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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) recently unveiled an ambitious new approach to tax policy, in which his state would eliminate income and corporate taxes altogether, and replace the revenue through increased sales taxes. If you thought his plan couldn't get more offensive, think again.
To shift the tax burden from income to purchases would, of course, be radically regressive, rewarding the rich and punishing the poor. The Tax Policy Center and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy both scrutinized Jindal's proposal, and concluded it would be a breathtaking experiment in redistribution of wealth -- in the wrong direction.
But to keep the sales tax from being too high, Jindal also hopes to impose steep spending cuts so the state would need less revenue. What kind of cuts does the far-right governor have in mind? Jamelle Bouie reported yesterday that Jindal intends to eliminate the state's hospice program for Medicaid recipients.
According to a local New Orleans news station, Louisiana residents over the age of 21 will stop receiving hospice benefits at the end of the month. As of February, low-income Louisianans with terminal illnesses and disabilities will lose access to long-term home and medical care.
Wait, it gets worse.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals defends this as a cost-saving measure: Over the next two years, Louisiana will save $8.3 million by ending state-funded hospice care. But that's a paltry sum compared to the state's $900 million deficit. And in the same way that raising Medicare eligibility increases costs by moving seniors into more expensive private insurance plans, these cuts will, in the end, place a greater burden on the state, as low-income Louisianans turn to nearby hospitals and ICUs, shifting the burden to localities.
In isolation, it's a disaster of a plan. When coupled with existing cuts to education and a large tax increase on the bottom 80 percent of Louisiana residents, it's a catastrophe.
Local hospice officials in Louisiana expressed dismay at the "throw grandma off the bus" attitude of the Jindal administration.
After the 2012 elections, Jindal tried to position himself as someone who could help lead his party in a smarter direction, lamenting "dumbed-down conservatism." He neglected to mention he hopes to replace it with "callous and cruel conservatism."
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Channeling his "Roots"- bringing the streets of Calcutta to the streets of Louisiana!
Gee, it's too bad Ma T isn't around to set up one of her grotesque warehouses of the sick and dying.
""I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people."
(numerous cites on the internet)
Ever since the House GOTea passed the Ryan budget and demanded tornado disaster relief be paid for by cuts elsewhere, we've known Republicans can no longer be embarrassed, no longer feel shame.
Now it's getting even worse. They really don't care how obnoxious they are.
They don't care how appalling they are. They don't care how stupid they are. They don't care how inhumane they are. They don't care how much harm they do.
I think it is past time to be surprised at anything they do or don't do. We need to get people like Jindal out of our government.
So...You are saying we are finding out what it's like to live in Kenya? If indeed i have your "channeling" comment correct....
So Scott, you actually like Jindal's plan? Is that what you are saying?
Terriels,
He probably loves it.
Too bad we can't stick little Scotty in a hospice, let him become a "good Republican."
Hey, scott . . . haven't you heard? The era of liberalism is back, so buzz off.
As usual, Charles Pierce has something excellent to say on this:
Jindal also has decided that Louisiana spends far too much helping women escape from their abusers.
Jindal will make the perfect running mate for Chris Christie, helping to ease any fears that Christie is at heart just a big ol' muslin-lover liberal softie.
Their campaign slogan? "Another Fine Mess."
I disagree. I get the feeling Christie wouldn't throw anyone under a bus, so correct me if I'm wrong. And Jindal won't get anywhere on the national stage doing this stuff.
I'm not even a Christie fan but know enough that he wouldn't have anything to do with this POS.
Gentlemen...
I believe Angel is referring to their physical appearances, not political leanings...
"Another Fine Mess" refers to the oft-repeated line Oliver Hardy accused Stan Laurel of getting them into... with Gov. Christie as Hardy, and Gov. Jindal as Laurel...
So do the hospice patients have to go out on an iceflow...
Considering how quickly the polar ice caps are melting, and considering that Repubs don't believe in climate change, it's unlikely. Besides, someone would have to pay airfare from Louisiana to get the patient anywhere near an ice floe. (Yes, this is snark, thanks for asking.)
