Like New Orleans, Jefferson’s reforms are now bearing fruit. And like New Orleans, Jefferson benefits from leadership that places students above special interests. Here are five reasons why approving a new CBA would stymie momentum and risk recent gains.
Not only does Medicaid place an unreasonable burden on taxpayers, it fails to deliver a significant health benefit to the poor.
Because Bob Mann holds the Manship Chair in Journalism and is the director of the Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs at Louisiana State University, and his accusations center around the issue of racism, I feel compelled to respond to his claims.
Louisiana legislators may not have the power to fix what is wrong with the federal welfare state. But they can refuse to expand it in their own backyards.
With the Louisiana legislature now in session, this is an opportune time to apply some lessons from Margaret Thatcher to what may be the most important public policy issue facing our state: education reform.
Act 2 moved Louisiana forward from an anachronistic model of education into a student-centric one that allows each child to master her learning before she moves on to another concept. It is an important model for the nation that puts the emphasis on learning outcomes and student success.
Louisiana’s public schools put themselves in a precarious position by hiring more teachers and administrative personnel, even while the number of students declined. Generous pension and benefit plans have exacerbated this problem.
Supporters of the law argue that states should move quickly to create state insurance exchanges in order to ensure a higher level of state control, but this notion is an illusion. The law’s provisions would actually require Louisiana and its citizens to cede decision-making power to the federal government.
Although the Supreme Court let most of the ACA stand, Louisiana policymakers can still play an important role in the health care reform debate. Most importantly, they should refuse to expand the state’s Medicaid rolls and take a wait-and-see approach to state insurance exchanges.
The complex nature of the retirement system tends to obscure the importance of pension reform. This has contributed to an unfortunate lack of urgency over the years. But while the details can appear daunting, the crux of the matter is simple: Louisiana has promised its retirees more than it can deliver.