Well that’s going to be a fun watch.

  • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    53.6 percent of Louisiana’s budget comes from Federal funds. That’s up from 47 percent in 2011. So for over a decade, they have only INCREASED their dependency on the Federal govt to keep their economy running.

    Fuck these regressive dicks. They can’t run their own State, they only exist to transfer public funds to private businesses. And those businesses turn around to grease the politicians’ palms.

    They are running a SCAM. And pouring more Federal funds into this scam will NEVER do anything other than enrich the upper wealth layer already grifting the state. Cut them off at the knees. Make up the 53.6% in CORPORATE and Marginal Tax rates on the wealthy.

    Freeloader Red states are such bums.

    • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Thing is if they do that there and we don’t do it everywhere at once, the corporations will just move their operations to some other state with a better tax rate and then LA is left with nobody to employ their citizens.

      I want to be very clear that I’m not condoning this but the reason this continues so readily is because this keeps the corporations operating in their area. A little bit of tit for tat and money under the table ensures that the labor pool in your area stays employed, at a bit of cost to the people’s well being and the federal coffers. If you just crank up the business tax rates suddenly then within 5 years all the big businesses will be gone. That might be a good thing long term but it’s going to be a very very bad thing short term.

      Allowing states to dictate their own tax rates was a trap that we walked fully into and now I don’t see a way out of it without discarding that and taking over control of that federally. Which is something that will never ever fly in American politics.

      • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        “Any state that requires more than 45% of their annual budget to be Federally supplemented, for a period of 3 of 5 years (non-consecutive) summarily concedes their budgetary autonomy.”

        Boom, Federal govt steps in, taxes all the freeloader states at appropriate levels, and levies Corporate taxes uniformly across the tier.

        Who am I kidding tho, right? Neither Party would ever, EVER push back on their Corporate overlords. But my pipedream is nice, no?

        • Sauerkraut@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 month ago

          I think the biggest problem by far is the wealth disparity: the wealthy are pouring billions into pushing right wing propaganda, think tanks, and lobbying every year. Liberalism and Social Democracy has no answer to the rich using their wealth to blast people with endless propaganda and disinformation.

          I really wish there were a peaceful path forward, but I am becoming increasingly convinced that nothing will ever improve until we, the people, overthrow the billionaire class. But that will probably not happen until it is too late