Yeah, the new Eskimo plan. Better hurry up with that, Bobby. Ice is melting fast even if you don't believe it.
Oh, just throw them out into the streets of Louisiana to die.
It's been done before. I believe it was 2005.
I remember...The T.V. and radio stations were saying for 72 hrs. before hand NOT to evacuate and to CANCEL any flood insurance you may have being as you are living below Sea level...liberals are undeniably,unbelievably idiotic in their conspiracy theories....lol
Scott you do realize that many could not leave? No resources, no cars, no gas and no place to go.
terriels,
I'm sure he does, but that sort doesn't care.
And empty buses provided by the city for evacuation...yes,i remember.
Scott, you offensive little piece of something I scrape off my shoe, take your bitter anger at the fact you were born the moron and loser you are and always have been and always will be, and go to hell. Your ignorance and stupidity have been around long enough. You even manage to be more appalling than scooter.
Scooter, lolz..
The hospice ice flow, lolz.
This is just immensely disturbing!
I think they've actually outdone themselves this time. Bobby Jindal sure has.
He and Scott are soul mates, I see.
Keep the hate and racism going there Scott. They may appoint you to the House of Representatives. Then you can get off welfare!
Well, you can get onto a better, more lucrative form of welfare! Best of all, no education or brains required for the job.You just have to say NO to every reasonable request.
Careful, there, TC.... This piece of trash isn't worth getting banned for death-wishing about...
Pot him on 'ignore' like I have... If you get banned, you lose, he wins...
Lots for me to think about here as I dealt with these issues as an adult day care provider in Nevada. Here, Repub Governor Sandoval has tried to establish himself as a cost cutter by transferring state expenses to the counties, and of course with lower property taxes coming in, it's near impossible to keep up. And Nevada is near the bottom in terms of services provided. The latest state of the state speech was ambitious, maybe an attempt to clean up his image as the previous cuts might've been expressed for political ambition. Sandoval did support Romney. Anyway, it's being floated now that co-pays for medicaid services are being considered. In this state, that will probably fly. I blog about senior corruption, have been inactive lately, but I'm grateful for the info coming in like this, as the right will get away with what it can in one state, and the idea, even bad ones, travel quickly.
So he's eliminating Income and Corp Taxes, raising Sales Tax and telling the terminally ill and anyone else who needs Hospice Care to survive to go f*ck themselves. Great work there Bobby, you're gaining ground on Dick Chaney; to become the single most callus and heartless
bastardperson to ever be elected to an office in this country.Now just wait a minute, Calvin . . . how dare you call Dick Cheney a person!! Apologize this instant!!
But I bet the terminally ill will be able to buy guns without a background check. That will help them fulfill the Republican Health Care plan as outlined by Alan Grayson:
1. Don't get sick
2. If you do get sick - Die Quickly.
http://youtu.be/-usmvYOPfco
Dick Cheney a person?
I guess sort of, now that someone put an actual heart in his chest. Now we have to find him a soul.
That's harder.
Perhaps this will open the door for Death With Dignity advocates to pass what we have here in OR and WA. It is a bit spendier than a gun and bullet, but less messier and allows people to have their family members around when they take it(a drug concoction that ends life). Hospice is so much more than just pushing people through on another's dime: it gives people a chance to care and feel cared for. And for some, that feeling of being cared for, that they mattered in some small way, means the world. In the quest to hoard a manmade commodity, Jindal and ilk have forgotten what Nature and God gave them: their hearts.
jontara, What is happening to this country? Who ARE these people like Jindal?
What are they?
Honestly, India, I don't know. I thinlk on one level they are scared: scared of their god, scared of the world, scared that if they don't "have it all" they will be as poor as the people they put down. On another, I think they mix up compassion for others' plight as socialism, repect for others as alien, and compromise as weakness. I think that these people have had everything handed to them and have been fed the line that they are superior and believe it. Fortunately, there are many people in the Us and the world who are doing and thinking just the opposit. I do not underestimate the power of thought and as long as there are people who think differently than the ones who are afraid, we will continue to evolve, albeit slowly.
jontara, Thanks for the response.
