At a forum in Baton Rouge on Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards and Republican Candidate Congressman Ralph Abraham both made their case as to why they deserve to be in the Governor’s mansion. Edwards cited that voters know that the state is in a better position today than it was when he took office following the 2015 election.
“They know that our economy is better. They know we’ve moved from deficits to a surplus. They know there’s stabilized funding for higher education and out obligation to kids on TOPS,” said Edwards.
Abraham brushed off the claims of Edwards by saying the Governor has grown government and increased taxes to achieve the surplus but isn’t seeing much else that has been done with the extra tax money.
“My opponent brags about his surplus of tax dollars, which is a surplus of someone else’s money. He doesn’t fix anything, just jacks up taxes over and over again,” said Abraham.
Abraham highlighted the dropping population in Louisiana, but the Governor said the way to combat that is to invest in education, which will lead decision makers with businesses to invest in Louisiana to create the opportunity for people to stay.
“We know that we are creating the confidence they need to invest in Louisiana and because we are going to have that educated, skilled workforce, which by the way, we can’t inspire that confidence if we are not investing in higher education,” said the Governor.
Abraham said he is for smaller government and that over taxation and regulation is leading many businesses to look elsewhere.
“We’re losing more citizens than we are gaining jobs and if we are not careful, we’re going to lose a congressional district in the 2020 census and we are 50th in business opportunity in every business magazine you would ever want to read,” said Abraham.
