Smoke! It's for the Children!

Now they've gone and done it. The Public Affairs Research Council is attempting to bring facts and reason into Louisiana politics. Good luck, especially when Gov. Kathleen Blanco is involved. (I liked her much better when she was cutting ribbons on new tourist welcome centers -- one of her claims to fame as lieutenant governor. In fact, maybe the only thing she did as lieutenant governor.)

It seems that when you crunch the numbers, there's no need to raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack in the Bayou State to support education.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco has yet to make a strong enough case for her proposed $1-per-pack hike in cigarette taxes, a government watchdog agency said Thursday.

In a news release, the Public Affairs Research Council noted last month's improved state revenue projections -- $169 million more in the coming fiscal year alone, according to the state Revenue Estimating Conference -- plus other potential revenue sources. The release questions the need for the tax, which Blanco has said would be used to fund school teacher, school support worker and college faculty pay raises.

Instead, the cash will go to various pork projects. And the state wants to raise other "fees" -- hey, folks, a fee is a tax, call it what you want -- while refusing to make previously promised spending cuts.

PAR said the cigarette tax would raise $40 million more than needed for the Blanco-backed $3,300 teacher pay raise over two years and the 5 percent raise for college faculty.

Other potential revenue sources listed by PAR include a proposed $87 million hospital fee that has made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee and would generate a total of $300 million a year and a proposal to change rules for the "rainy day" trust fund that would free up $200 million next year.

And Louisiana "leaders" wonder why the rest of the South is leaving it behind in attracting jobs. Could it be the redistribution of wealth mentality? Third world and damn proud of it? Damned right.