Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together.

Together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth Ziegler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you and sad that my children have to go through this.

The child tax credit expansion leaves thousands below the poverty line.

We are a classic case of trickle down economics.

And by design, it's it's designed to create these budget constant budget crunches.

Candidates for Louisiana State treasurer share plans to move the state forward.

We're really excited about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Free books for Louisiana children from birth to age five and.

Hi everyone.

I'm Care of Saints here.

And I'm Karen LeBlanc.

Early voting starts Saturday, September 30th for statewide and local offices, including the race for Louisiana's Next Governor LP hosted and televised the last gubernatorial debate leading up to the October 14th primary election with the five frontrunners.

How to solve Louisiana's insurance crisis was a top topic.

Here's what candidates had to say.

They should only be allowed to change rates once a year.

The legislature makes a decision on rates, and insurance companies have been taking advantage of this of this state for a long time.

As governor, I will call a summit and we're going to get everybody to the table.

And we're not leaving till we come up with some solution.

And there's probably 15 to 20 different things.

But there is no silver bullet.

Yes, I will attack it head on.

I've said this entire campaign, the first special session I will call will be on this issue.

We have to reinvest in our communities, fortify communities, the roofing program, manage water in a better way.

We will do that beginning on day one.

We absolutely have to look at car insurance in terms of how states or how insurance companies are using credit to determine what your premiums are.

That's unfair and unacceptable to families.

All across the state.

I do support more of a free market approach.

That is part of our problem right now, is that companies do not want the right policies here in Louisiana because we have a commissioner who is establishing their rates.

Louisiana's Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and the state's $50 billion Coastal Protection and Restoration Master plan also headlined the debate.

We have these big, gorgeous grand plans to build a better coast and to protect our families, but we have not made a firm commitment to fund them.

The second thing we need to do is focus on the new jobs that are going to be created, whether they are renewables, whether they are manufacturing types of jobs.

The truth is we're living off of the BP settlement money for right now.

That goes away in a couple of years.

The best way to improve those dollars is to, one, monetize the offshore development in wind and other renewables and to have more energy exports so we can grab some of those investments and reinvest it in our energy protection programs.

We absolutely have to work to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but we have to be careful in setting goals where carbon is the most important thing because we have to also have a reliable and affordable energy grid.

And you only have to look at the Coastal Master plan to see the thousands of open canals in Louisiana.

We're not closed by the oil and gas community.

That's why you have these coastal enforcement suits.

That's where the saltwater is.

That's why we have this huge obligation today.

I want industry to drive this whole subject, not government, because quite frankly, it might be a good goal.

I don't think it's reachable.

I don't trust the research.

There's too much money involved in it.

If you missed the televised debate on Thursday, September 28th, you can watch it online at LP Borg or download the LP B PBS app and carry my congrats to you for very thought provoking questions during the debate.

And I'd also like to throw that back.

You did a really good job moderating, and I just want to remind everybody that we did do extensive coverage leading up to this debate on the issues.

We did analysis and we also had interviews with the candidates.

If you want more information leading up to Election Day.

That's right.

So go online.

In our ongoing election coverage.

The way forward, we introduce you to the candidates running for state treasurer.

Louisianians will elect a new chief money manager to replace outgoing Treasurer John Schroeder, who is campaigning to become Louisiana's next governor.

Here's how the candidates for a Louisiana treasurer plan to move the state forward this year.

Louisiana celebrates the 50th anniversary of its unclaimed property program that returns money back to its rightful owners.

Unclaimed property is one of five divisions The state treasurer manages while overseeing a portfolio of $7 billion annually.

As Louisiana's chief financial adviser, the state treasurer is charged with producing a return on investments.

And there are three candidates vying for the job.

My name is John Fleming.

I'm running for Louisiana State Treasurer.

And my background is I've served eight years in Congress.

Four years in President Trump's administration.

I'm a conservative Republican.

And before all of that, I was a practicing physician, still practiced from time to time, and I built businesses around the state that employ now over 350 Louisianans.

My name is Justin Granger.

I'm running as a Democrat for Louisiana state treasurer and I've been a financial advisor for 20 years.

I'm a certified financial planner, so I've helped working families achieve their goals and I've helped them through tough times.

And that qualifies me to take on the challenges in Louisiana because we have a lot of.

I'm Scott McKnight, Republican candidate for state treasurer.

I've been in the financial services industry for 25 years in the legislature.

So my professional background and my legislative background uniquely qualified me to be your next state Treasurer, the state Treasurer.

Also serves as chairman of the Bond Commission.

When the new State Treasurer takes office in January 2024, he inherits an ongoing debate on whether to do business with banks and bonds that backs certain environmental, social and governance strategies known as ESG fees.

