John Bel Edwards’ order is on the mark

Coastal funds shouldn’t be diverted

No one likes taxes. Well, maybe Bernie Sanders does. But at least no one (including, apparently, our most-socialist presidential candidate) likes paying them.

The mantra “The government needs to just tighten its belt” pretty much sums up the attitude most of us have toward Uncle Sam reaching into our pockets to fund the myriad programs that have sprouted up since the 1930s.

And there’s some truth to that. There is, indeed, waste in government, just as there is in any business.

So it’s not surprising when the public balks at shelling out more cash. It’s also not surprising when governmental leaders use that public sentiment to further their own agendas.

We see it today in the presidential race, where candidates rile up the unwashed masses with calls that too often pander to our baser instincts.

And we see it on the state level when public officials refuse to face financial realities, kicking tough decisions down the road by formulating schemes to cook the books and make things appear to be OK.

That’s what happened during the Jindal years: We had a governor who told everyone there was plenty of money, and then he snatched cash from every dedicated fund (such as the one dedicated to creating artificial reefs) he could find to gloss over the issue. And our Legislature skipped right down the path with him, seemingly enthralled by the Pied Piper.

But now, as Bobby Boucher’s mother would say, “The chickens have come home to roost.”

Everyone at this point (with the seeming exception of our most-recent former governor) recognizes Louisiana’s finances are in a shambles. Years of neglect combined with low oil prices have resulted in massive budgetary holes.

Measures being taken to fill the gaps will be crippling to our universities and hospitals. It’s just sad to watch.

But it’s refreshing that our new governor has made a commitment to do all he can to stop coastal restoration money from being diverted to other programs as part of any budgetary shenanigans.

It would be tempting for the administration to make a show of cutting spending with one hand while using the other to move BP oil-spill money designated for coastal restoration into agencies’ operating budgets.

The fact that John Bel Edwards prohibited his appointees from engaging in such trickery is promising.

The Louisiana coast is melting away, and we need every nickel we can get to shore it up.

Even if that means finding other ways to mend the budget.

About Andy Crawford 863 Articles
Andy Crawford has spent nearly his entire career writing about and photographing Louisiana’s hunting and fishing community. While he has written for national publications, even spending four years as a senior writer for B.A.S.S., Crawford never strayed far from the pages of Louisiana Sportsman. Learn more about his work at www.AndyCrawford.Photography.