Rational Nation USA

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Anyone else sense something might be wrong with this picture? Bloomberg Politics - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a potential Republican presidential candidate, is trying to close a $1.6 billion budget hole without touching as much as $415,000 per episode in tax breaks that may be due to “Duck Dynasty.” The A&E television reality show takes part in the nation’s most generous entertainment-tax credit program. Jindal is proposing no changes, arguing that reducing such breaks is tantamount to raising taxes. The state approves enough incentives each year to make up at least $200 million in proposed cuts that led Louisiana State University to say that it may plan for insolvency. “You’re talking about between $200 million and $250 million a year that goes out the door to TV and film producers to come here and shoot their pictures, in a state where money is scarce,” said Jan Moller, director of the Louisiana Budget Project, which advoca...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Does anyone really expect the Senate to pass the three year moratorium on earmarks? For that matter did anyone ever really believe the effort would muster enough support to clear the high hurdle set for passage by Harry Reid.? A question that also occurred to me is if earmarks are a practice that deserves to be banned for three years would it not stand to reason they ought to banned permanently? So much for cutting wasteful spending. The fact is most legislatures DO NOT WANT an earmark moratorium any more than they want permanent banning of the "bring home the bacon" rewards program designed to show their constituencies how much they did for them. It's one of the means they are able to employ to "put a feather in their cap" come reelection time. Further, for those who hold out high hopes the incoming Republithug Congress will do any more than the current  Demotheft Congress did to control spending, you are looking t...