Jim Beam Archives - Louisiana Budget Project

August 10, 2018

Who should pay for user fees?

Louisiana’s cash-strapped court system relies heavily on fines and fees imposed on defendants to make up for the lack of financial support from city and state government. These ‘user fees’ disproportionately affect low-income individuals, who too often end up in jail because of an inability to pay.

Number of the Day

$29,426 - Annual wage gap for a black woman employed full-time, year round in Louisiana compared to her white, male counterpart. (Source: National Partnership for Women & Families)

June 4, 2018

It’s Sine Do or Die

The Legislature has until midnight to wrap up its work in the special session, which means passing a budget bill along with the revenue measures that support that spending.

Number of the Day

$21 million - Annual cost of modestly expanding Louisiana’s Earned Income Tax Credit from 3.5 percent to 5 percent of the federal credit, which would benefit nearly 1 in 3 state income tax filers. (Source: Legislative Fiscal Office)

April 16, 2018

The widening racial pay gap

The economic gap between white and black households in New Orleans has grown wider in recent decades, with African American families actually earning less, on average, than in 1979 after adjusting for inflation.

Number of the Day

$7 - Savings to American taxpayers, over time, for every $1 invested in reducing child poverty (Source: Mark Rank via New York Times)

February 9, 2018

Decision day on special session

After months of behind-the-scenes conversations and public posturing, Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to decide today whether to call the Legislature into a special session to deal with the state’s $1 billion fiscal cliff.

Number of the Day

$220 million - Annual revenue that would be generated by making one-fourth of the 1-penny sales tax permanent, which would plug less than 25 percent of the $1 billion fiscal cliff. (Source: Nola.com/The Times-Picayune)