[StBernard] Leadership Involves Looking Beyond Tax Hikes

[Westley Annis]

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Leadership Involves Looking Beyond Tax Hikes


Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News
Paul J. Gessing, President of New Mexico's Rio Grande Foundation 
November 23, 2009

“...While [New Mexico Governor Bill] Richardson seems hell-bent on erasing his legacy as a tax-cutter, there is yet another option out there that could result in real budget cuts that result in the least amount of harm possible. Ironically, the state leading the way in these reforms is another state that has a long history of political corruption, Louisiana.

Rather than simply raising taxes on struggling families, Pelican State policymakers, led by Gov. Bobby Jindal, have embarked on a wide-ranging set of government reforms designed to reduce the size and cost of government.

They created a Commission on Streamlining Government this year to identify over $1.5 billion in cost savings through streamlining, consolidation, and elimination. They passed legislation granting more flexibility in cutting spending in protected ‘silos.’ Jindal has eliminated thousands of positions from the state budget and more than 70 unnecessary or inactive state boards and commissions. The Louisiana Division of Administration is developing a range of privatization proposals within each of its departments, and it's also piloting a new budgeting approach designed to fund priorities and drive performance.

And this is all just a start.

It's already paying off. Ratings agency Fitch upgraded Louisiana's bond rating last month, specifically citing the state's focus on spending control and streamlining as influencing factors. This alone will save taxpayers millions in avoided interest costs over time.

Rather than creating a commission to figure out the right combination of grocery, capital gains, personal income, and gross receipts tax increases, Richardson should take a cue from Louisiana. New Mexico policymakers face a simple choice: remain lost in the fiscal forest, thus erasing the progress in recent years in reducing taxes, or follow the lead of Louisiana, which is blazing a trail out of the budgetary wilderness.”

Click Here To Read The Full Article In The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News <http://lagop.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=81f80dfae08a15f3629eabdeb&id=918437526a&e=e293a5ac38> 

New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization that advocates for limited government, economic freedom, and individual responsibility.