In an editorial in a recent Lafayette paper, House Speaker Jim Tucker said: “One vote led to all this,”….
The “this” to which Tucker was referring is the current fiscal “cliff” of $1.6 billion.
[Tucker was referring] to a 2006 vote that raised the base recurring expenditure level when federal hurricane money was flowing.Yes, the spending “cap” was raised by $1 billion which Tucker and the Republican members of the lege fought vehemently against.
What Tucker fails to recall is that in 2008, he along with the Republican leges fought vehemently to pass a spending “cap” increase of an additional $1.1 billion dollars. To see how your representative and senator voted in the 2008 2nd Special Session here are the links to the official votes: House Senate
Both spending increases were fiscally-irresponsible.
However, whether the one that Tucker opposed or the one he supported is the cause-in-fact (as we say in the law biz) is arguable.
However, the latest increase which Tucker supported represents $1.1 billion of the $1.6 billion shortfall. Therefore, if he had not pushed for the last spending increase the current revenue shortfall would be a manageable $500 million.
If neither spending increase had passed, theoretically, we’d have a $500 million surplus.
It is left to Tucker to explain the difference between the two fiscally-irresponsible decisions by the lege.
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