I think they are only scared of being primaried.
They have no clue what socialism is. They have no idea what compassion is.
They do not worship the same God I do, that's for sure.
"By their fruits ye shall know them."
That's one hell of a bitter harvest they're reaping.
It's just unfathomable how these monsters live with themselves. Bone chillingly cruel and mendacious. Unreal.
It's not exactly cruelty and mendacity. It is, but that's not how they came to these proposals. They just have no idea how their boneheaded "solutions" affect anyone earning less than what *they* earn. And if you're poor, working a job that doesn't pay enough, they can't understand why you can't get a better paying job, as if it were that easy.
and they call themselves Christians. That's the real irony.
I'm not religious, but their actions are about as un-Christ-like as it is possible to be.
They claim they're Christians. They prove themselves Monsters.
There's an absurd redundancy in there somewhere.
My response? Go urinate up a rope. Reading on the subject ,one finds out that 1400 people would be affected by it this year, as the the rest would be covered under medicare. Pharmacy is still providing pain medication through state pharmacy services. and the rest indeed could be picked up by religious charities and accompanying charities.So to say this is somehow something that will confront a large share of the states population is just a blatant lie...as this program that is being cut has only been in existence since 2002.
That would be 1400 per year correct? How would YOU like to be one of the 1400 that it would affect?
Potty is Ideologically Sound, so of course it can't happen to him, and if it does, then it would be the fault of them heinous libruls!
How would YOU like not to plan for such things and provide for care yourself instead of hoping a Government agency was there for you?
Potty obviously thinks that being Ideologically Sound is more important than making sense.
scott - can you imagine making minimum wage (or less) and having to raise children, put a roof over your head, food on the table, utilities, transportation costs - and if you have an extra dollar at the end of it all (which most do not) - they're told that it's their fault for not "saving" any money? You may not have to live that way ever - but millions of Americans do. And in those "Golden years" when you're too sick to do anything and can no longer work, and Medicare/Medicaid isn't there - then what do you?
Millions of elderly Americans have been lifted out of the extreme poverty thanks to Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid? You may not have to live like that in your "Golden Years", and so good for you, but many others do? So maybe you can pretend to have empathy and "Christian" charity for their plight - just try it.
Fine Scott. Just publicly announce you think Jesus was a putz and a Liberal scumbag. I thought even one life was important? Not if they're actually cognizant, I guess.
You're not a very good human.
Potty shows that just being genetically human (and I'm really being generous here) doesn't make someone a decent person.
Dave, people are only important to Repubs when they're in a woman's womb. After they come out, the repubs could care less.
The only thing the GOP has to fear is the GOP
Could these people, like Jindal, be the "domestic enemies" the president swore to fight when he took that oath of office?
I think so.
massachusian, I am religious and this is not only un-Christian. It is un-Godly and inhuman.
I live in Illinois. One of my Senators is Mark Kirk. Almost a year ago, Kirk suffered a stroke. Kept him away from the Senate for nearly a year. In a recent interview, Kirk mentioned how his attitude toward hospital care for those in a similar situation had changed dramatically since he suffered his stroke.
Perhaps Jindal needs to walk in the shoes of those he wants to throw off the bus.
If that picture of Jindal is any indication, it looks like he is going to suffer a stroke himself.
From your lips to God's ears.
So Jindal not only wants to kill grandma, he wants to let anyone with a life threatening disability over the age of 21 die in agony also. What a guy?
As I said earlier, it won't be the first time Louisiana was forced to let people die in the streets. At least there's a precedent for Jindal to draw on: 2005.
When I hear things like this from these Republicans, I have no problem believing in the existence of an evil power. The evidence is mounting. Some of these government officials do not even seem human anymore. It actually does not seem possible for people to feel this way and be fully human.
I can't help but notice the absence of our resident trolls trying to defend this as a cost cutting measure that these people are all "Takers"...
but then again these are the "Let him die" crowd.
