When Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana wanted to sell his plan to replace his state’s income tax with a higher sales tax, he pointed to Texas as both the problem and the solution. Too many Louisiana residents are moving to Texas, because that is where the jobs are, he said. The jobs are there, he argued, because Texas does taxes right. “You go to Dallas, you go to Houston, and there are entire neighborhoods that are filled with our neighbors from Louisiana,” Mr. Jindal said last month during a speech to the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Jindal, who has since acknowledged that opposition to his proposal remains insurmountable, is among a growing group of Republicans across the country who are working to repeal their states’ income tax, using Texas’ economic success to make their case. The New York Times
Submitted 16 hours ago

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed cut right to the chase. “I know a lot of you are worried because you didn’t get what you were expecting (for harbor deepening) in the president’s budget proposal,” he told the sold-out crowd of more than 750 gathered Thursday for the Savannah Economic Development Authority’s annual luncheon. “I’m here to tell you don’t be concerned a bit,” he said. “This is going to happen. We’re doing things in an orderly fashion, and we’re making real progress.” In the last year, Reed said, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project has received more than 100 approvals across four different federal departments. “Now the Water Resource Development Act, currently in the House, contains language to authorize the spending levels needed,” he said. “When that goes through, you’re going to see things move quickly.” Reed said he spent about four hours with President Obama when he came to Atlanta recently. Savannah Morning News
Submitted 16 hours ago

The government-wide spending cuts known as the sequester remain unpopular for most Americans, with little difference in opinion across party lines, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released Friday. Washington Post
Submitted 16 hours ago

Spending cuts have left the IRS shuttered Friday as it faces a controversy over the targeting of tea party groups. The furloughs were put in place due to sequestration, automatic cuts included in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of Management and Budget are also closed Friday. Huffington Post
Submitted 17 hours ago

Predictions of an Obamacare apocalypse seem a little less credible today, thanks to California. On Thursday, officials in that state offered the first detailed glimpse of what consumers buying health benefits on their own can expect to pay next year. And from the looks of things, these consumers will be getting a pretty good deal. The New Republic
Submitted 18 hours ago

Welcome back to the dumb season. It's debt-ceiling time again. We've been at this two years now. It was back in 2011 when the Republican Party, seized by anti-government furor, first locked on the lifting of the federal debt ceiling – an utterly routine governmental mechanism that allows the Treasury to borrow to pay for spending already approved by the entire Congress, Republicans included – as a place to hold a showdown over . . . government spending. Rolling Stone
Submitted 18 hours ago

State officials' plans to overhaul and revamp the N.C. Department of Commerce into a public-private partnership have been scarce on detail, leaving many with more questions than answers. Triangle Business Journal
Submitted 18 hours ago

Politico
Submitted 20 hours ago

TALLAHASSEE -- Two months after contributing $110,000 to Gov. Rick Scott’s reelection campaign, an upstart property insurance company is likely to reap a $52 million windfall, paid from the coffers of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Sitting on a record cash surplus of $6.4 billion, Citizens is hoping to ink a special deal Wednesday with Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company, a St. Petersburg firm that opened for business nine months ago and made significant political contributions. Miami Herald
Submitted 20 hours ago

On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate passed a bill that would imprison and fine journalists who intentionally publish information about the state's concealed-carry handgun permit holders. Reporters who violate the law would face penalties of up to $10,000, six months in jail, or both; public safety officials and police officers who leak permit information to the press would face penalties of up to $500, six months in jail, or both. Journalists in Louisiana say the bill is clearly unconstitutional, but that won't stop it from becoming law: After the Senate vote, it headed to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk for his signature. Mother Jones
Submitted 20 hours ago