The Pelican Post

Last week Gov. Bobby Jindal outlined six fiscal policy reforms that will bring greater flexibility, accountability and transparency to the state budget.  Specifically, these reforms will:

• Raise the cap on cutting budgetary spending units
• Eliminate the two-year limit on dedicated fund reductions
• Enhance dedicated fund accountability through performance reviews
• Enact a four-year sunset for statutorily created funds
• Increase transparency in K-12 education spending
• Create a user-friendly website that provides comprehensive information about schools

Spending cuts, accountability and transparency.  These proposals won’t solve all of Louisiana’s problems, but they may spare Bobby Jindal from this fate.

One of the great policy triumphs of this era has been welfare reform.  After decades of growth, the disastrous Aid to Families with Dependent Children program was scrapped in 1997 and states were finally given incentives to limit the number of people added to their welfare rolls.  In addition, more stringent work requirements and time limits were put into place.

Why was this possible?  Because there was widespread understanding that welfare had ceased to become a temporary aid to those truly in need and instead had become a way of life.  Welfare’s perverse incentives did immeasurable damage to millions of Americans and by the late 1990′s there was broad bipartisan support for reforms that required more from recipients.  

But this victory for common sense is in danger.  The economic stimulus plan contains provisions that could undermine these hard-earned gains.  Instead of providing a flat dollar amount and encouraging states to minimize the number of recipients, the federal government will pay 80 percent of cost for each new family added to the welfare rolls.  In other words, for every dollar the state of Louisiana spends on welfare, the federal government will provide us with four more.    

Gov. Jindal may be tempted by this invitation to profligacy.  Undoubtedly, many governors will take the bait and expand welfare rolls.  But how would this provide a long-term benefit to Louisiana? 

Louisiana’s well documented “brain drain” will not be helped by expanding the welfare rolls. Nor will economic development. And those who might be eligible for welfare would be better off avoiding the trap of dependency.

Gov. Jindal can send a message about our state’s priorities by rejecting this opportunity to expand the number of government dependents in Louisiana.  The focus must be on making this state a place of opportunity.  Economic development and education reform will do more for everyone, including prospective welfare recipients, than handouts.

The issue of transparency continues to gain traction.  I recommend two brief and informative articles, one from the Economist and the other from the Atlantic Monthly.

Gov. Jindal clearly appreciates the significance of increased transparency.  LaTrac is in its early stages, but I believe it will continue to develop into a comprehensive and useful transparency site.  

But we await evidence that other policy makers in this state appreciate the importance of transparency in government spending.  For example, when will the Department of Treasury provide an online check register similar to that in Rhode Island?  And when will municipalities like New Orleans recognize that posting detailed spending information online in a searchable, user-friendly format is an efficient way to demonstrate their commitment to honest and ethical government?

Enterprising politicians need to wake up and smell the coffee.  Transparency is a sure way to gain public support and favorable press.  The costs are modest and often offset by discoveries of wasteful spending.  What are you waiting for?

The Times-Picayune has posted a searchable database of state employee salaries.  This has been done without fanfare but I suspect it will become a very popular site. Ever wonder how many state employees earn six-figure salaries? Or what a college volleyball coach gets paid? Answers to these thorny questions and many more can be found here.

The Pelican Post is the blog of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy.  Our focus is on policy and politics in Louisiana, with an occasional detour into food, music and whatever else strikes our fancy.

The Pelican Institute is a non-profit research and education institution that conducts scholarly research and analysis of Louisiana public policy. The Institute’s mission is to advance sound policies based on the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty, and limited government.

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