They will probably be around but they may be distracted by the new "the era of liberalism is back" thread.
Hardly...Being as this giveaway has only been in place since 2002, and of the 5000 people affected....only 1400 would not be eligible under medicare. It's amazing how quickly Liberal leeches attach themselves to government bennies..is it not? Look at the growth of Welfare and related programs...and again...that "entitlement' has only been around since 1964. these programs are like crack to liberals.
There ya go.
It's amazing how vociferously those on the right can spew verbal vomit.
And how those on the left would make you believe it was ACTUALLY a government responsibility.
There goes Potty, getting all Neo-Confederate again. I'll ask again...were the states that made up the Confederate States of America justified in seceding?
The government is made up of people, scott. You know, human beings -- some of whom were raised to give a damn about what happens to those less fortunate and (obviously) some who were not. Fortunately the former seem to outweigh the latter.
C'mon, scott . . . let go of the anger and jump into the mainstream. You'll feel better. I guarantee it.
No he won't. Anger is his raison d'etre.
Ignore him. I do.
Those on the right are inordinately fond of wallowing in unwarranted self-righteous indignation.
I am actually hoping this goes through as it will be an experiment on the state level and when it miserably fails, the whole country will not have gone through the wreckage and it will dismantel any hope of any extreme republican getting elected in 2014/2016
NO! That's cruel to the folks who would have to suffer through this.
I live in Louisiana. I did not vote for this clown, either time! My husband & I are both working retail, due to lack of better jobs in the area. We barely make ends meet. If we get laid off, we could lose our health insurance. COBRA would be too expensive, as would prescription drugs. It's a short slide down a steep slope from there. This is how people wind up in foreclosure, and from there in the homeless shelter or living in their car. Please don 't wish that scenario on anyone.
wlstarn,
Ditto here! Didn't vote for Jindal, these repubs are against anything that doesn't benefit themselves personally.
wistarn & LaMike: I thought you folks had oil money, the Gulf looks like it has thousands of oil rigs working. Where does that money go... because anytime reasonable suggestions are made about rig safety, Sen Landrieu has a cow...
maybe SOME folks have oil money, but certainly not everyone. This is Louisiana, not Alaska.
A close look will show you that all that oil money winds up in Texas. Texans have been stealing money from Louisiana for 150 years, at least. And corrupt Louisiana politicians have been helping them, for a cut.
And these CONServatives say the are pro life, however, they only care about what is in a woman's womb and they must have control. Once born, that life, that baby is on their own, regardless of insurmountable challenges faced after the same CONS attempt to transfer limited funds from the poor and redistribute it to the "suffering" wealthy, cutting education, the EPA, opposing job creation, healthcare, child care etc. If these folk are not evil, I don't know the definition of the word!!!!
Jindal doesn't seem to see that those who would be hospice patients will instead end up Intensive Care ward patients at 5 or 10 times the price.
I can't believe no one in Louisiana hasn't pointed this out to him.
You are assuming he listens to people who are not his "yes men."
The only consequences Republicans believe in are the imaginary ones. CO2 doesn't cause climate change, cutting social programs doesn't result higher costs to the state, threatening to default on the debt doesn't retard economic growth, defaulting on the debt won't cause anything very bad to happen, cutting taxes doesn't decrease revenue, being uninsured doesn't cause people to die.
But taxes cause the magic confidence fairies to haz a sad, resulting in them not sprinkling their magic confidence fairy dust on job creators. Social Security makes the deficit worse. Tax cuts increase revenue.
Kindness99, I like your avatar and your comment.
Thank you, Steve for posting about Jindal.. The best way for folks to know what he would bring to national office is to make his current policies and machinations as well-known as possible.
Apparently, there was enough of an uproar to change his mind.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/24/1181717/-Jindal-reverses-decision-to-cut-hospice-care-out-of-nbsp-Medicaid
He's the Bella Lugosi of the Bayous. The only thing missing is the black cape, lifted and held across the mouth, as he approaches his constituents.
