Louisiana's state budget?! (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Sun: how much, lawyers, house)
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I've been doing some research and came across some information that Louisiana's FY 2011 state budget is $26 BILLION dollars! How is this even remotely possible?
Georgia has more than twice the population of Louisiana (9.8 million to 4.4 million) and has a total (including education) FY 2011 state budget of "only" $17.9 BILLION. Even Alabama, which has a population more in line with Louisiana, has a total (general fund + education) FY 2011 state budget of just $7.1 BILLION.
What gives?! Are there BILLIONS and BILLIONS of Federal dollars rolled into the LA budget for Katrina recovery or something? Because I know the state alone couldn't hope to afford a budget that large on its own. Either that, or you people are REALLY REALLY REALLY being taken to the cleaners. Where is all that money going? Certainly not to the roads! LOL!
Im pretty sure the cost of fixing infrastructure here is prohibitively expensive due to the sinking land, but I am also not too dense to realize a ton of it is going right into politicians pockets. I think people are too busy enjoying life to realize it or do anything about it though. Ignoriance is bliss and all that.
I guess my question should have been: Where the hell is Louisiana getting $26 billion dollars to run the state? Because it took Georgia scraping up every nickel, dime and penny to afford a $17.9 billion budget (about $2 billion less than in 2008) and Georgia is a FAR FAR FAR more wealthy state than Louisiana.
probably a chunk of it is given to the state for disaster relief to fix the problems caused by Katrina and the oil spill, which did destroy quite a few local businesses and fishermans lives. Im not saying all the money given to the state was just or fair, but it is what it is. Thats part of the monetary windfall for sure. I would also imagine a chunk of it goes towards managing the waterway systems, as there are some very important ports to be found here, and the Mississippi River literally is fenced in to flow through Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
I guess my question should have been: Where the hell is Louisiana getting $26 billion dollars to run the state? Because it took Georgia scraping up every nickel, dime and penny to afford a $17.9 billion budget (about $2 billion less than in 2008) and Georgia is a FAR FAR FAR more wealthy state than Louisiana.
I just don't get it.
Oil and gas revenues help-most states don't have that. The rest I don't know about except that I've always heard that Louisiana is business unfriendly and collects on the small businessman. As you can see, we have a "goldmine" in mineral wealth, but so much is stolen by crooked politicians as Innotech said, that the important things never get done here. The state legislature has a "slush fund" that the pols divvy up each year and don't spend money like the other southern states have done on the important items: infrastructure, education, etc. The slush fund is blown on non-essentials just to get more votes. No statesmanship, no doing the RIGHT thing. Its what gets em' re-elected. Sorry to say the US has plenty of examples like that as well, but it is a given here in La. The citizenry for the most part doesn't care and will not change for love nor money so what do you do?
I've been doing some research and came across some information that Louisiana's FY 2011 state budget is $26 BILLION dollars! How is this even remotely possible?
Georgia has more than twice the population of Louisiana (9.8 million to 4.4 million) and has a total (including education) FY 2011 state budget of "only" $17.9 BILLION. Even Alabama, which has a population more in line with Louisiana, has a total (general fund + education) FY 2011 state budget of just $7.1 BILLION.
What gives?! Are there BILLIONS and BILLIONS of Federal dollars rolled into the LA budget for Katrina recovery or something? Because I know the state alone couldn't hope to afford a budget that large on its own. Either that, or you people are REALLY REALLY REALLY being taken to the cleaners. Where is all that money going? Certainly not to the roads! LOL!
Wow, I'm glad you posted this. And I'm glad you posted your sources. I would like to know exactly how much federal money goes into Louisiana's budget too. Perhaps that information could be provided, or at least a percentage.
I'm sure corrupt politicians and corrupt lawyers have to do with it, and they are nearly everywhere in Louisiana.
Bobby Jindal ran on the idea of cleaning up corruption. I don't think I believe it. He's being pruned to run for the presidency anyways.
Wow, I'm glad you posted this. And I'm glad you posted your sources. I would like to know exactly how much federal money goes into Louisiana's budget too. Perhaps that information could be provided, or at least a percentage.
I'm sure corrupt politicians and corrupt lawyers have to do with it, and they are nearly everywhere in Louisiana.
Bobby Jindal ran on the idea of cleaning up corruption. I don't think I believe it. He's being pruned to run for the presidency anyways.
WOW! So what I'm hearing you say is that many people in the state of Louisiana have no idea that their state's spending is SO FAR off the mark compared to other Southern states of similar -- or even DOUBLE -- the population?! How can the good people of Louisiana be kept so in the dark?!
I'm reminded of the many, many news stories that were done by the Atlanta media following Katrina, interviews with evacuees from New Orleans who had ended up in Georgia and said they were NEVER EVER going back to Louisiana because they had no idea life could be so good anyplace else -- in Atlanta they found nice people, safe neighborhoods, good schools and well paying jobs. If not for that hurricane forcing them out of the Lower 9th Ward they would have been kept enslaved by the state of Louisiana forever.
