Louisiana Lt. Gov. Landrieu: Jindal Wrong To Reject Recovery Funds For Unemployment Insurance»

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/22/jindal-landrieu-gop/

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Landrieu: Jindal Wrong To Reject Recovery Funds For Unemployment Insurance»


On Friday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) announced that he would reject nearly $100 million in unemployment insurance funding from the federal government. In doing so, Jindal ensured that at least 25,000 unemployed Lousiana residents would not be eligible for unemployment insurance. In response, Louisiana’s Lt. Gov., Mitch Landrieu (D), said that “Jindal needs to choose whether to represent the state of Louisiana or be the spokesman for the national Republican Party“:

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said in a telephone conference call that Jindal needs to choose whether to represent the state of Louisiana or be the spokesman for the national Republican Party. … “Those interests don’t always line up,” Landrieu said. “It puts the governor at risk of sending mixed messages. … Louisiana should be very aggressive in going to get this money.” <…>

Jindal on Friday refused to accept $98.4 million, calling the money an incentive to expand the numbers of unemployed people who could receive benefits in way that eventually would require the state to raise taxes for businesses and employers.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) responded to new of Jindal’s decision by quipping, “You just tell them that anyone that doesn’t want to take the money: I’m ready to take their money and rebuild California.” Gov. Jennifer Ganholm (D-MI) made similar remarks in reference to the possibility of Govs. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Mark Sanford (R-SC) following Jindal’s lead.

As New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin (D) observed last week, Jindal’s decision appears to be little more than a thinly veiled attempt to burnish his conservative credentials for a possible presidential campaign in 2012. Matthew Yglesias, however, suggests that Jindal’s maneuver may also be premised on a “‘begger thy neighbor’ strategy” to artificially reduce his state’s unemployment figures:

If Louisiana makes its unemployment benefits less generous than what’s available in other states, then maybe unemployed citizens will leave Louisiana for Texas and other neighboring states, thus creating an artificial appearance of an improved economic situation. It would be the equivalent of Mike Bloomberg fighting poverty by demolishing all the low-income housing in New York and hoping the poor people all move elsewhere.

[The Wielding Truth]

1. Another proud prize idiot Republican! What sickness causes

this type a logic?

[ecstatic]

2. and the people of LA should respond by making his ass

unemployed. :mad:

[Hello_Kitty]

5. Every governor who complains about the stimulus should be shitcanned. eom

[Ocracoker16]

3. Jindal is nuts to not accept badly needed money because he wants to run in 2012

He is turning down almost $100 million that would enable 25,000 residents to get unemployment insurance. Apparently, politics has more sway over him than serving LA residents. The latter is his job as governor of the state. I don't really think that people living in states with Republican governors who reject parts of the recovery money should have to put up with this crap.

[babylonsister]

6. I can't imagine his unemployed constituents are too happy. I hope

that's reflected the next time anyone is asked to vote for him, for any position.

[tritsofme]

4. In regards to your last point, that is exactly what has been happening in the city of Chicago

for the past two decades or so.

The city's power structure has demolished giant public housing projects such as the infamous Cabrini Green and pushed all of these predominantly black folks to the outlying suburbs of Chicago.

They then build condos that are far too expensive for any of these folks to afford.

But from Daley's perspective, they have exported much of their crime problems to suburbs, and it is all justified.

[Buddyblazon]

7. I had a nice talk with Mitch Landrieu...

one night at our venue during the DNC. He's a really nice guy. Very happy. Wanted to talk about my job...and his experience on stages as a child.

He was definitely the type of guy I'd want to sit down and have a beer with (and I would've joined him in the beer he was enjoying had I not been working).