State Representative District 77
A Note From John
Dear Friends,
It has been a pretty packed year. With the severe budget problems, I have not stopped since early March. After long committee hearings in March and an incredibly difficult session that ended near the end of June, I spent most of July away at conferences. I was honored to be selected to represent the Louisiana House of Representatives at a Leadership Class at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. Upon returning I attended the National Conference of State Legislators in Philadelphia.
One glowing thing that I brought home with me is that it appears Louisiana is fairing better than most states during the recession. And I mean on several fronts. Our state's overall economy, job growth and unemployment seem to be better than most. But most impressive, at least to me, is how we balanced the budget. It was tough and many people questioned me on my positions. But in the end, we did what HAD to be done. We could have taxed the citizens of this state to bail out our bloated state government, but I am proud to say that enough of us held our ground. It's never easy when you have to cut services to the people of this state. However, I am sad to say that we did not go nearly far enough in correcting this problem. We did manage to reduce government some, but we barely scratched the service.
Louisiana ranks near the top in the nation when you compare our government employee work force to other states. Currently Louisiana has over 14,000 more employees than the average southern state. This figure does not include any healthcare workers. Unfortunately this costs YOU, the tax payer, a minimum of $700 million dollars a year. We have sectors of government where 75 cents of every dollar pays for employees. Every department in this state is guilty of some waste. And until we clean it up, I will not support raising your taxes. But, please be aware that this state is headed for some difficult choices over the next two years. Unfortunately it looks like the Legislature is going to be the ones to make the difficult choices. Two commissions were appointed recently to study Higher Education and Streamlining Government. These will be daunting tasks! While I believe that our own SLU has been deprived over the years in funding, the numbers for the system as a whole are staggering. The state workforce this year could be getting as much as $130 million plus in merit pay raises, and this figure does not include Higher Ed. We might be the only state in the country with a deficit of this size and still handing out "merit" raises.
There will be tough times over the next couple of years. Each of you has had to deal with different financial issues during this bad economy. You have had to do without, make difficult decisions about healthcare, education, and business, not to speak of family retirements. You must be vocal during the next 12 months and make sure government hears your message. Our current infrustruture as we currently sit is unaffordable. Will it be difficult to deal with? Will people be laid off? Do we need to downsize all departments in state government? Do we need to prioritize our needs?
The answer to all of these questions is YES!!
We the state of Louisiana do not have an income problem; we have a spending problem. One of my favorite quotes during the session was "It ain't about the money ya'll." If you are interested in seeing me fighting for you on the House floor, click the following link and scroll down to June 23rd. Select the p.m. session and fast forward to hour 3:19. http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/2009/Jun2009.htm
All government has done during the past 12 months is fight to keep what they have and ask for more money. I have not seen one initiative that would revolutionize a department and deliver quality services to the tax payer. In fact, if you look at the numbers, our state population has decreased while every level of government has grown substantially. Only a bad economy has shined the light! Over the next several months we will see what happens, but don't count on additional revenue flowing into Baton Rouge. It looks like the economy will be dragging on the bottom for a while longer.
Fortunately the state can not just print more money and further bankrupt our families like our federal government.
John M. Schroder, Sr.
State Representative
District 77
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Government Links
Important Dates
TOWN HALL MEETINGS Everyone is welcome to attend!
September 29th at 7 p.m - A town hall meeting will be held in St. Tammany Parish on Tuesday at the Greater Covington Center at 317 Jefferson Avenue.
September 30th at 7 p.m - The Tangipahoa Parish meeting will be held the following evening on Wednesday at the Hammond City Council Chambers at 312 E. Charles Street.
Hurricane Preparedness
Regular Hurricane Season Dates:
Atlantic, Carribean, Gulf of Mexico
June 1 - November 30
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Contraflow
Download the Red Cross PDF Preparedness Sheet
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St. Tammany Parish Hurricane/EOC
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LA Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness
Rep. Schroder Receives LA Civil Service Award
The Louisiana Civil Service League's Awards Committee has chosen Rep. Schroder and four other outstanding Louisiana citizens to be recipients of this year's 44th Annual Monte M. Lemann Award.
This award goes annually to those who have given distinguished service to the advancement of the Louisiana Merit System of Public Employment, persons not in the classified civil service.
Rep. Schroder will receive the award at a luncheon in October.
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Governor Jindal and the SLU vs. LSU Tailgate
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