no-par

In a press release (see release here) today Public Affairs Research Council (”PAR”) asking for a delay in our Personal Income Tax reduction that was passed in 2008 and promised for 2009.
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Here’s an excerpt from the cover letter accompanying PAR’s “report”:

Slashing revenue without presenting specific proposals for cost-cutting is a slick political maneuver that merely masquerades as a way to streamline government. Louisiana cannot afford to ignore either side of the budget equation.

PAR’s hypocrisy

That is pure unadulterated hypocrisy!

Where are PAR’s justification for not cutting the budget?

Has PAR studied the entire budget and found that every penny in it is absolutely essential? What about all the spending on NGOs? What about all the spending on purely local projects?

More questions

Does PAR know the country is in a recession (probably a depression)?

Does PAR know that people in LA are losing their jobs?

Obviously, PAR believes that the hardworking, non-government-employed, citizens of LA should suffer in order to keep government in LA at the current bloated level.

Where’s the evidence of the need for the current level of government?

Anecdotal evidence argues that state government is too big. The state currently has 15,000 more employees than the Southern Average.

Our money

Here’s what one very prominent citizen said in response to PAR:

It is as if PAR thinks the money is the state’s money in the first place and not taxpayers’ money. Same sentiment of Dr. Lombardi in yesterday’s Advocate op ed piece when he says now that we are no longer rich we should not be giving money away. Giving money away? Whose money? His money? He apparently thinks so. It’s not his money. It’s taxpayer money.

If PAR is going to criticize those who wish to return confiscated money to the rightful owners, perhaps it’s time for PAR to stop masquerading as a research (?) group.

This latest “report” is not only “not PAR”, it is in fact “sub-PAR.”

C.B.