Jindal vs Cao on high speed rail.

Jindal rejects $300 million in stimulus money for high-speed rail | DailyComet.com | The Thibodaux Daily Comet | Thibodaux, LA

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal is at odds with a fellow Louisiana Republican over the governor's decision not to seek $300 million in federal stimulus money for a high-speed rail line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Like other governors, Jindal had a midnight Friday deadline to submit an application for the money. But Jindal aides have said the administration is not applying because of concerns about the project's ongoing costs. They said the state would incur an annual $18 million bill to run the rail system once it became operational.

But U.S. Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, on Friday called on Jindal to apply for the money. Since all U.S. taxpayers will foot the bill for the stimulus spending, Cao said, the state's elected officials should see that Louisiana gets its fair share.

"It's our duty to obtain as much as we can to rebuild this region," Cao said at a news conference at his city's train station.

Blanco takes on idea that we have too many college graduates.

BRIEFING BOOK - NOLA.com

She took aim at state officials with the Economic Development and Labor departments who have said the state has a surfeit of four-year college graduates and not enough workers with two-year degrees, considering the demands of Louisiana's job market. "I don't think there's a soul in this country who has ever accused Louisiana of being overeducated," Blanco said. "This is a huge mistake, and we'll pay for it for generations." She said LSU System President John Lombardi has not been afraid to speak out against the cuts and "dumbing down" of the state's education system, but that "the political class will probably try to silence him" and "run him off." She finished by saying, "Add your voice to this fight. . . . March over to the state Capitol and demand proper funding for all levels of education"

A good, snarky letter to the editor

No brain, no drain - NOLA.com

Curt Eysink, appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal as executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, has found an easy way to fix Louisiana's brain drain, and his logic is impeccable: If there were no brains, there would be no drain.

So Louisiana, let's quit growing those pesky things. It might take a while to reduce the "surplus" of college graduates without some help. To that end, I propose we start by asking two to leave -- Curt Eysink and his boss, Gov. Jindal.

Incredible! Too many graduates???? So create more jobs!!!!

4-year college graduates a surplus in Louisiana - NOLA.com

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana has a "surplus" of college graduates getting traditional four-year degrees and needs to steer more people into community and technical college programs to meet future job demand, the state's top labor official said Monday.

Curt Eysink, executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, cited occupational forecasts that show the state will produce 10,312 more four-year graduates than there are jobs to fill between 2008 and 2016, while at the same time there are 3,892 more jobs available requiring associates' or technical degrees than there are people to fill them.

"We're producing a workforce that we cannot employ in Louisiana," Eysink told the Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission, which is looking for ways to overhaul the state's higher education system.

The panel was created by the Legislature this year and is expected to deliver a plan to the Board of Regents by Feb. 12 outlining proposed changes to the state's colleges and universities. Gov. Bobby Jindal has directed the group to identify $146 million in possible budget cuts as the state prepares for years of likely budget shortfalls resulting from stagnant revenues and rising costs.

Eysink cited forecasting models that show the state's top-growing occupations to be low-skilled, service-industry jobs such as ticket-takers, cashiers and customer service representatives, as well as more skilled occupations such as nurses, teachers and trades such as welders and carpenters.

Several commission members were unhappy with the perspective, as Louisiana already trails the rest of the South and the nation as a whole in nearly every educational indicator, including the percentage of the population with college degrees. Only 21 percent of Louisiana residents ages 25 to 64 have a four-year degree or higher, compared to 26.4 percent for the South and 29 percent of the nation as a whole.

Saying a state has too many four-year graduates "is like telling a rich guy he has too much money," said Artis Terrell of Shreveport, a principal in the Williams Capital Group. "Can you ever have too many four-year degrees?"

Is this the best Jindal can do?  We chould cut higher ed to make sure that the number of burger-flippers and dial-readers is sufficient for our low level industries. A guarantee of mediocrity for the next hundred years!

In this article, the BoR Chariman fired back.

Commission members said while community and technical college enrollment needed to grow, they didn't think that needed to come at the expense of four-year university degrees.

"It's like telling a rich man he has too much money. Can you ever have too many four-year degrees?" said Artis Terrell, chairman of the Louisiana Board of Regents.

For example, Terrell said Shaw Group Inc. founder and CEO Jim Bernhard recently told state officials that he chose to locate an engineering office in Charlotte, N.C., because of a shortage of engineers in Louisiana.

And to make matters worse, we ALREADY have a horrible graduation rate.

Only 5 percent of students graduate from two-year colleges compared with 16 percent in the region, said Joan Lord, a vice president of education policies for the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta.

Lord said 37 percent of students in Louisiana graduate from four-year colleges and universities compared with a 52 percent average in the region.