In 2022, Louisiana made national headlines when the current state treasurer John Schroeder, pulled millions out of BlackRock Inc's funds, citing the asset management giant's push to embrace ESG investment strategies.

Now, some argue that social and environmental politics should not factor in to Louisiana's investment strategies.

I'm for anything that works if it competes in the marketplace and gives a good return and lowers power cost, I'm all for it.

However, what happened in terms of BlackRock and our current state treasurer is he pulled money out of BlackRock because money was being invested in very, very low return so-called ESG investments.

So I'm going to analyze things and if it has a good return on investment, I'm going to be interested in it if it has a poor return.

No, thank you.

But from a Treasurer perspective, we're just we're investing the money.

And I think that, you know, we've heard ESG investing non ESG, but that's all politically driven investment strategies.

Studies show time and time again that you have to take the politics out of your investment strategy and look for what is getting the best return on the investment.

So from a state's perspective, we're investing the taxpayer dollars and our economy right now is being driven by oil and gas.

ESG or used to be called responsible Investing has been growing and growing for 20 years.

People care more about where their money is being used.

And it wasn't until now until it's like all of a sudden got political at the Bond commission.

This is needed money that people need for flood protection, water and sewage.

We should never hold up anything and penalize municipalities based on their views.

Louisiana's insurance crisis is one of the most important voter issues in this election year.

These state treasurer candidates propose solutions to the state's skyrocketing property insurance rates within the parameters and powers of the office, such as supporting a state funded reinsurance program.

Basically back up insurance for insurance companies that pay the balance of claims in times of disaster when the insurance company runs out of cash.

We could, at the Bond Commission, fund a state reinsurance program to finance this because we need to raise money and may cost hundreds of millions of dollars to buy a bunch of reinsurance.

Now, we would resell it so we can make even make a profit on it, but we can negotiate those prices with other insurance companies so they can get lower ones to keep insurers here.

And a lot of the the money that we raise to reinforce citizens insurance to come through the bond commission.

So there's a lot there's a lot there.

But what we need to do is we need to figure out ways to increase that reinsurance capacity so that the companies that we have writing here have the ability to write more policies here, to take on more homes, take on more risk.

So I think we have an opportunity with our funds that we have through the Treasury to start investing in some of that reinsurance capacity.

There's also things called catastrophe bonds that we could that we could invest in that would help us get a return on investment, but also help protect us when the time comes of the storm.

What concrete steps can you take as state treasurer to help deal with our insurance crisis?

We need to work with the trial lawyers, the governor, the trial lawyers to come up with something that's going to lower the cost of insurance while compensating victims.

Louisiana's next state treasurer takes on the job in a fiscal year where fears of budget shortfalls loom.

After coming off of a year flush with extra cash, we have the expiration of the current increase in sales tax.

Now the sales tax is hurting the state's economy anyway, but now it's going to put handcuffs on our governor, where he's going to in the legislature, try to figure out a way to get out of the fiscal cliff.

We have a tax system that is structured that is very difficult.

I would be all for getting rid of the personal income tax.

But you got to figure out how you're going to replace it.

The second thing is 0.45 rolls off at 2025.

That's a legislative decision that they're going have to see where it puts them and how soft that landing really is.

The great thing about this past budget that we discussed earlier is how much we put into the state savings account.

We are prepared, the next legislature, to be ready to be able to take that on and not have to make a rash decision because of the money we put in that savings account.

This last session we were a classic case of trickle down economics and by design, it's it's designed to create these budget constant budget crunches because you have all the giveaways at the top.

The big corporations, the wealthiest individuals get all the tax cuts, all the regulation cuts, and then it forces obviously a revenue shortfall and then it brings everybody to the table.

And on the chopping block is investments in health, education.

And that's what's been happening.

And and whenever you do that, that accelerates your brain drain.

So we need to work to reverse this.

Voters go to the polls to decide on Louisiana's next money manager at a time when key monetary policies, such as the elimination of the personal income tax, the renewal of the temporary sales tax and the restructuring of the state's tax system all factor into the future responsibilities of Louisiana's chief financial officer.

Continuing our political coverage, the child tax credit is a benefit to help parents with the everyday expenses of childcare during the pandemic.

The Biden administration expanded that credit to include more families and monthly payments instead of a lump sum at the end of the year.

Now, one year after the expansions end, Louisiana families are finding themselves thrust back into poverty.

Without the extra support.

My name is Shecky GREENE.

I'm originally from Denver.

I've been in Louisiana since 2016 and I've been at St Vincent de Paul since July 31st of this year.

AP You know, clap your hands.

Can you tell me a little bit more about what brings you here?

