Jindal touts cuts to mixed reaction in St. Mary

Gov. Bobby Jindal campaigned and pointed the finger at Washington D.C. during a town hall meeting in Morgan City, but said little to nothing about proposed future cuts to higher education, particularly at Nicholls State University.

But Jindal’s political mentor, former Gov. Mike Foster, however, complimented his protégé afterward, saying he is doing a good job, and of the aforementioned cuts to Nicholls and other State universities, “I don’t think there was anything else he could do.”

Jindal spoke at the Morgan City Auditorium, during a town hall meeting he called, which was titled, “Building a Better Louisiana for Our Children,” Parish Tour in Morgan City.

He opened by discussing the progress his administration has achieved on the five goals he outlined while campaigning for governor: ethic responsibility among elected officials, cutting taxes, improving education, investing in infrastructure and reforming the state’s health care system.

He boasted that the Bureau of Economic Advisors ranks Louisiana No. 5 overall in economic growth and that Southern Business Development said Louisiana has been the best state in the South for 2 years in a row for economic development.

“Yes, we’ve had to make tough choices in shrinking the size of state government, and because we’ve done that, our economy in Louisiana is doing better than the rest of the region,” Jindal said.

The governor pointed to his administration making economic development progress by adding 38,000 jobs, and $7 billion in private capital investment through economic whims.

But, he said he needs to do more in adding private sector jobs and good paying jobs, so Louisiana children don’t have to leave the state to pursue their dreams.

“Our greatest challenge is to not become the first generation of Americans that leaves fewer opportunities for our children to inherit, unlike what our parents and grandparents did for us,” he said. “This has to be our top priority.”

He said we have to stop exporting our greatest assets, our sons and daughters.

“We’re going to create a new Louisiana,” he said, although he did not elaborate on any plans or ideas.

Jindal said every year, 15,000 students in Louisiana public schools drop out of school.

Conversely, he said every year Louisiana releases 15,000 people out of prisons, yet, we re-arrest over half of them in five years.

“We need to break the cycles of welfare, drugs,” he said. However, the governor offered no plan to the group.

“You want to know another problem with our schools?” Jindal asked.

“Parents — they’re not supporting teachers anymore, they’re going into classrooms and they’re yelling at them,” he said. “Well we’re not doing our children any favors by yelling at them, or making excuses for them.”

Then, Jindal turned the discussion on Washington D.C.

“Washington is trying to do things a different way. Raising taxes, printing more money, borrowing more money…well when they quit doing that, we’ll get out of the recession,” he said.

“We’re going to balance our budget without raising taxes. We’re not like Washington,” Jindal said.

“And I want to assure you that we’re going to have a budget that is balanced next year, one that protects higher education,” Jindal said. “Higher education is critical. I came from that system myself.”

Jindal said he will not have an idea of what revenue estimates will be in 2011, until estimating committees have met. “We’re early in the budget process. We won’t know until March, what we’re going to have to work with,” he said.

“But whatever it is, we’re just going to have to do more with less,” he said.

Also, Jindal said that besides the economy, this Presidential Administration has shot more blows to Louisiana, with changes at NASA and at the NAVY that will cost the state about 7,500 jobs.

He also turned his attention to the biggest issue in Louisiana in 2010: the oil spill and moratorium.

Jindal said the moratorium shot Louisiana down more, suggesting that there is a defacto moratorium in place, because of the slow progress in awarding drilling permits in the gulf, both in shallow and deep water.

“But if you compare this state to other states, then I have to say considering the oil spill and the hurricanes, I’d say Louisiana is in good shape, yes in good shape,” Foster said.

Franklin resident Bret Allain, who has announced his intentions for the District 21 Senate Seat in 2011, was also in the audience during the Jindal town hall meeting.

Allain, who is also a Republican, said he applauds Jindal’s optimism about the future of this state. “We’re all trying to make this a better place,” he said.

But State Rep. Sam Jones, Democrat-Franklin, said he felt people attended the event to hear about the anticipated cuts to the state budget. “This wasn’t what I expected. It was more a pep talk. I thought it was supposed to be a town hall exchange,” Jones said.

Dutch Vandenaardweg, a St. Mary Parish business activist, said Jindal is facing an uphill battle n the liberal side of state politics.

“We have an extremely intelligent governor, extremely gifted in so many ways, yet he faces the uphill battle of the liberal politics that has played so much a part of this state’s history, he’s got a tough job,” Vandenaardweg said.

“How can you have a winning educational system if all the parents don’t get involved?” he asked.

Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks at a town hall meeting last Wednesday at the Morgan City Auditorium. HOWARD J. CASTAY JR.