Investing in America

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Free College

By Dayne Sherman

Louisiana is Ground Zero for political scandals. Whether it’s felonious former Gov. Edwin Edwards and his rolling freak show running for the US House at age 87 or Sen. Bill Cassidy’s unanswered allegations of payroll fraud at LSU, the state knows how to keep the country in stitches.

 

Even our new House Whip, Steve Scalise, who describes himself as “David Duke without the baggage,” has become an international disgrace for speaking to a neo-Nazi group 12 years ago while he was a state representative.

 

A quote attributed to Pericles 2400 years ago is still true: “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” Indeed, these political scandals are at the expense of Louisiana citizens. They matter. We pay the price for wayward politicians and their blinding ambition. This lust for power is equal only to their lust for “other things,” as Sen. David Vitter seems to be chief among sinners.

 

On Jan. 9, Louisiana House Speaker Chuck Kleckley came out like Clint Eastwood in a western flick, standing up tall to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s latest plan to cut $370 million from Louisiana higher education. He says he won’t back the budget plan. But let’s be clear-minded. Kleckley is Jindal’s paramour. He has done and will continue to do whatever the governor tells him to do or he’ll lose his speakership.

 

This is all political theater, a cruel PR scheme to help Kleckely win State Treasurer. Recall, Louisiana higher education has been cut by over $700 million since Jindal took office, the deepest cuts of any state in the country. Other states are investing in colleges and universities post-recession, and we are not.

 

Kleckley’s recently found courage when the state faces a $300 million deficit this year and 1.4 billion next fiscal year starting July 1, is a fake news story. Jindal’s conservative principles haven’t worked. On the contrary, they’ve been a disaster aided and abetted by lapdogs in the Legislature. Make no mistake, the greatest hypocrite among them is Kleckley.

 

The bayou budgetary apocalypse is coming. Get ready.

 

At the same time, Pres. Obama has announced a truly bold new plan to give all Americans two years of free community college. Clearly, the best news of 2015.

 

Upon hearing this great news, a number of Louisiana college and university “leaders” (They’re paid to be leaders but are mostly scoundrels in leisure suits.) began to question the details. Why aren’t they excited? Don’t educators want nothing more than to educate? Don’t they need students? Well, their master Bobby Jindal is against everything good or bad that Obama wants. The “leaders” answer to Jindal. These same rascals served as cheerleaders for Jindal’s foolish WISE Fund, a mere pittance, but they became skeptics over the real deal.

 

How will we fund a community college education for all Americans? I’d say having ended two wars, one in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan, will do it. We can save trillions by staying out of endless international conflicts. No need to raise taxes. Let’s just stop blowing up other countries and then rebuilding them on the taxpayers’ dime.

 

I believe nothing could be better for America and the world than investing in Americans. Jindal has shown through $700 million in cuts to Louisiana higher education, and another $370 million before he’s through, that he doesn’t believe investing in our state is good for his long-term political career.

 

Pres. Obama, on the other hand, believes investing in Americans is good for the country. Fortunately, Jindal will never be able to bring to the nation the disasters he’s brought to Louisiana. He’ll never be President.

 

Dayne Sherman’s new novel is Zion, a $4.99 ebook. Signed first editions available from the author.

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Dayne Sherman, Writer & Speaker

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Comments

comments

4 Responses

  1. Laurence Bellinger

    Perfect read, i had a great reply but my damn computer erased all that hard work i had done typing…so to be short, i fully agree with you…this intiative involves investing in self, which inturn increases self love and wealth, which then means better people to invest in America…some folks probably feel like this is their time to now feel as if they can capture that American dream….yet people slanders the President for this, and I’m like “how could you???” it’s a good move all around the board with reasonable expectations that even the so-called “less smarter” ones could attain to the standards…people are complaining about tax dollars wasted on this yet back up the reasons to go to war, while ignoring the costs of that….we could end world hunger alone and educate a nation that would be mightier, because for once the gov’t invested into the people…oh, also they defend public officials and enforcers of policies who abuse and exploit our tax dollars…yet they are mad about someone getting a free education off their tax dollars…doesn’t make sense the priorities of the people….I live in lousiana myself and am aware of our issues when it comes to our legislature, which is outright attrocious….this governor here has proven to not be a vested vessel for the people he represents….it’s time for a change…we can be the first generation to do so and build a mightier nation…but we allow our biases to sometimes hold us back….archaic mentalities, analog idealogies in a digital world…we need to wake up…

    thanks for the great read sir, what you have written is of value to me and other like minded fellows…just wish more could be more open-minded….not necessarily to change, which is inevitable…but to truth!!!

    peace!!!

    • Laurence: Thanks for your kind words. It costs a lot less to incarcerate or rehab people than it does to educate people properly from the beginning. We seem to find money for jails but to higher ed. I’m for investing in people. Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Dayne

  2. Brooks Ellwood

    Dayne, have you looked into the impact on Louisiana Higher Education that will soon be felt by the price of oil, currently at $46.39 and still falling?

    • Brooks: I’ve looked at the numbers. I think we lose 12 million per dollar below $85 a barrel or thereabouts. Not good. And we were already hand-to-mouth as a State. The bigger problem is a lack of leadership by Jindal to make adjustments. Likewise, we have gifted these oil companies with corporate welfare and other tax exemptions that are hurting us already. They will go under–not BP but the feeders and suppliers of the oil and gas industry–in a daisy chain of failure if it keeps going down. And it appears to be headed down. I ead this article today: “Saudi prince: $100-a-barrel oil ‘never’ again” – http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/columnist/bartiromo/2015/01/11/bartiromo-saudi-prince-alwaleed-oil-100-barrel/21484911/

      Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Dayne

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