Columns

By Stephen Waguespack

On October 18th, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation co-sponsored an event in Baton Rouge to release the Foundation’s new report, “Workforce of Today, Workforce of Tomorrow: The Business Case for High-Quality Childcare.” At the event, early learning experts, business representatives, education officials and legislators all stressed the critical need for quality early learning opportunities and access to safe, affordable childcare.

By: Raymond Powell

In the early morning hours back on November 11, 1918, rulers of France, Britain, and Germany met in a railroad car near Compiegne, France to sign an armistice ending World War I or the “Great War” or “War to End All Wars” as it was called at that time. The cease-fire took place at 11:00 am that day which was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

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By Stephen Waguespack

It hit me this week while fielding questions from radio listeners on The Jim Engster Show: as much time as we all spend these days talking about what divides us, the truth is we are not as far apart as most think.

A few callers asked about proposals for new revenue streams, mandates or regulations on businesses and non-profits, while others wanted to explore different options to fight poverty. The affordability and quality of health care were discussed, as was the specific structure of our tax code and its inability to provide stability for both private markets and public services.

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By: Raymond Powell

Should Myrick Ferry Road be mentioned few of us today would be familiar with the name. In the mid-1800’s Myrick Ferry Road was well known since it was a main entrance to Texas from south DeSoto. It (Lula Road or La. Hwy 481) was a main dirt road, as all roads were in those days, that served Baker about one mile south of present day U.S. Hwy. 84 west of Mansfield. Joel P. Baker married Martha Lawrence in 1873 and built a nice home. In addition to operating a large farm he had a store with a post office and a cotton gin.

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By Stephen Waguespack

A recent report released by 24/7 Wall Street, a national financial news and opinion research company, states that Louisiana is the fourth poorest state in the country. This sobering report comes on the heels of another recent report by Governing magazine, which used 2016 Census figures to conclude that Louisiana has had the largest decline in real income in the nation.

The report by 24/7 Wall Street specifically stated:

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By: Raymond Powell

When thinking of this article and the condition and mood of our nation at the present time it became overwhelming. Is our country more divided today than at any previous period in our history? Possibly a brief review of our country’s history would provide some light on the subject. The early colonies operated under the Articles of Confederation which was a model for a weak national government. Congress had few powers, no Executive branch to enforce laws and no Supreme Court to interpret them. George Washington said, “Something must be done or it will fail.”

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By Stephen Waguespack

If his prediction holds true for Saturday’s turnout, it would mean that 85% of the roughly 3 million registered voters in Louisiana will simply not vote at all. Another way of looking at it is that over 2.5 million may just decide to skip the election altogether.

This is embarrassing. We can do better, especially since there are some critical votes on the ballot.

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By: Raymond Powell

When Northwest Louisiana is mentioned the mind immediately thinks of the right angle of the state joining Texas and Arkansas. It has always been that way even before Caddo was organized out of Natchitoches Parish. There were at least two times the Northwest three parishes (Caddo, DeSoto and Bossier) were close to becoming Texas. As a reminder, Caddo was taken from Natchitoches parish in 1839, DeSoto was formed with the northern half from Caddo and southern half from Natchitoches in 1843 and Bossier was formed a few months later that same year in 1843 from Claiborne Parish and all were endangered to remaining in Louisiana.

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By Stephen Waguespack

Each year on April 15th, you can easily get overwhelmed when trying to personally file your taxes. Am I eligible for a certain tax credit? Do I have the right documents to justify all my expenses and charitable donations throughout the year? Did I fill out my HSA information properly? Am I correctly claiming my medical expenses? The list goes on and on. The same compliance nightmare awaits small business owners, many of which operate within extremely tight margins and are unable to afford a tax professional.

The time is right for smart tax reform that will end this annual nightmare. America can no longer limp along with little to no economic growth. Our businesses, both big and small, need to once again be able to compete with the rest of the world for jobs and investment.

By: Raymond Powell

Only three months after Harry S. Truman became president of the United States he met with two of the “Big Three” of Word War 2 – Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Many Americans had reservations about the “Clothes Salesman” from Missouri having the diplomatic skill to deal with such world power leaders. Truman entered the conference knowing they had giant issues to resolve: the political future of Eastern Europe, the fate of recently defeated Germany, the still ongoing conflict with Japan and etc.

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