It’s one of Governor Jindal’s favorite statistics, and one he’s sure to quote in tomorrow night’s debate on CNN: “We’ve actually cut our state budget 26 percent.”
Yet every time Bobby Jindal says it, State Treasurer John Kennedy cringes.
“It does bother me when the Governor says that,” Kennedy states. “It offends me because those aren’t the numbers.”
In fact, Kennedy says, the actual numbers show the opposite.
“If you compare the 2004 budget to the budget today, we went from $16.5 billion – no hurricane money – to $25 billion –no hurricane money. That’s a 50 percent increase.”
When speaking to the National Press Club last week, Jindal made another statement about Louisiana’s budget.
“You know, unlike D.C., we don’t play these games. We don’t kick the can down the road,” Jindal said, referring to the state constitution’s requirements that the budget be balanced, and passed prior to the start of each fiscal year.
When it comes to the current budget, however, it is generally acknowledged that it was crafted to last only till the new governor and administration take over in January. It’s already showing shortages, with the Joint Legislative Budget Committee already ordering a spending cut of $4.6 million dollars. Health care funding is short by an estimated $388 million, and oil prices aren’t even close to the $61.70 per barrel average estimate. And, Kennedy notes, there’s a gaping hole looming for the next year’s budget, as certain funds won’t be available next year.
“We’ve got about $542-million in non-recurring revenue,” Kennedy says of the current year’s revenue which was used to balance this budget. “That’s the usual suspects. You’ve heard them before: tax amnesty proceeds, fund sweeps. They used a bond premium to balance the budget. One-time money for one year.”
Many expect Wednesday night’s CNN debate from the Reagan Library in California could be Jindal’s last hurrah in the presidential race, especially with Rick Perry having dropped out of contention last week. The latest polls show Jindal with two percent in Iowa, one percent in South Carolina and zero support in New Hampshire.
But we’ll give the Governor the last word…
“The results speak for themselves,” he says.