Reminds me of that classic Universal comedy, "Jindal and Christie Meet Frankenstein."
Where's Shootie to applaud this bold move to pay for lower taxes on job creators by taking away the unproductive parasites' "free stuff?"
I've finally gotten around to reading all that Dickens I dodged in high school and college because it's free (soshulism!) and easy on an iPad or Kindle. And again and again, I've found myself astounded to realize that modern Republicans talk exactly like the people he was singling out for abuse in his novels. I don't mean there are parallels or that they're similar in some metaphorical sense. I mean modern Republicans talk exactly like the bad guys in Dickens novels. Scrooge, the gentleman in the white waistcoat in Oliver, the French aristocrats in A Tale of Two Cities. Modern Republican thought has actually regressed all the way back to the 1840s.
Next there will be workhouses and debtors' prisons.
Actually, the 1500s. They do believe in witches, also (remember Moron Sarah getting baptized to protect her from witchcraft back in 2008?)
Steve,
I just said that about Dickens on another blog; the one about Ryan's budget.
These people want to undo more than the 20th century. What I don't understand is what motivates them. It's patently absurd to think they way they do. It is inhuman.
At this point, I really do believe that all Republicans are fundamentally disordered psychopaths. It is not possible for me to believe that anyone could support a party so demonstrably evil without being evil themselves.
That's what I said! This is evil!
It scares me to think, "What next?"
It is very hard for me to imagine that Louisiana governor thinks that discontinuing Hospice is an appropriate way to cut taxes??? WTF!! He obviously has not had anyone close to him need the support/care of Hospice. Having been a nurse for 32+ years, I had the experience of working as a Hospice nurse with adult and pediatric clients. This proposal by this governor is a travestry!!!
It is time for the people of Louisiana to wake up and "throw Governor Jindal off the bus"
If Dems are to succeed retaking state houses and Congress, then it is necessary for Republicans like Jindal to achieve their agenda. Without a mess, Dems have little to offer people in red states or a chance to win elections. Consider what happened with the Bush presidency and the mess he created was necessary for Obama to get elected. Otherwise, McCain and the twit from Alaska would most likely have been elected. When Republicans screw up states badly enough, people will be forced to take another look at Dems.
He should have to go around the state breaking the news to every hospice patient personally.
for the record, i think jindal is an amoral idiot. for the record, i think most of his constituents are simple idiots (read the comments to the local story). they voted him and his kind in. for thirty years, the voters in that part of the country have lived in this fantasy world of guns, jesus, uppity blacks, lazy immigrants, and rush limbaugh. this is just the piper, coming to collect. f-em!
Excuse me, passing that kind of judgement on the entire populace of a state, many of whom are not simple idiots (and did not vote for Jindal), puts you in a league with the folks who condemn the 47% as worthless leeches.
Hard to get much dumber than the "dumbed-down conservatism" that Jindal is pushing. Penny wise; pound foolish.
You people get together and moan in a " Woe is me" fashion.Read the facts around the issue, know the options to this program (as Government ALWAYS has many agencies overlapping) which has other agencies doing the same tasks...know that THIS particular giveaway has only been in place since 2002, and affects a total of 1,400 people that would not be covered under other programs. And cases like this IS what charities were intended for...Liberals...*sheesh*
Those on the right abhor actual facts.
Scott I don't believe that churches and charities are responsible for taking care of citizens. If they want to fill in gaps - fine, but end of life care should not be a gap.
For Government to fill? Shameless...truly shameless.
Potty loves to cut off his nose to spite his face.
C'mon, guys. Try to understand scott's point of view . . . if there's a level playing field, who in the world can he feel superior to?
#23.6, damn Skippy, I believe you've nailed it!
If you've never needed hospice care for a family member or loved one, be thankful.
If you have, then you're already thankful that a resource like this existed.
Jindal is flat wrong on this one.
#24,
And everything else he's come up with!
And he's even smarter than a lot of them. LOL
May Bobbie Jindal be struck with all TEN of the plagues of Egypt!