July 16, 2008
By Erin Rolfs
That little nugget of regurgitated political jive comes four paragraphs down in the latest press release from the Office of the Governor. After boasting more budget vetoes in his short term than any other governor, more than all the vetoes applied to the past 12 budgets combined, Bobby Jindal has taken one more step toward leaving his home and pursuing his dreams. The White House is in Washington D.C.
Meanwhile, those art history graduates, nonprofit educators, African-American cultural administrators and people devoted to supplementing our faulty education system are being choked off from state funding. And guess what happens after that? Jobs are lost or not created in those fields, people leave and dreams are found elsewhere. And if we are to believe the statistics that claim tourism and cultural destinations among the chief economic drivers in Louisiana, where does that leave us? How does this unwieldy conservative ax build a New Louisiana when it is chopping down the very institutions that make us attractive at all?
The argument for the arts is always a hard one. But over and over again Baton Rouge has conceded that a successful city embraces and financially supports the arts. They want to uphold and foster our culture -- evident in the public support for arts downtown and in the net profit of several city galleries. It is clear in the celebration of the Shaw Center, Manship Theatre, Louisiana Arts and Science Museum, the Old State Capitol and the Louisiana State Museum. With that being said, here is a selection of the 258 vetoes that were issued along with the press release. You could argue based on his four bulleted criteria that perhaps these line items were submitted incorrectly. However, there is such a huge biased against the arts, recreation, children's programs, the elderly and cultural institutions that many of the vetoes must be based on his perception of impact. It could be that a background in biology and public policy doesn't give one much insight into the far-reaching effects of art, but alas this is Louisiana not a science project.
Bobby Jindal cut $25,000 to the Southern Forest Heritage Museum; $20,000 to the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum; 10,000 to the Northeast Louisiana Delta African-American Museum; $25,000 to the Snyder Museum and Creative Arts Center; $100,000 to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation; $85,000 to the Arna Bontemps African-American Museum; $20,000 to the Imperial Calcasieu Museum; $10,000 to the Shreveport Symphony; $30,000 to St. Bernard Parish Art in April Festival; $25,000 to the Opera Louisiane; $100,000 to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation; $25,000 to the Hot Air Balloon Festival; $200,000 in funding for the Odyssey Foundation for the Arts; $35,000 in funding for the DeSoto Parish Multicultural Center; $5,000 to the Merryville Historical Society and Museum; $75,000 to the George & Leah McKenna Museum of African-American Art; $3,610 to the Northeast Louisiana Delta African-American Heritage Museum; $10,000 to the Heritage Community Band; $50,000 to the Strauss Little Theater; $50,000 to the Northeast Louisiana Film Commission; $15,000 to the Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum; $24,000 to the Marion Museum; $200,000 for the Jefferson Performing Arts Society and $250,000 to the Knock Knock Children's Museum.
This does not include cuts to recreational centers where artists perform or teach. You can review all of the vetoes here. My last thought turns to our very own Sen. Yvonne Dorsey, who's delicacy and tact was captured by The Advocate last Tuesday's when she said, "The governor is asinine."
Comments
Posted by liberatedtiger on July 16 at 3:38 p.m.
I think that the public outrage that is building in the state will be focused on the legislature for allowing these "asinine" pet projects to be funded for so many years, not at the Governor for responsibly vetoing them.
With all due respect to Ms. Dorsey, your gravy train (with biscuit wheels) just got derailed.
Posted by ErinRolfs on July 16 at 4:37 p.m.
I agree that we cannot afford to be spending as we did before. But this kind of weight loss to the budget is almost a caricature of Republican conservatism. It's laughable. What exactly is he trying to prove and more importantly to whom?
I, for one, have never ridden on a gravy train, with biscuit wheels, she should enter it into the Baton Rouge Art Car Parade!
Posted by LAG on July 16 at 4:42 p.m.
The issue is not funding for the arts, but whether that funding will be properly vetted & supervised. A quality project deserving state funding should not be afraid of competing for funds, justifying itself to a reviewing grants panel or state agency, being held accountable for spending funds as promised, & demonstrating its value upon completion. A line item appropriation, often added by a single sponsoring legislator near the end of the legislative process, bypassing significant review & explanation, is simply the wrong process.
Posted by PiyushIgnoramus on July 16 at 4:55 p.m.
will leberatedtiger please explain to me what biscuit wheels are.
Posted by lumlum on July 16 at 5:13 p.m.
