Only the Beginning
 

TOPS payments stopped immediately due to state budget crisis. Thank you Gov Edwards!

Or should I thank Jindal for leaving the mess?

Pretty sure it's Bush's fault

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

The worst has yet to come. Glad Im not making any BIG purchases any time soon. Seriously thinking about making some financial adjustments to move everything out of state.

Say good bye to cheap gas, and not for the RIGHT (oil field jobs) reasons

never fear though.....those food stamps will keep pumping out!

No worries. Bernie gonna make college free.

I think its just political posturing by Edwards to get the state house and senate to go along with his tax hikes. Kinda like how the left says ok ya'll want to cut the budget, lets turn all the criminals loose and lay off the fire and police. Instead of looking at smart ways to cut the fat, they try to cause a panic.

They could easily fix TOPS by making the first year TOPS students have to get a student loan for the first year... You make the grades, we pay off your loan. That way you wouldn't have tons of 18yr olds going to college just to party on the state's dime and then drop out.

I agree, but do you really believe that will happen?

Sorry guys really slow connections.
Hotel,New Jersey,I,ll connect tomorrow...

Stop payments to EVERY SINGLE legislator until this gets fixed.
Listen to our state treasurer for once and stop paying for 19,000 consultants.

root out ALL fraud in medicare/medicaid

I'll take the one cent sales tax- at least everyone participates

put those capable of working that are on welfare -working

Stop the state tractors cutting grass and line up pot heads in jail shoulder to shoulder with push mowers cutting state grass

Drug testing for welfare reciepients
Subsistence food only for those that can work and choose not to.

Reduce welfare payments over five years by 20% a year for those capable of working and choose not

and lastly a 50% tax on all awards over 500K to be paid by the TRIAL LAWYER because it was those that put him in office.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...7fxNms4bNRWIMw

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/r...is-233x300.jpg

LOL.........it's a start!

This is a G O D D A M N S H A M E.



But another way to look at it is this. Maybe all the kids with High GPAs and Test Scores will still qualify for other Scholarships and continue their pursuit towards a college education. And maybe the other group of half-*** dumbasses that squeezed by with TOPS and are only going to college(and will drop out in the first 2 semesters) bc its free will find another valuable career path. Like getting a skill or trade. Welders, Fitters, Equipment Operators, and other tradesmen need a SERIOUS rebirth.

I drive the I-210 Corridor everyday to work. Passing the casino area the other day I couldn't help but notice all of the trash and debris on the roadway. 3 MAJOR casinos in a 2 mile radius, multiple refineries in a 10 mile radius, highest incarceration rate in the whole country and we can't find the cash or labor to keep the sides of the road clean and manicured?! It's a minute example but a great representation of this disaster area we live in.

When I went to Jamaica they had prisoners lined up cutting the roadsides with weed eaters.

that's way less expensive than all those big tractors

What happen to Casinos paying for Tops ?

Lol .. Boy it sounded good

Well, when a good portion of the state budget is funded by oil royalties and the price drops roughly 75% from two years ago, of course there will be a deficit!

They are many ways to skin a cat, it all depends on who is doing the skinning....the right or the left!!!!!!!!!!

All I can say, I didn't think everyone would still be paying for that piece of *ss Vitter had years ago. Kinda like a STD, gift that keeps on giving!!!!! LOL That election had NOTHING to do with policy, all about smearing character. If his wife could forgive him, who in the hell are we to judge. Just saying.

You just hit the nail square on the head!

heard dat

Wonder how much edwards paid dardenne to stay in the race to split the vote enough for a runoff?

There are already recall petitions being circulated to recall JBE. The new atty general is fighting him tooth and nail to make him understand that the AG is the #1 when it comes to legal matters in Louisiana, not the governor and John Kennedy and a few others have shown ways to fix the budget w/o having us taxed to death and deadly cuts being made to higher education. If he doesn't watch his Ps and Qs he can be out of office in just about as much time as it took to put him there.

Well if it's any consolation, JBE just pretty much guaranteed he'll be a 1 term governor. I still haven't listened to his entire speech, but I got he gist of it. Fear mongering to stir the uninformed. Fact of the matter is, some fairly unpopular decisions will have to be made in order to right the sinking ship that is Louisiana. I did listen to Kennedy's rebuttal, and I think he has some great ideas. I know he's been fairly vocal about the states spending problem at every opportunity for the past few years. I only wish those in charge would have heeded his warnings from the get go.