This editorial in the Picaynue makes the right argument -- let's not cut education, let's plan for an economy which provides more real jobs.

The state doesn't have too many educated people. Instead, it has a shortage of jobs that will attract and keep college graduates. Fortunately, that's how members of the Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission seem to view the issue.

Recent Census statistics back up that position. Louisiana lost more than 2,500 college graduates between 2007 and 2008, one of only eight states that recorded a net loss of college-educated residents age 25 and older. The brain drain has long been a pattern of economic life in Louisiana, and it's discouraging to see it continuing.

Louisiana does need to meet current labor demands, but the state should focus on those residents who don't have any post-secondary training or education to beef up enrollment at community and technical colleges. Moving people from low-skilled, service-industry jobs into more skilled occupations such as welders and carpenters will help those residents and the economy.

Kennedy draws line against LSU head.

Treasurer, LSU System chief at odds on higher education | theadvertiser.com | The Advertiser

BATON ROUGE — Treasurer John Kennedy believes the state's public four-year universities should be governed by one board to help cut costs, but he said Monday he opposes any suggestion to limit spending under the TOPS free college tuition program.


Those ideas, along with the treasurer's opposition to college tuition increases for students, put Kennedy at odds with the leader of the higher education system that includes the state's flagship university.

Jindal endorses Democrats’ health care reform bill

The Political Carnival: Jindal endorses Democrats’ health care reform bill

8 out of Jindal’s 10 are already in the President’s plan and the variations wending their way toward a merge process. [...]

Jindal’s article makes it clear that conservatives agree with how we’re proceeding on health care reform. It looks like Democrats made a serious effort to bring conservative principles into play where they could as a proxy for the demagogues in Congress who decided stonewalling is the way to reform our health care system.

Vitter has a challenger.

2theadvocate.com | News | Melancon to take on Vitter — Baton Rouge, LA

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Charles “Charlie” Melancon announced Thursday that he will challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter next year in what is expected to shape up to be a political donnybrook.

The Napoleonville Democrat’s entry into the race is expected to immediately attract national attention with ammunition in the form of campaign dollars from the national parties.

I might get my wallet out for this one.

Return of the Dust Bowl.

Small Midwestern States To Be Hit Hardest By Climate Change: Report

The map included in this article shows the worst effects will be on the old Dust Bowl states, so the Dust Bowl will return, but worse, and bigger.

Tucker commission gets free advice from consultant. "Graduate MORE students."

From the Advocate: "La. higher ed to get consulting assistance"

“Both of these foundations will tell you the most important thing that Louisiana can do is graduate 10,000 additional students,” Jones said.

But how do you do that while cutting the budget? It looks like the governor's voice will not be the only one heard.

“This will be the first time in history that our nation takes a step backwards in education.This economy can’t run on all cylinders if half of those that enter college don’t finish,” said Jones. “Louisiana is positioning itself so it can be competitive by focusing on graduating more students.”

Another commission heard from. Abolish boards, not colleges.

2theadvocate.com | Legislature & Politics | Panel: Put colleges under Regents board — Baton Rouge, LA

The ex-governor told the advisory group that putting all public colleges under the Board of Regents would force the institutions to work together without closing a single university.

Roemer unsuccessfully pushed a similar idea in 1988 when he was governor. Former Gov. Mike Foster — who as a state senator opposed the idea when Roemer pushed it — also tried to put all colleges under a single board.

Another commission heard from. Abolish boards, not colleges.

2theadvocate.com | Legislature & Politics | Panel: Put colleges under Regents board — Baton Rouge, LA

The ex-governor told the advisory group that putting all public colleges under the Board of Regents would force the institutions to work together without closing a single university.

Roemer unsuccessfully pushed a similar idea in 1988 when he was governor. Former Gov. Mike Foster — who as a state senator opposed the idea when Roemer pushed it — also tried to put all colleges under a single board.

New consultants for Tucker commission.

2theadvocate.com | News | La. higher ed to get consulting assistance — Baton Rouge, LA

“Both of these foundations will tell you the most important thing that Louisiana can do is graduate 10,000 additional students,” Jones said.

But how do you do that while cutting the budget? Seems that the governor's voice will not be the only one heard.

For the poor, we're Burundi.

By T.R. Reid -- Five Myths About Health Care in the Rest of the World

In many ways, foreign health-care models are not really "foreign" to America, because our crazy-quilt health-care system uses elements of all of them. For Native Americans or veterans, we're Britain: The government provides health care, funding it through general taxes, and patients get no bills. For people who get insurance through their jobs, we're Germany: Premiums are split between workers and employers, and private insurance plans pay private doctors and hospitals. For people over 65, we're Canada: Everyone pays premiums for an insurance plan run by the government, and the public plan pays private doctors and hospitals according to a set fee schedule. And for the tens of millions without insurance coverage, we're Burundi or Burma: In the world's poor nations, sick people pay out of pocket for medical care; those who can't pay stay sick or die.

