Protesters at State capitol react to state budget proposal
11th June 2018 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
As the Louisiana Legislature’s second special session of the spring gradually, and at times bitterly, imploded into an ugly mess of inaction over two excruciating weeks at the state capitol, activists who protested what they believe is a harsh state spending plan regrouped and prepared to keep up their fight.
On May 21, nine activists were arrested by Capitol Police after dozens of protesters temporarily clogged up a downtown Baton Rouge intersection, a demonstration that linked up with numerous similar events across the country as part of a revival of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign from a half- century ago.
Eight days later, two Poor People’s Campaign protesters were physically dragged from a House Appropriations Committee meeting after shouting and refusing to leave.
Such events brought awareness of the swelling, grassroots efforts to protest possible budget cuts to social services, education and other funds that assist lower and middle income Louisianians.
“What we’re hoping to do is to make the public aware, and make the poor people aware, that there are folks out here who are aware of their plight, who are out here delivering their message,” said local campaign leader Harold John of New Orleans, who was one of the nine people arrested May 21.
“[The poor] don’t have to be afraid that their voice isn’t being heard,” John added. “They’re not alone in their fight.”
John said the protest was part of a six-week campaign running through June 18 dubbed “Moral Mondays,” in which the PPC hopes to reawaken the long-dormant spirit of Dr. King’s movement from a half-century ago.
Protests have erupted in 35 states and the District of Columbia, with leaders of and participants in the coordinated, national movement advocating for several social justice and political issues, including the erosion of voting rights, election gerrymandering, systemic racism, environmental justice, the disproportionate money spent on national defense and the continued widening of the wealth gap between the wealthy and the poor.
The May 21 protest in Baton Rouge focused specifically on a drastic, draconian state budget process that activists feel is unfairly and harshly targeting Louisianians mired in poverty, as well as citizens from traditionally vulnerable and disenfranchised groups like women, children, the disabled and members of the LGBTQIA community.
Protesters decried the budget that was approved by the Republican-led State Legislature and subsequently vetoed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards as severely slashing funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that benefit the poor and vulnerable.
Edwards vetoed the spending plan on May 18, almost immediately after the Legislature wrapped up its 2018 regular session, calling the proposal “catastrophic.” The governor’s action triggered a 13-day special session of the Legislature that began May 22, in which state leaders were tasked with somehow drawing up a budget that’s palatable to all.
However, Edwards expressed a belief that overcoming an imminent $650-million budget shortfall could be insurmountable given the stark fiscal realities and the current political atmosphere in Baton Rouge. The budget gap would result largely from the impending expiration of temporary tax measures at the end of June, and the bulk of the swirling budget debate centered on agreeing on a way to either renew those taxes or come up with an alternative source of funding.
And, by the end of that 13-day stretch, legislators had proven Edwards correct, failing to reach the type of budget consensus that evaded them for a year and being forced to adopt a skeleton budget that includes across-the-board funding cuts and that, as a result, pleases no one. The new spending plan goes into effect July 1.
However, while a sensible fiscal policy didn’t emerge from the special legislative session, something else just as significant might have – a cohesive, dedicated, state-wide network of activists willing to protest and, if need be, be arrested in support of social justice.
But even with that, debates are forming on the best, most effective way to engage in such efforts.
In his public address on May 18, Edwards sympathized with those angered by the proposed budget put forth by the Legislature.
“Honestly, the climate in that building in Baton Rouge has not been producing the results that you deserve,” he said, “and I know you are frustrated by that. And who could blame you?”
In the aftermath of the May 21 protests and arrests, legislators expressed support for citizens’ freedom of expression and their passionate involvement in and concern for the dire issues at hand in Baton Rouge.
However, legislators also expressed the hope that activists would offer more restraint with their methods. “The members of the Senate encourage input from our constituents on all matters before us, including this budget,” State Senate President John Alario Jr., R-Westwego, said in a statement to The Louisiana Weekly last week. “We routinely take their thoughts and opinions into account when making public policy decisions. Everyone certainly has a right to express his or her opinions as long as such expressions are peaceful and lawful.”
State Sen. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, agreed, saying he supports peaceful protests but stressed that such actions cannot disrupt legislative activities or potentially place state officials or citizens in harm’s way.
However, Carter also said that protesters “shouldn’t be punished for the civil disobedience,” adding that their frustration and dissent are absolutely valid.
“Everybody recognizes that this is a very emotionally time,” he said, “and people are upset, very legitimately.”
Regarding the protest, he added that “it happened, it wasn’t the first time, and I dare say it won’t be the last.”
Carter said he agrees with the Poor People’s Campaign on many issues, including a harsh state spending plan and severe cuts to public services and programs.
“This is not a game of political football,” he said. “We shouldn’t play with people’s lives.”
This article originally published in the June 11, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
