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The Truth About Amendment 2: A Tax Scam on Working Louisianans
The ballot language is intentionally misleading—because if voters knew the truth, they’d reject it.
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Welcome to Dustin Granger!
Think about a public school teacher you might know in Louisiana. Maybe they’ve been in the classroom for 15 years, pouring everything they have into her students. Like most teachers, they probably work well beyond school hours, buying supplies out of their own pocket and making sure their students have what they need to succeed.
So when they hear their Republican Governor Jeff Landry say Amendment 2 is about giving teachers a raise, they want to believe it.
They need that raise. Their grocery bill is higher than ever, their health insurance premiums keep climbing, and their barely making ends meet.
But here’s the thing: it’s a lie.
What they’re calling a “raise” isn’t new money at all. It’s just shifting around existing funds, replacing a stipend teachers already receive. Teachers’ take-home pay won’t actually change.
And it’s not even guaranteed. This amendment does NOT mandate or lock in funding for teacher pay. Future legislatures could redirect the money elsewhere, leaving teachers without a permanent raise.
A Rushed and Misleading Process
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Amendment 2 is a bad deal for Louisiana. It was pushed through a 20-day special session in November and scheduled for a March vote (an off-month for statewide elections.)
The rushed timeline was no accident; it’s a strategy to limit public scrutiny. It’s voter suppression.
The full bill is over 100 pages long, yet voters will only see a short, vague summary on the ballot. Key details are buried, making it impossible to understand the real consequences of this amendment at a glance.
The Bait-and-Switch: Raising Your Taxes While Cutting Theirs
This is classic bait-and-switch politics. They dangle "teacher pay" in front of you, hoping you won’t look too closely at the fine print. But if you actually read these amendments, you’ll see what’s really going on: a scheme to benefit the wealthy at the expense of working families.
Take Amendment 2, for example. They claim it helps schools and teachers, but what it really does is set Louisiana up for financial disaster while shifting the tax burden onto everyday people.
If Republicans truly wanted to fund teacher raises, they would have done so through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), which guarantees permanent salary increases. Instead, this is a stepping stone to eliminating income tax entirely, which forces higher sales taxes and other regressive policies that hit working families the hardest.
What Amendment 2 Really Does
Amendment 2 is a tax scam that benefits the rich while making life harder for the rest of us. Here’s what’s hidden beneath the ballot language:
Caps Public Spending – This amendment limits how much legislators can invest in essential services, even when funding is available, leading to unnecessary cuts in schools, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Raids Critical State Funds – It guts state savings accounts, including those that fund public education and transportation projects.
Raises Taxes on Working People – Despite claiming to cut taxes, this plan will increase the tax burden on low- and middle-income Louisianans while giving massive breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
Narrows Property Tax Exemptions for Religious Organizations – A lawsuit argues that the amendment would actually reduce the scope of religious property tax exemptions, potentially leading to higher tax burdens for some churches and religious institutions.
Concerns About the Homestead Exemption – Critics warn that changes to property valuation and assessment methods could still result in higher overall property taxes for homeowners.
Brings Back Failed Policies – This is a return to the budget tricks used under Gov. Bobby Jindal, where temporary money was used to fund long-term expenses, destabilizing Louisiana’s finances.
Takes Power Away from Voters – This amendment removes voter-approved protections for key funding sources and hands more control to politicians in Baton Rouge.
Locks in the Damage – These changes will be baked into the state constitution, making them nearly impossible to reverse. Once we fall into a budget crisis, we won’t be able to fix it without another constitutional amendment—giving future lawmakers little to no flexibility to clean up the mess.
The Real Republican Tax Plan: Cut for Themselves, Raise for You
Republicans love to say they’re cutting taxes, but they only cut taxes for themselves and their wealthy donors. We get stuck with the bill.
They already raised your sales tax to the highest in the country. Now they want you to pay more for everyday items like Netflix, diapers, and groceries, all while corporations and millionaires get more tax breaks.
If they truly wanted to fix Louisiana’s tax system, they’d:
Reduce the highest-in-the-nation sales tax rate.
Close loopholes in the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) that allow corporations to dodge billions in taxes.
Keep the income tax—but make it fairer by ensuring the wealthy pay their share.
Instead, they’re doing the opposite. They’re raising taxes on working families while giving away the store to big business.
The Bottom Line
Amendment 2 is a scam. It doesn’t give teachers a real raise. It doesn’t make taxes fairer. And it puts Louisiana on the path to more budget crises while making everyday people pay more.
It would be a real shame if voters actually read these amendments before heading to the polls.
🚨 Vote NO on all four Constitutional Amendments on March 29th.
Early Voting is March 15-22.
Resources:
Ballot Language
Power Coalition Amendment Guide
Invest in Louisiana: Amendment 2
GeauxVote.com
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