The poor leadership by Jindal and his inability to work with the legislature to find real solutions to our problems has left our state finances completely wrecked. Whatever governor came in would already be setup to fail. Fact is, the legislature is out of control with spending and they have no interest in stopping. Just last year, they conned the citizens into putting more spending bills under constitutional protection. And we voted to approve it. All the while, oil prices were dropping in the toilet and taking income away. Now, here we sit complaining because we don't want more taxes and we don't want cuts to education but the constitution says that we have to balance. So, where does the money come from to do this?
The last several years, there have been motions to convene a constitutional convention to try to remove out of date spending programs. Every one of those motions has been voted down by the legislature. And yet we continue to vote these same fools back into office because "they did such a good job". Looks like we are also part of the problem.
I agree with Matt that there will have to be some hard choices made to correct things. I certainly don't want any new taxes, but... I would be willing to accept a limited term tax ALONG with removal of constitutional protection for spending programs that are not vital infrastructure programs.

just my 2 cents

We spending more than we bringing in. Oil is our gravy train, and the train is running slow. TOPS is welfare sorta, but shoulda been safe from cuts if it truly comes from the lottery. They were supposed to give teachers raises from that lottery money too. If they have to cut education, the first thing they should do is start getting rid of all these universities we got. We have way too many. Grambling, Southern, LSUA, Northwestern, etc. could all go and then no matter where you lived in the state, you would be within 75 miles of a university.

McNeese too while we are at it. Got ULL right down the road

Totally agree!! And which one of the people smearing him or those that didn't vote for him because of what he did hasn't done worse? Sin is sin and it doesn't matter what form it takes.

First they need to get one board to run the system not the 3 -4 they have now. then any university that doesn't graduate up to a certain percentage of its students in a 4 year program in 6 years time should be closed.
Example SUNO graduates 8% in 4 years and 11% in 6 years. Waste of money. If there is another university within a certain mileage and one can handle the load of both one gets closed.

Cut all those Colleges of Ebonics and get ready for the Ferguson of the South.

I was explaining that scam to a coworker today. Boy we really **** the bed on that one as Republicans. United we stand or divided we fall.

Official statement made by University of Louisiana President:

The University of Louisiana is working to mitigate the impact of the potential reduction of TOPS state scholarship funding for our students.

"The University will fulfill the state’s commitment to students for TOPS funding for the 2015-2016 academic year, including the Spring 2016 semester.

"We are working with our state legislators to come up with short- and long-term solutions for TOPS stability. We are hopeful that the upcoming legislative sessions will yield outcomes that support students and this important program.

"Our students should continue to focus on their classes. We also encourage TOPS supporters to have conversations with state legislators about the future of higher education in Louisiana.”

"The University will fulfill the state---Way to be a leader---Geaux T-Jeaux!!!

Succinct, and to the point. Very classy indeed. Well done Dr. S., well done.

McNeese should be a 2 year technical college.

ULM should be absorbed into LaTech.

Grambling and SUNO......well enough has been said.

Really??
 

Just curious, what is your reasoning behind this statement? Personal opinion or based on facts?

No, that is just what every single ULL graduate says because they don't want ULL to close or be impacted in any way. It doesn't matter how many people McNeese puts in the local facilities or the over $300 million economic impact that McNeese has in SWLA. Bet it has more of an impact than most of the other 4 year universities, save for ULL, LSU, and Tulane. No way SELA, NWST, ULM, or NSU have that impact.

And no way a 2 yesr technical school would have that impact. Do things need to be cut and streamlined? Yes. But there is no reason for McNeese to go to a 2 year status. You want to make cuts? How about to the ridiculous number of schools in North Louisiana with the population there is in that region. You have LSUA, Louisiana College, NWST, ULM, LA TECH, Grambling, and LSUS all in that region. Why the hell do you need so many colleges in a region with the population that it has?

More people live in the I-10 cooridor than any other part of the state. Could ULL handle the load that it would have to take on if McNeese did not offer 4 year programs? Doubt it. I read somewhere that the main region that McNeese supports has something in the realm of 300-400k people. That's plenty big enough to support a 4 year university. And McNeese has the alumni to support the university.

Cut programs if necessary, or combine programs. But there are enough reasons to maintain McNeese as a 4 year.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Lot's of good points.....

Here is more.......
LaTech consistently ranks as one of the top engineering options in the country. It also offers one of only two cyber engineering schools in the country.

While McNeese does have alumni that support the school........MOST alumni of MOST Louisiana colleges are more willing to spend 15 million to buy a coaches contract out to fire him than support the education of kids or the arts.

That is just a fact.

Until we as a state become as proud of our students as we are about our student atheletes, we will never clean up the system

I've always liked art, love photography....waste of money at a university. Drop the liberal arts programs. They are a drain, and I would be willing to bet the employment rate of liberal arts graduates in their field is much lower compared to business and the sciences.

