re: Mid Barataria Diversion

quote:

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the small amount it was "going to save" my immediate gut reaction was this is going to be a bullshite drain on the tax payers that isn't going to work and we'd be much better off investing it into our state directly

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You're wrong about two things straight off the bat.

1. The "small" number was how much new land was going to be created, not how much existing land was going to be saved. The amount of existing land saved in addition to the new land created is dependent on outside factors like where storms hit, so it's harder to quantify, but it would have been greater than without the diversion. Now there will be a total greater loss of land.

2. The money was being given to the state from a trust set up with oil spill money. It is not state tax money, and the state does not get to decide "spend it here" and the trust just hands it over. The trust had approved the money for the diversion, and now the state will not only not get that money but is also on the hook for the money that was already spent.

The state can decide to fund law enforcement or school vouchers or anything else with its own tax money. That has nothing to do with this diversion project.