Raising Taxes, Cutting Spending, and the State Budget
When asked how the state should deal with an estimated $2 billion budget shortfall, a plurality of Louisianans - 48 percent - opt for spending cuts while 41 percent prefer some combination of spending cuts and tax increases. If Louisianans are fiscal conservatives in the abstract, they are uncomfortable wielding the budgetary axe to slice specific program areas. Across a range of areas of government spending, only small percentages – ranging from 4.6 percent for primary and secondary education to 22.1 percent for economic development incentives - want to see major cuts. Likewise, while citizens are anti-tax in the abstract, overwhelming majorities are supportive of “sin taxes” on tobacco (75 percent), alcohol (78 percent), and gaming (85 percent). A majority of respondents - 58 percent - even supports taxing higher wage earners though notably support declines precipitously as household income increases. Finally, 72 percent of respondents support changing the state constitution so that budget cuts do not fall disproportionately on higher education and health care during economic downturns. Combined with the reluctance of residents to make major cuts across spending areas, this suggests a preference that budget cuts be broadly shared rather than concentrated on higher education and health care.