Letter to Louisiana: July 4th Weekend

By Dustin Granger, former candidate for Louisiana State Treasurer

Editor’s Note:
These Letters to Louisiana are written with a broader audience in mind, especially folks who don’t usually subscribe to political newsletters like this one. You might notice a different tone or message focus. That’s intentional. We’re working to reach people who’ve been misled, left out, or given up; because no one ever talked to them like they mattered. These letters are part of that effort.

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It’s the Fourth of July, and we’re supposed to be celebrating freedom. But I don’t feel very free right now.

It feels like I’m standing on a levee about to give. The wind is picking up. The water is rising. And the people in charge are still pretending it’s all under control.

We are heading into a preventable recession. The warning signs are everywhere. And like always, Louisiana is going to feel it first and worst.

Congress is pushing through a bill they’re calling “big and beautiful.” It’s another handout to the wealthy. Another hit to working people. There’s nothing beautiful about that.

This is shaping up to be one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in American history. And by the way we’ve been voting, it looks like we asked for it.

For decades, they told us who to blame. Poor people. Immigrants. Trans kids. Never the billionaires. Never the corporations that drained Louisiana’s resources, poisoned our air and water, and walked away richer than ever.

They kept us distracted while they took everything.

And now we’re seeing the consequences.

Medicaid is being gutted. More than 260,000 Louisianans could lose coverage. The state is looking at a $4 billion shortfall. That means more cuts. Probably higher taxes on working families.

Child poverty is rising, and they’re slashing food assistance. Our schools are underfunded. Our storms are stronger, but FEMA is being stripped down. Broadband expansion was sabotaged. Farmers are losing their markets. Insurance costs keep rising, while our home values drop.

We’ve got Republican leadership at every level. The Speaker of the House. The Majority Leader. Both Senators. The Governor. A supermajority in Baton Rouge.

And still, we have nothing to show for it.

We’ve done everything they asked. Cut taxes. Sold off public goods. Trusted the market. Voted for the people they told us to.

This is where it got us.

We’ve been sold a lie for forty years. And we paid for it with our health, our wages, and our future.

I’m not writing this because I have all the answers. But I know what doesn’t work. I know that what they call “too progressive” is standard policy in every other developed country. I know we’ve been misled and divided.

If you’re feeling exhausted and left behind, you’re not imagining it. You’re not alone.

Don’t let fear decide what’s possible. We’ve been told to be afraid of the very ideas that might help us. That’s how they keep control.

There used to be a saying in Louisiana politics: Last one out, turn off the lights.

Well, the lights are off.

It’s time to flip the switch. And invite people back in.

— Dustin Granger