Oh, well, I fell on hard times.

Mainly due to my son being autistic and I couldn't work anymore.

So I lost my apartment and had to come here to the last resort.

Yes.

GREENE worked at a clinic in Baton Rouge before things went south.

She cared for her sick mother and her son, Malachi, who she just discovered needed special care care that was expensive.

The bills started to pile up.

I couldn't find any child care.

Just seems like there's a lot of kids with autism.

So everything was full.

And I had a grandmother helping me who's sick and lives a new road.

So we tried that for a while, just going back and forth and getting up at four in the morning and taking them out there to come to work out here, to go back there and to come home.

You know, 9:00 at night.

And eventually it just got hard because her days of doing dialysis, I couldn't miss work.

I was you know, I had started a new job.

And once that happened, I just kind of, you know, just went downhill, not being able to find that that child care that he needs.

GREENE supplemented her income with money from the child tax credit expansion.

The credit is an already existing tax benefit for some families with children.

But in 2021, the credit was expanded to allow more low income families access.

It also supplied $250 to $300 monthly payments to those who qualified instead of a lump payment at the end of the year.

Those $300 per child kept GREENE going.

And so do you think that the child tax credit expansion being pulled?

Do you think that directly affected your circumstances?

75% of it, yes.

75%, yes.

That's a big chunk.

Yes.

But when that expansion ended, it was like starting over at square one.

Can you tell me what you're feeling right now?

Just kind of overwhelmed, sad that my children had to go through this, just talking about it.

Incredible.

And just never want to go through this again.

Greene's experience is a mirror of a nation grappling with increased poverty rates.

In 2021, at nearly 2.1 million children were pulled out of poverty following the expansion that was one of the lowest poverty rates this country had seen in years.

But lawmakers at Capitol Hill couldn't agree to continue the expansion.

It failed to pass by two votes in 2022.

The poverty rate jumped from a record low of 5.1% to 12.4%.

That's 3.7 million children that fell below the monthly poverty line.

We saw an increase in the number of home visits we made, and we also saw a large increase in the numbers of families coming to us in need of shelter.

Because rent is so high, electricity is very high.

Groceries are high.

Gasoline is high.

All that adds up to a challenge for families that are just trying to put food on their tables.

Do you see it easing up in the near future?

Well, I don't.

Over the last couple of years, you know, inflation was really sky high last year.

And this year, even if it only goes up 3 to 4% over what it was last year, it never went back down.

So food prices are still very high.

And all the necessities that especially single parent families are facing, it's quite difficult for them to keep food on the table and pay all their expenses, especially if small children are involved.

Michael Accardo is the president and CEO of St Vincent de Paul Charities.

He says the end of the expansion definitely increased the number of guests staying at his shelter.

But he says that's not the only reason Louisiana's 2023 poverty rates aren't available yet.

But the state did record an uptick in homelessness last year, according to the annual Homelessness Assessment report to Congress.

About 7000 people in Louisiana didn't have a place to stay.

So what happens to Louisiana now?

We know that Louisiana has historically had very high rates of child poverty among the highest in the country.

It's particular really bad among African-American children in Louisiana.

So if we look at the national data, we know that most families in Louisiana, the vast majority of families with children in Louisiana, receive this tax credit.

So we can extrapolate from the national data that child poverty in Louisiana went up at the same rate that it did nationally.

So we know that there were families across the state who were materially worse off last year than they were the previous year because of this one policy choice made by the federal government.

John Miller is the executive director of the L.A. Budget Project.

He says the numbers for poverty in Louisiana look disheartening.

But there is a way to fix it.

We need to understand that, that when we invest in families, when we invest in young children and give families the resources to to care for their children.

And when we're talking about where this money goes.

This is money that families used to pay rent to fix their cars, to buy clothes for their kids, this money went to basic necessities.

The average cost of child care in Louisiana is about 13 to 14% of a median household income.

That's about $4,000 for a four year old and over $7,000 for a baby.

While the state is invested in early childhood programs, the funding still isn't enough to nudge the state's child poverty rate.

The Early Childhood Care and Education Commission estimates that the state should spend about $115 million more per year to benefit families in the most need.

We're not talking about luxuries here.

Luxury items.

Raising kids is expensive.

And if we can build a stronger safety net around families, that will increase the chances that that every kid in Louisiana has a chance to live a full, productive life and reach their full potential by race.

Come on.

You hungry?

But don't lose hope for GREENE and her family just yet.

She just got word of a new source of financial assistance.

We're waiting for that.

And then we're going to find a school for him so I can get back into work and find a daycare and apply for some assistance for daycare, for the for the younger baby so I can get back to work and move into our new home.