Politics? Graft? or just Incompetence?

Probe: New Orleans flood control pumps not reliable - USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON — Huge flood-control pumps installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina don't protect the city adequately and the Army Corps of Engineers could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment, a federal investigation finds.

The investigation by the federal Office of Special Counsel finds there was "little logical justification" for the corps' decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the "untested" hydraulic pumps, which are meant to empty millions of gallons of water from the below-sea-level city during storm-related floods.



Citing the corps' $430 million plan to replace the hydraulic pumps by 2012, just five years after they were installed, the special counsel concludes that a "proven" direct-drive pump design would have been less prone to corrosion and breakdowns. Based on an independent engineering review, the counsel says direct-drive pumps could have been purchased "more quickly, more reliably and without planning for pump … replacement."

This is why no one wants the Corps involved in New Orleans flood plans.

Another commission heard from on higher ed.

Interesting -- I'm not sure what the guv with think of this -- perhaps not in his instruction set?  Is this a "rogue commission"?


Commission focuses on job cuts and education - WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |

The commission passed a plan to abolish all state higher education boards, including those at Southern and LSU. Instead, their power would transfer to one joint board, the Board of Regents. Kennedy says that way each institution would have a purpose and focus. They could coordinate with each other, instead of overlap interests. The Commission also wants to eliminate thousands of state jobs. Kennedy suggests each get rid of at least 5,000 jobs each year for the next three years. "No one's going to be fired. No one will be laid off. We'll do this gradually over time," he said.

From The Advertiser

"I do not believe we have too many schools," Kennedy said after his Advisory Group on Efficiency and Benchmarking adopted his series of suggestions. "We have too many boards that promote too many schools that try to do the same thing."
. . . . . .

Kennedy's proposal for a single board was suggested by former Gov. Buddy Roemer, who told the panel Monday that having one board actually strengthens each university because it would be given a singular purpose.

"Do we have too many universities? No, we don't," Roemer said. "We don't use them well. We don't coordinate them.

No university would be closed, Roemer said, and they would work together.

"There can be only one flagship," Kennedy said, and other universities should not try to duplicate it. He said every school does not need nursing and engineering programs.

Eliminating the management boards created in the 1974 constitution would not be easy. Roemer and former Gov. Mike Foster tried to pass amendments to do it and failed.

Surprise!!! LSU will clear away any competition.

Harry Shearer: Obama neglecting New Orleans, playing politics.

Harry Shearer: Playing the Inside Game -- A Cautionary Tale

Experiment officially over. To be clear, I'm not upset I wasn't treated like a celebrity or given ego-satisfying access. Frankly, the inside game creeps me out, the flattery that you're "connected" can bring out the late Bob Novak in anyone. I'm just angry that New Orleans, which did not bring about its own disaster, is watching a second consecutive president trash his glib promises to "rebuild it better".

Obama supporters chided me, back in January and February, to "give him some time, he's only been in office for a month/two months/three months." I guess they knew what I didn't, that the presidency gets easier as you go along, that progressively fewer surprises get dumped on your desk as time passes. Obama's remarks about New Orleans during the campaign were anodyne boilerplate, and what he's giving us now is more of the same. He won't even do the obligatory photo-op in the city on 8/29; he told the Times-Picayune he'll come down "before the end of the year". He didn't say which year.

Obama will visit New Orleans this fall.

Rebuilding New Orleans still a priority, Obama says - Louisiana Politics | State Legislature News - NOLA.com

"I think that Katrina was really a wake-up call for the country -- about our need to fulfill our commitments to our fellow citizens, a recognition that there but for the grace of God go I, that all of us can fall prey to these kinds of natural disasters, " Obama said.

"I think to fail to follow through on that commitment would be a betrayal of who we are as a country. I also think that the Gulf region generally, but New Orleans specifically, has a unique place in America's imagination and American life and that's why it is so important now.

State drops rail plan -- not because Jindal was taking heat.

State drops proposed Baton Rouge-New Orleans line | News for New Orleans, Louisiana | Top Stories | News and Weather for New Orleans | wwltv.com

The state has dropped a plan to seek about $300 million of federal aid to launch passenger railroad service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
. . .

Ankner later said he was not pressured by Gov. Bobby Jindal's office to drop the proposal because of any political considerations.

You may recall that Jindal came out against rail subsidies in his famous speech.