re: JBE drops the hammer

I do not think this is political posturing at all, JBE did not bring the negative attention to the state, he merely addressed the crisis to the people of Louisiana. The first step to solving a problem, is admitting there is a problem. This is something our previous governor refused to do, and the state will suffer for it. The national attention was not "brought" to Louisiana, it was earned over an eight year period.

As a republican who did not vote for JBE last November, I still have to applaud the effort on all fronts to fix the states budget. There is only one way to eliminate this deficit.. raise taxes and cut spending, and a lot of both needs to be done.

Raising taxes is never popular, especially in a state recovering from a governor who's policies included "no tax raises." However unpopular, it is necessary to increase the state's revenue.

Cutting spending is also painful when we have grown accustomed to having such easy access to government money (in forms of TOPS, Welfare, Food Stamps, etc..).

Unfortunately, TOPS is one of the more inflated government programs, and has been in need of reform for some time now. Personally, I think we need more entitlement reform in the areas of food stamps and welfare requirements as well as the ridiculous tax credits that have failed to have the positive economic impact that was once promised.

For now, I cannot disagree with a 26 ACT requirement for a fully paid scholarship.