Friday, May 29, 2015
Looting Louisiana to air on WVUE May 30
Posted By Kevin Allman @KevinAllman on Fri, May 29, 2015 at 10:53 AM
Mike Stagg's documentary Looting Louisiana (which WWL-TV's David Hammer wrote about a few weeks back) will air on WVUE-TV in New Orleans at 4 p.m. on May 30. A press release for the project referred to it as an "infomercial."
Looting Louisiana: A Scandal Hiding in Plain Sight explores the state's budget crisis and how the oil and gas industries, according to Stagg and those he interviewed, are partially responsible for worsening it. This year's state budget shortfall is $1.6 billion, and legislators are scrambling to fill it before the regular session wraps next month.
In promotional materials for the film, Stagg says:
"The money is severance taxes and royalty payments from oil and gas production — our shared claim on Louisiana's mineral wealth.Looting Louisiana also will air in other state television markets this weekend.
"The power belongs to the oil and gas industry. This is a story about how they have used their power and influence inside the Jindal administration to control everything from oilfield cleanups to audits that affect as much as 17 percent of the state budget."
Looting Louisiana: A Primer from Mike Stagg on Vimeo.
The Louisiana oil and gas industry has been looting the Louisiana treasury by underpaying severance taxes and royalty payments owed the state. But, it has done this with the knowledge and cooperation of the Jindal administration and the Department of Natural Resources. These findinds are contained in performance audits carried out by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. This video is an introduction to those findings.
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