Sorry if that seems insensitive, but as someone who visited NO plenty of times BEFORE the hurricane, it always burned me up that it took a hurricane for the rest of the world to "discover" what an awful, impoverished, crime-ridden, third-world existence many of the people who lived there were forced to endure all these years. And it sounds like that instead of trying to make it "better" they are intent on just recreating the "chocolate city" ghetto that Ray Nagin so valued and missed.
WOW! So what I'm hearing you say is that many people in the state of Louisiana have no idea that their state's spending is SO FAR off the mark compared to other Southern states of similar -- or even DOUBLE -- the population?! How can the good people of Louisiana be kept so in the dark?!
I'm reminded of the many, many news stories that were done by the Atlanta media following Katrina, interviews with evacuees from New Orleans who had ended up in Georgia and said they were NEVER EVER going back to Louisiana because they had no idea life could be so good anyplace else -- in Atlanta they found nice people, safe neighborhoods, good schools and well paying jobs. If not for that hurricane forcing them out of the Lower 9th Ward they would have been kept enslaved by the state of Louisiana forever.
Sorry if that seems insensitive, but as someone who visited NO plenty of times BEFORE the hurricane, it always burned me up that it took a hurricane for the rest of the world to "discover" what an awful, impoverished, crime-ridden, third-world existence many of the people who lived there were forced to endure all these years. And it sounds like that instead of trying to make it "better" they are intent on just recreating the "chocolate city" ghetto that Ray Nagin so valued and missed.
And you're doing a good job of waking them up on this forum. I had no idea about that budget issue. It's scary.
Of course life is better than the ghetto in New Orleans! Heck, life is better in many other parts of the state than the 9th ward. A lot of people also moved to Houston, and I'm sure many of them have stayed there.
New Orleans historically is not a "chocolate city" - it was founded by the French (white Catholics). Hence "New" Orleans - Orleans being a city in France. Anyways, what matters is that corruption has got to go for Louisiana to truly enter into the 21st century as a successful state.
WOW! So what I'm hearing you say is that many people in the state of Louisiana have no idea that their state's spending is SO FAR off the mark compared to other Southern states of similar -- or even DOUBLE -- the population?! How can the good people of Louisiana be kept so in the dark?!
I'm reminded of the many, many news stories that were done by the Atlanta media following Katrina, interviews with evacuees from New Orleans who had ended up in Georgia and said they were NEVER EVER going back to Louisiana because they had no idea life could be so good anyplace else -- in Atlanta they found nice people, safe neighborhoods, good schools and well paying jobs. If not for that hurricane forcing them out of the Lower 9th Ward they would have been kept enslaved by the state of Louisiana forever.
Sorry if that seems insensitive, but as someone who visited NO plenty of times BEFORE the hurricane, it always burned me up that it took a hurricane for the rest of the world to "discover" what an awful, impoverished, crime-ridden, third-world existence many of the people who lived there were forced to endure all these years. And it sounds like that instead of trying to make it "better" they are intent on just recreating the "chocolate city" ghetto that Ray Nagin so valued and missed.
right. Im sure the suburban life thats like 100 other cities in the country is a really special way to live. No thanks. Im sure New Orleanians go to sleep in their little straw cots in the French Quarter every night dreaming of one day living in a cookie cutter house on an unremarkable street next to a half dozen Starbucks. SoundS REALLY amazing!
I'm reminded of the many, many news stories that were done by the Atlanta media following Katrina, interviews with evacuees from New Orleans who had ended up in Georgia and said they were NEVER EVER going back to Louisiana because they had no idea life could be so good anyplace else -- in Atlanta they found nice people, safe neighborhoods, good schools and well paying jobs. If not for that hurricane forcing them out of the Lower 9th Ward they would have been kept enslaved by the state of Louisiana forever.
Anybody who's spent their entire lives in a less than decent area in any city would have the exact reaction. Besides, most of the New Orleanians or back in New Orleans 5 years later and the majority of the ones not back are in Houston vs. Atlanta.
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Sorry if that seems insensitive, but as someone who visited NO plenty of times BEFORE the hurricane, it always burned me up that it took a hurricane for the rest of the world to "discover" what an awful, impoverished, crime-ridden, third-world existence many of the people who lived there were forced to endure all these years. And it sounds like that instead of trying to make it "better" they are intent on just recreating the "chocolate city" ghetto that Ray Nagin so valued and missed.
That third world existence that you speak of never represented even half of the city. Everything else you said just sounds idiotic as it's obvious you have no idea what you're talking about in terms of New Orleans in general.
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As far as the budget, LA has to invest more heavily in infrastructure due to the geography of the state, things such as evacuation expenses are put into the budget outside of what the individual cities can cover. Combine that with the fact that LA is a pseudo nanny-state and nowhere near as conservative as other states even though the majority may still vote red. There's also the large amount of money that the Feds rape from LA in oil revenue. Finally every politician has or has had their hand in the trough.
It's not that Louisianians don't know, they are very aware of it but many are content sadly. However it's better than being like other southern states where everything is swept under the rug. At least we know what we have.
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