cassidy continues to hawk a partisan repeal bill. Max Muth, a German journalist, writes for The Advocate that Cassidy has some facts wrong when it comes to health systems in other countries.

When I went to see U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy speak about his healthcare proposal at an event in Baton Rouge the other day, I couldn’t help but ask the gastroenterologist-turned-Louisiana elected official whether going in the German direction on health care couldn’t be a promising endeavor. Cassidy answered with a little allegory. Whichever politician would try and put a limit of 55 mph on the Autobahn would soon find himself out of office, he said. Similarly, having mandatory insurance that doesn’t cover an expensive liver surgery when you need it would not go well with U.S. voters, Cassidy added. I can see where he’s coming from since he campaigns against mandates, but regarding Germany, his analogy is quite misleading. Necessary liver surgeries will always be covered by German public health insurance, no matter which agency you’re with. Every one of these provide exactly one plan.

The Medicaid program emerged from the latest repeal debate as a clear winner. The program, though not perfect, is popular and providing important access to care. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii is proposing that middle-income people be allowed to buy-in to Medicaid as a way to further expand coverage and bring down out-of-pocket costs. Vox’s Sarah Kliff and Jeff Stein talked to Schatz:

“One of the unintended consequences of the Republicans trying to cut Medicaid is they made Medicaid really popular,” Sen. Schatz said in an interview. “This conversation has shifted. There was a time where Medicare was really popular and Medicaid was slightly less popular. What this ACA battle did was make both of them almost equally popular.”

On “mixed-income” housing

On the heels of a visit from Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, The Advocate’s editorial board weighed in on New Orleans’ public housing, lauding the new public-private developments.

Concentrating poverty is a way to exacerbate the ills that it brings. The old projects were romanticized during the debates over the new model, but the reality today is that the public-private developments are working. We agree with the head of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department that the new model is the right plan. We also agree that the need for affordable housing has to be the overriding priority in mixed-income developments.

Research indicates that moving to “high opportunity” neighborhoods helps people improve their lot in life. One way to accomplish this is through housing choice vouchers. Boosting access to vouchers and changing laws so that landlords can’t discriminate against voucher-holders would facilitate more socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods. The editorial board ends by asking Carson to lobby for more affordable housing dollars through either rental subsidies or affordable housing developments.  

Trying to make it in NOLA

Gambit’s Kat Stromquist took a deep dive into affordability and costs for young professionals in New Orleans. She cites a Brookings Institution study showing that 7 out of 10 jobs created in the Crescent City are in low-wage industries like tourism.

“This should be a city where if you make $50,000 a year, it’s just you, you should be OK. But you’re not. You’re struggling,” says Housing NOLA Executive Director Andreanecia Morris. In characterizing the city’s housing difficulties, Morris describes an overheated market with high rents that don’t seem based on wages or demand, unusually high utility rates and an economy she says hasn’t “earned” its housing crisis.

While those making $50,000 are struggling, most New Orleanians have even less income. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that median household income in the city is $36,792.

Number of the Day

37,000 – Number of Louisiana workers employed in the liquefied natural gas and petrochemical manufacturing facilities, an increase of 15 percent since 2006. (Source: LSU economist Gregory Upton via The Advocate)