LAG's comment might actually be sensible except for one thing: the funds available for nonprofits and arts organizations through grants and state agencies are paltry. They are also few and far between. To think that arts organizations can make up these vetoed funds by applying for grants is uninformed and unrealistic. The vetoed groups are probably already applying for grants, holding fundraisers, and seeking out every dollar they can and must still rely on state funding to ensure top quality. Inappropriate items such as $300,000 for a high school alumni association should certainly be cut, but items that enhance the state's economic development as well as its culture and tourism draw should be reconsidered. Jindal should remember that for every $1 the state puts into arts and culture, it gets $6 back in tax revenue. Now that's smart budgeting.
Posted by sdjohn on July 17 at 12:21 p.m.
You offer a handful of superficially compelling anecdotes of items Gov. Jindal should have funded, and you may be right that those projects are inherently worthwhile. But that isn't the real question. The state is responsible for many important services for our citizens, including education, roads and health care services. Since there is not enough money available to meet all of those core needs, it is unfortunately necessary to cut some non-essential programs, which include the arts. And in response to lumlum's comment, I request any evidence supporting the claim that spending a dollar on arts and culture generates $6 in tax revenue. If the arts were actually that profitable, we wouldn't be discussing tax dollars and grants because the private sector would be all over that return on an investment. In fact, I wonder why lumlum has not started his or her own art/cultural enterprise.
Posted by liberatedtiger on July 17 at 12:26 p.m.
The biscuit wheels make certain that if any of the gravy happens to fall off the train, it gets immediately soaked back up!! No loss. Of course, I never meant to insinuate that Ms. Rolfs ever rode such a vehicle. The comment was purely for the Senator of my district.
I'm not sure what LASM was going to do with their $20K. Has anyone paid to go the planetarium lately? All I can say is that 20 minutes of culture will set you back a bit. The $20K would be much better spent hiring a part time security guard to run off the pan-handlers on the levee near the exit to the LASM exhibit. That's certainly not a great tourist draw.
Posted by usleep on July 17 at 2:09 p.m.
Jindal is a “know it all” headed for a single term. Anytime you have someone in a position of power, who thinks he has all of the answers and anyone who questions his methods is stupid, we are headed for disaster. If you want to argue that all such legislation should be up for debate, then he should have vetoed them all not just the ones that, in his infinite wisdom, he deemed contrary to the benefit of the state as a whole. Further, like Erin, I believe that Jindal’s own criteria was ineptly applied. Many of his line item vetoes work against attracting business and an educated workforce, in the same manner as his ethics legislation worked against ethics reform making it virtually impossible to prove ethic violations. If the legislature knew what was in store for them, they might have taken the time to read and analyze the ethics reform bill before blindly signing off on it in a whirlwind special session designed to illustrate Jindal’s effectiveness. Too bad Jindal’s campaign indiscretions were not discovered until after his reform legislation was passed, he might not have had to pay that fine imposed by now defunct Ethics Commission.
The people of Louisiana need to wake up and quit believing, without question, everything they are told and the media could do a world of good by researching and reporting on the veracity of political claims rather than regurgitating political rhetoric. For example, the media aired a clip of Jindal expressing his contempt for the US Supreme Court’s ruling that the death penalty for convicted child molesters is cruel and unusual punishment and, therefore, unconstitutional. Jindal stated emphatically, that he was going to ask the Legislature to look at drafting legislation to overrule the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. The media failed to point out that a state legislature cannot overrule the US Supreme Court’s interpretation of the US Constitution. Thank goodness, the Department of Justice stepped in and requested a rehearing, which is about the only thing that can be done. Just think how stupid Louisiana would have looked doing that not to mention the wasted millions it would cost drafting and defending blatantly unconstitutional legislation. All Jindal has shown me is that he will do as good a job running Louisiana as Bush has done running this Country. I think an exorcism is in order.
Posted by liberatedtiger on July 17 at 3:08 p.m.
Partisanship remains alive and well here in our great state. It is a wonder that anything ever gets done.
Posted by usleep on July 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Political affiliation has nothing to do with my opinions as they relate to the acts of the Governor. Nor do I care about his religion, sex, national origin or age. I only care about what he does while in office. My hope is always that whoever is elected will act responsibly, intelligently and in the best interest of the State and the Country. My impression of Governor Jindal is that he is acting in the best interest of his political career, which may cause its demise.
Posted by liberatedtiger on July 18 at 9:05 a.m.
The problems that exist in Louisiana and the problems that face the country as a whole are very similar. Special interests and pork-barrel spending run amuck are transforming governments away from what they are intended for and are costing the taxpayers dearly. This needs bold leadership to change. Both republican and democrat pet projects were axed. I can hardly stand either side. However, if solving Louisiana's fiscal irresponsibility makes Jindal a darling to our country as its future savior, so be it. I happen to believe that what appears to be in Jindal's best interest is consistent with what is in the state's best interest. It sure beats having a laughing stock figurehead for our leader.
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