Why do you think JBE used the loss LSU football as a threat? Dude isn't stupid. He knows all these morons will be up in arms to do whatever it takes to not lose their fooseball. Those are the people that fail to realize the tigers belong to Louisiana State UNIVERSITY, a place of higher learning.

This isn't just a Louisiana problem. Just look at sports today versus 50 years ago. The best player in baseball might have made $130k a year back then. Now they might make $30 million a year. Our society as a whole puts more emphasis on sports and less on an education. Hell, they even lower the standards in some places (EBR *cough*).

A cultural change is needed, and that is not an overnight change.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

The last thing I think is that JBE is stupid......What I do think is that he beleives WE are all stupid.
I will disagree with you on what the arts brings to society. While they make less, indeed, more kids that are in band and the arts go and eventually graduate in ALL majors on ALL universties.

Full disclosure, I was a full ride music band nerd a LaTech in the early 80's.
Today, my daughter, a May graduate of UGA with TWO majors in liberal arts sees me as a greedy corporate 1%'er that does not pay my "fair share"

There is a spot for both in our universities........but we allow the atheletic departments to run as a profit generating enterprise with little to no government handouts.
But the academics we have too much government involvement. Like federally backed student loans.

If the entire university had to run as a enterprise, including sports and academia in and on the same Profit and Loss statement, things would turn around quickly.

The cultural change will happen when everyone is responsible and accountable for themselves. No parachute.......only a soft landing for those that fall...........and only one soft landing.......

People were warned well in advance about John Bell Obama. All you had to do is listen to any number of radio talk shows before the election. There was alot of manipulation within the "Louisiana political machine" going on, that caused Vitter's demise. Like the OP said...it's only the beginning. Louisiana politics is alive and well! I would be first in line to sign a recall.

Sorry to hear that. That's the kind of stuff that is a shame these days. But how many students in engineering, med, or law have that mindset? This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy. It's a real shame when someone's child has the audacity to believe something like that abput one of their own parents, but that is what the Sanders and Clintons and Edwards of the world want.

I believe the arts are an important part of society as well, but I don't see the need for full fledged degree programs at universities. You don't have to be a music major to be in the band.

One of the metrics I always hear talked about for McNeese is the value of the degree. The Return on Investment. It is very high because the degree isn't extremely expensive, and the money that a McNeese graduate will make in a lifetime far exceeds the cost. Does anyone think that is true with a liberal arts degree such as music or dance? I sure don't. Maybe I'm wrong. But in my opinion, every program should be evaluated, and if it's not meeting a standard, get rid of it. We already have too many people out of work, and we keep graduating people from college like its an assembly line.

I say send those would-be liberal arts degree-seekers to trade school. Make em get a real trade, and then let em complain about "fair shares".

Congratulations on your daughter graduating witb 2 degrees though. Sorry to hear she thinks you don't pay your fair share. I would tell her that if she doesn't feel that way, then she can pay it for you. Afterall, you did let her live in your house for years free of charge. That has to count for some "share".


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Everybody wants cuts but doesn't want cuts in their region. Mcneese should go. ULM, LSUA, LSUS, NW, Southeastern or Nicholls and all the historically black colleges. It's racist if you think about it. Segregation is over

That $300 million economic impact is just s number that was derived from someone at mcneese and probably exaggerated

When you're a troll, you troll. It's what you do.

If you want to save 15% or more on car insurance, you switch to GEICO.

It's what you do.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Mako just doesn't want to watch McNeese beat that a** in football next fall.

Here's the libertarian stance..

Government shouldn't pay for education of students, scholarships or not. Scholarships should be given privately and should not be handed out by the government. Charity should rule here.

Government shouldn't pay for food stamps. Charitable donations and the kindness of others replaces the mandatory tax collections used for this purpose.

A little bit of both. I knew it would ruffle some feathers (mainly yours) and was in the mood to stir the pot.

Honestly, McNeese isn't dragging down Louisiana education system nearly as much as the other Schools I mentioned.

I still believe LA only needs three (public) 4 year Universities with the rest of them either closing doors or becoming a feeder school like a JUCO, Technical College, or Community College.

However, NO politicIan has the balls to propose closing down Granby ing or Southern. That would be political suicide. They would rather allow the other universities in the state to erode away.

Yea, but they do! So since they are going to give hand outs what better way than through TOPS for a college education to a kid who has made acceptable grades in high school. Cut the other hand outs you mentioned (food stamps to citizens who choose not to work) before you start cutting funds to higher education. Higher education is literally the future of our state, nation, and ultimately human race.

$230,000 per year!

It's all good. I agree something should be done to trim down the # of colleges.

Very SOON there will be an official petition drive to recall JBE.
Anyone interested in helping in the parish you reside in please contact me and let me know.

Excellent ideas........however the politicians will never do it... It makes to much sense...