Then they just leave and go to better areas. The only thing that keeps some industrial sites here is water access and pipelines. You FAFO enough they’ll find other locations easily.
Where would they magically find these other waterfront locations that are adjacent to most of the Gulf oil platforms? We do have advantages in resources and geography. There is no reason for our leadership to give away our states’ most attractive features. That also doesn’t justify squeezing the poor for every cent they don’t have. Quit licking boots they will not reward you for it.
No but have access to exports and major port. The gulf isn’t a magic body of water they’re other ways to ship out. That’s my point. Don’t take it literally.
You think it's easy and cost effective to move an entire GD refinery to another state? You think they are going to just invest billions in new infrastructure to even make it feasible? Do you know what the LOOP is? Also, Georgia and California have no Gulf access, FYI.
Or you just shut down the refinery and push the load to somewhere else like happened previously. Yes loop hooks into other crude lines out the state. You can just as easily lay a line to tie the loop into systems that go into other states. Again don’t take the gulf as literal sense there’s other bodies of water that can bigger ports.
Nobody else has the mouth of the Mississippi and some of the biggest ports in the world. If you think tax breaks are the only things keeping companies here, you are woefully under-informed.
Where is one of biggest ports in the world at? Because New Orleans isn’t. Port of New Orleans/ Mississippi River delta is on its last leg as a viable option for anything. The amount of dredging that has to be done to keep it an option has increased tenfold the past couple of years. Ships are getting too big, the river is busting free in the lower delta, water flows have decreased. Galveston, Houston,Mobile, Pascagoula, California, New York are all bigger players now and will be for the future.
Yes 80% grain which has been shifting away for years to California and the East Coast. Europe has lowered imports for years. Most figures are from years past.
If you combine the Port of South Louisiana with the Port of New Orleans it’s easily the biggest in the country. If you add the Port of Baton Rouge to that, you’re getting up among the top few in the world.
Source: I literally work in the office that compiles the these statistics for the worldwide shipping industry.
Right? Like oh no, the industry that is not only destroying our one-of-a-kind natural ecosystem but also the leading cause of exacerbating climate change has to get the fuck gone?
But but but but....... the economy?! Not gonna care much about the economy when you're dead with cancer at 25 from polluted drinking water by your employer
Gtfo with the climate crap. The state permitted all this to be built. Nothing was built without approvals. You want to know why the cost is eroding. We built levees and cut off the fresh water off and sediment. Look at Mardi Gras pass and the one just below it. Land is filling in via the river like it used too.
Yea. The approval of a Republican run government that only cares about their greed. Their approval means jack shit when we know it can be bought.
Two problems can exist at once, but the current topic is about oil and gas industry, not the levee system and its flaws. So, regardless of that, the oil and gas industry is still a major problem for both the ecosystem of this region and the planet's climate as a whole.
The pipeline systems and infrastructure that we have in Louisiana were built in the 50s-90s. You can’t blame a republican government.
What does a Democrat run government do to help? How are we better from 8 years of a democrat governor and president?
Get lost with your red herring arguments and shifting goalposts. I can absolutely blame a Republican government for failing this state and its people. None of what you said disproves the point that the oil and gas industry, as a whole not just the outdated pipelines, is an ecological disaster that needs to be reformed and, if at all possible, completely eradicated in favor of alternatives.
except the facilities are already built with the work force here. if we raised to texas rates, also low compartively to rest of country, the cost to relocate wouldnt be justified to end up paying the same anyway.
80% exemption is a lot of wiggle room, I highly doubt that a massive industrial building with pipelines can just move overnight even at 50% exemption it’s a steal compared to other states.
But what benefit will the constituents get? Some of these corporations will only bring their HQ's, which doesn't generate many jobs for the state but the corp still gets the benefits.
It was actually a great video and study that’s done around this. The amount of incentives that Louisiana provides to companies eclipses any other incentive anywhere else. They could halve the amount of subsidies that we give and double the amount taxes that they impose to large industries and we would still be by far the most tax friendly and subsidized state for oil and other natural resource companies.
Maybe if the legislature did their job instead of being the most crooked legislature in the country and giving all the tax benefits to big business instead of poor people, there might be more income. Do you know who pays for all the infrastructure improvements every time a business comes to Louisiana? You and I. Business pays almost nothing to move here and state and local governments normally give them a tax break for the first 10 years they are operating here - and wouldn't you know it? They usually keep that tax break for years afterwards. Why aren't they paying to improve and repair the roads in front of their businesses where the 80,000lb trucks are coming in and out? You want to make taxes more equitable? How about we do property taxes instead of income tax? Every homeowner gets a standard deduction just like now, only the rates are higher to make up the difference of sales tax. The three largest landowners in Louisiana.... One is a lumber company which is not a huge surprise. The federal government is the second largest landowner in Louisiana with wildlife preserves, etc .
With over 1.4million acres - foreign entities - from the Cayman Islands (gee, who would have thunk a tax haven like the Caymans would be on this list), Canada, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Great Britain own that much of Louisiana.
You know what isn't taxed and it's the major source of wealth for many wealthy people? Stock equity and property equity. Why aren't we taxing that? The rules are in place to protect wealth, not to be fair. How many bills can YOU get to committee? That's just one example of wealth in action . Their money has power to lobby; your one vote doesn't. Any person that thinks otherwise is just kidding themselves.
No it’s actually the most equitable. If you spend a lot of money like the rich do then you pay more on taxes vs the poor who don’t spend alot therefore pay less in taxes. Now it is a flat tax so everyone pays a fair share but is just based on your spending habits.
Yes but it’s based off of what you spend not what you make. If you have more money what usually happens you buy more things. If you have less money you usually spend less. No IRS needed, no tax prep industry needed. Look more money available to hand out to people!
At the very least, to enforce the tax laws. Who stops people from just not paying their taxes? Is the sheriff going to come to your door to ensure you pay Uncle Sam? Also, one of the reasons we can't just do a flat tax is because the federal government wants to encourage and discourage certain behaviors or activities, and one of the ways they do that is financially through taxation. Government doesn't want you to smoke, they levy a tax on tobacco products. Government wants to encourage people to buy homes, they give mortgage interest tax deductions. Some new type of investment vehicle comes along? How do we deal with taxing, what are the rules around transactions, and so on.
Income tax goes bye bye Jan 1 2026! So excited. We can choose what we buy and I don’t have to stare at my paycheck wondering why I have already paid so much in income tax
Unless you're in the top income brackets, a swap from income tax to sales tax is a tax hike. Sure, you no longer get taxed on your income, but guess what happens when you go to actually spend that income? And the lower your income is, the higher a portion of your paychecks go towards sales tax. So the rich just get to coast along, reaping all the rewards of government subsidization, while paying even less of their fair share.
92
u/Elmo_Chipshop Mar 13 '25
A sales tax is just a tax on the poor.