Governor Edwards releases anti-poverty agenda
19th March 2018 · 0 Comments
Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
On March 11, Gov. John Bel Edwards released his proposed agenda for the 2018 State Legislature session that convened March 12, with a strong focus on reducing poverty in a state with the second-highest poverty rate in the country.
With the percentage of Louisiana residents below the poverty line hovering around 20 percent, Edwards said he is determined to address an issue that has dogged not just the Pelican State but much of the Deep South for years.
“There is no reason why, in a state as blessed as this one, that so many families who do everything right should struggle to make ends meet each month,” Edwards said in a statement last weekend. “The cost of living continues to go up and working families are looking to us for help. That’s why I am pushing for legislation that calls on the departments in my administration to develop a coordinated, multi-agency strategic plan to lift Louisiana families out of poverty so that they can get ahead and stay ahead.”
Edwards laid out his 2018 agenda in a lengthy address to the assembled Legislature on March 12.
Edwards’ agenda includes strong support for two key pieces of legislation before state lawmakers. One is SB 455, filed by State Sen. Regina Barrow (D-Baton Rouge) that establishes the Moving Families from Poverty to Empowerment Strategic Plan as a key component in the coordination between various state agencies to provide economic development stimulus and available state and federal anti-poverty measures and resources as a means of addressing the needs of Louisiana’s impoverished.
The other vital legislation—and one that could potentially elicit fierce debate in Baton Rouge—cited by Edwards is SB 162 put forth by Sen. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) that proposes a the establishment of a state minimum wage, from the federal rate of $7.25 per hour to $8.00 per hour by Jan. 1, 2019, and to $8.50 by Jan. 1, 2020. Louisiana is one of only a handful of states without a statewide minimum wage separate from the national figure.
“There hasn’t been an increase to the minimum wage since 2009 but the cost of goods has increased by nearly 35 percent, which impacts families, communities and employers,” Edwards said. “It’s essential we work together to raise the minimum wage to strengthen families, grow our economy and build a stronger workforce. Too many Louisianans are depending on us to do this. It is time.”
However, efforts to raise the minimum wage have been tried several times before but failed to generate enough legislative support. A similar bill issued by Carter in 2017 failed in the State Senate’s Finance Committee on a 7-3 vote that predictably fell along party lines.
At the time, many business interests and state Republicans argued that business owners shouldn’t be forced to establish a higher wage rate, and that such a move would endanger jobs, not make them better.
But in an interview Friday, Carter expressed a great deal of optimism that the measure is finally gaining traction in Baton Rouge—last week the bill made it through the Labor Committee and will hopefully soon go before the entire Senate.
Carter said pro-wage increase advocates have convinced key constituencies, such as the Louisiana Restaurant Association, to either support the measure or drop their opposition to it, and after Edwards personally addressed the Labor Committee last week, the panel passed the bill.
The initial success has come as welcome news to Carter.
“We can’t afford to pay people a low minimum wage,” he said Friday. “Whenever we have the opportunity to allow Louisiana residents to have a better quality of life, we need to do it.” Carter also noted that he has similarly introduced an equal-pay-for-women measure, which, if passed, will further address the dire financial straits of many residents and families.
Carter said Friday that he fully supports much of Edwards’ agenda, especially the anti-poverty push. He said passing measures to help the Louisiana poor “is not only possible, but imperative.”
“We know it’s ambitious,” he added, “but we have to fight tirelessly to make it happen.”
New Orleans city officials expressed tentative support for the governor’s agenda, while reserving comment on specific legislation or policies.
“The mayor-elect looks forward to working with Gov. Edwards on priorities that impact the residents of New Orleans,” said Mayor-Elect LaToya Cantrell, who move from her position on the City Council to the Mayor’s Office at her inauguration on May 7.
Cantrell declined to comment on specific legislation at this time.
City Council President Jason Williams said he backs much of the governor’s agenda, including not only the minimum wage hike but also the efforts to combat the opioid addiction crisis. Williams also highlighted measures taken by the City Council to enhancing early education as a means of strengthening the community educationally and economically.
“I commend the governor’s legislative agenda that addresses the opioid epidemic and calls for a higher minimum wage,” Williams said. “These are crucial improvements that the residents of Louisiana need.
“On a local level, the City Council allocated money in the City budget towards early childhood education for the very first time. I hope this continues to be a standard for the budget as providing our youngest New Orleanians with access to high quality early childhood education addresses poverty in its earliest stages and builds stronger, smarter New Orleanians and Louisianans.”
Just two days before Edwards released his 2018 legislative agenda, the Louisiana Budget Project, which monitors state policy and legislative actions that affect low- and middle-income people and families in the state, issued an article on its Web site that detailed some of the reasons for Louisiana’s dire poverty situation and urged leaders to the systemic problem immediately.
Citing a U.S. News and World report study placing Louisiana last in the country on quality-of-life issues, the LBP lamented the current situation.
“The low ranking reflects some of the harsh realities that have plagued the state for decades,” it stated. “Although Louisiana’s industries have suffered through a recession and several natural disasters, they are beginning to bounce back, but systemic poverty continues to be drag on Louisiana’s economy.”
In April 17, an annual study by the Louisiana Association of United Ways reported that 42 percent of households in the state struggle to afford basic necessities.
The study, stated an association release, “places a spotlight on a large population of hardworking residents who work at low-paying jobs, have little or no savings, and are one emergency from falling into poverty.”
This article originally published in the March 19, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
