Jindal proves conservatism works in Louisiana

Fred Barnes:

...Jindal has done what most -governors only dream about. But he and his aides are painfully aware his accomplishments are unknown outside the state. To spread the word, they’ve produced a five-page report headlined “Louisiana Turnaround—The Untold Story.” It’s a largely factual document with minimal spin or exaggeration. 

Listing 63 separate actions, reforms, or changes, it makes the point that a lot has happened in Jindal’s first four years. He cut spending sharply before that became sexy. In 2008, the state budget was $34.4 billion. For 2012, it’s $25.4 billion, a 26 percent decline. Nearly 10,000 state jobs have been eliminated. “If you enforce fiscal discipline, it frees you to do things you should have done anyway,” according to Jindal. 

He gets credit for the biggest income tax cut—$1.1 billion over five years—in state history. At his instigation, the legislature approved an array of business tax reductions, including a 25 to 30 percent tax credit to attract movie production. 

He’s a refusenik on tax hikes, vowing never to raise taxes. He even blocked an extension of a cigarette tax. To get around Jindal and prevent the tax from expiring, legislators passed a state constitutional amendment. (Jindal could have vetoed the amendment but chose not to.) 

Jindal insists it’s the certainty on taxes that draws so many companies to the state. “They’re coming here because they know nobody’s going to raise taxes on them,” he told me. And they like the “level playing field” that now exists. In October, Louisiana added jobs at twice the national rate. Unemployment fell from 8.2 percent in May to 7 percent in November. 

When I traveled around Louisiana with Jindal in late November, he touted new jobs. In Broussard, Marine International said it was bringing 90 jobs back from China. At that event, Jindal was declared an “honorary Cajun.” In Alexandria, Sundrop Fuels announced it would build a factory, hire 150 people, and produce what it calls “the world’s first, ready-to-use, renewable ‘green gasoline.’ ” A Sundrop official slipped me a press release with this written in ink: “Sundrop Fuels has not received any federal funding or loans.” 

Jindal loves these jobs announcements, not only for their political and economic value, but also because they underscore a point he often makes. “Conservative ideas don’t just sound good,” he says. “They actually work. That’s the secret of our success.” He wants Louisiana to be seen as a model for other states to follow. 

His first task as governor in 2008 was something more basic: to address the ethics of Louisiana’s political class. The state, with a well-earned reputation for corruption, was frequently ridiculed. Former Louisiana congressman Billy Tauzin joked that the state was “half under water, half under indictment.” Rolfe McCollister, who publishes several magazines in Baton Rouge, says, “It was downright embarrassing to hear what people thought of us.” 

That’s changing. As a result of disclosure, transparency, and ethics enforcement reforms, the Better Government Association lifted Louisiana from 46th to 5th on its Integrity Index. The Center for Public Integrity places the state 1st in its ranking of legislative disclosure requirements. 

Ethics reform plays a significant part in Louisiana’s improved business climate. In 2009, the Gallup Job Creation Index ranked the state number three in the country. In 2010, Site Selection magazine rated its business climate number one in the nation. There’s no dispute that Louisiana’s economy is vastly better than it was....

Jindal has accomplished this despite the hit the state took in jobs when Obama put his moratorium on offshore drilling in the gulf of Mexico.  He is smart and works hard.  Republicans in Washington should be looking at his mode for success.