re: Why do Louisiana conservatives like TOPS?

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Public education has NEVER been cut and is full of FAT, WASTE, and INEFFICIENCES. BUT, no one wants to go there.. Cut public education funding and let the parishes primarily fund it, just like every other state. Also eliminate TOPS while you're at it. AND then give everyone who pays taxes a huge tax cut.

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i'm all for having local school district fund more of their own education costs (like most other states). But understand a few things about that...

1) Local school districts are going to have to raise sales and/or property taxes to do that. That's really the only two mechanisms they have

2) Our sales tax rate is already obscene

3) Because of our highest-in-the-nation homestead exemption, most of this new local taxation is going to fall on the middle and upper class

4) Because of all of the above, there better damn well be a reduction in state taxes.

I'm in favor of more local funding for K-12, not because I feel it's going to overall reduce funding, but I believe it will get more people invested in the system, and the system will have to more clearly show the need for money. Both of those should result in better school systems for the same amount of money.

PS - the only thing fiscal conservatives in LA like more than TOPS, is their homestead exemption of 75K