So you have a new home lined up?

Yes.

That's exciting.

Yes.

Yes.

I'm excited.

A couple more things we have to go through, but it's looking really bright.

See?

So there's a silver lining.

Some things happening.

Things are changing.

Yes, Good things Is Louisiana is rewriting this story about its low literacy rates through an expanded partnership with a Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which gives free books to children from birth to age five.

A state wide effort is underway to sign up eligible children and cultivate local programs.

I attended the statewide launch of the program, which the Louisiana Educational Television Authority will take the lead on.

Here's more.

They were rags of many colors.

Once upon a time, a famous country singer imagined a world where young children had a book to read.

And literacy rates soared.

Hey there, it's Dolly.

And I'm so excited to share that Louisiana will soon offer my Imagination Library to every child across the state from birth to five.

Is that not wonderful?

So in every piece with love, she made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of.

Louisiana is rewriting the story of low literacy rates by launching the Dolly Parton Imagination Library statewide.

Governor John Bel Edwards and the legislature believe in Dolly's mission, so they've committed state resources to help expand the program statewide, which is why the governor is telling this story to these early readers.

Well, we have more kids than we would like who start school, and they're not ready to learn.

And so we're investing heavily in early childhood education.

In fact, the most general fund support from the state ever.

Early childhood education.

But this is another feature of what we're trying to do to promote literacy at the early ages and literally between zero and five.

And this Dolly Parton Imagination Library, it has the potential once we're statewide, which is now to deliver a book a month to each child who signs up free of cost of that child and to that family.

This is an age and developmentally appropriate book.

And they have 60 books before they ever start school.

And it does promote literacy and literacy is very important, as is, you know, being able to read.

State Representative Melinda White joined the Governors Storytime with three and four year olds at the kids Carousel Crest Worth Early Learning Center.

She authored the legislation for the statewide expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

So we were able to establish the funding for at least two years, and the governor was able to add a third year in there that would pay the posts in.

HANLON So these books can make it to the children and to their homes once a month.

Age appropriate, a child will receive these books.

And what we hope to do from this is to increase their literacy in the home before they're even in school.

The Dollywood Foundation will provide local partners across Louisiana with a 50% funding match from the state appropriated dollars.

Local partners will also raise 50% of the funds necessary to cover their share of the $1.10 per book cost.

Kayla Williams is the regional director of the Dollywood Foundation.

She traveled from Cedarville, Tennessee, where the foundation is based.

Dolly's hometown for the statewide launch.

Louisiana is the 17th statewide program to come on board.

With more to come.

And in the last two years, we have gifted over 214 million books.

So in two years, the Imagination Library has gifted more books than it took over 20 years.

26 years to do so.

And that's been because of the partnerships locally, the statewide programs, the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, parent of LPI, be known as Louisiana's largest digital classroom at home and on the web is the lead state sponsor of the Imagination Library.

It's tasked with the programs, administration and distribution of state funds.

Together, Leda will work with the Dollywood Foundation to develop Imagination Library programs statewide.

And I tell them all the story Mama told me while she sewed and how my coat of many colors were worth more than all their clothes.

Dolly Pardons Imagination Library has operated in Louisiana for the past 20 years to date in 30 parishes.

The goal is to establish the program in all 64 parishes, extending it to more than 300,000 eligible children, including the governor's own grandchild, soon to be born.

And I want to also tell you how excited I am.

My wife and the first lady, we're going to have our first grandchild in January.

We are going to sign that child up, our grandchild up in the house while she's in the hospital.

So we don't miss a single book because we want her to have all 60 books before she starts kindergarten.

So let's put some wings on this dream and remember that I will always love you.

I'm just really excited about this.

I think the efforts of Dolly Parton in getting this across the states and, you know, her father did not know how to read and write, and that's why she established this program in her state.

And it's just grown ever since.

And we wanted Louisiana to be a part of that.

And so we're so proud that the legislature and the governor agreed and that we now have it in place and simply they can put their zip code in address in their name and see if it's set up yet.

And if not, keep checking back because some parishes already had it going on.

The statewide program aims to not only increase participation in those parishes already served, but also aims to incentivize local partners to step in to provide coverage in those areas not currently served.

Any child from birth to age five, regardless of family income, can sign up for free books with the Imagination Library by simply going online to WW dot imagination library dot com to check availability in your area.

That's our show for this week.

Remember you can watch anything be any time wherever you are with our Lvb app.

You can catch Lvb news and public affairs shows as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please like us on Facebook and Instagram.

For everyone that Louisiana public Broadcasting, I'm Karen LeBlanc and I'm care sincere.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together.

Together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth B Zeigler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you and.