In grad school and law school while at LSU (1988–1991) I wrote various columns and letters to the editor to the LSU Daily Reveille 1 and also to the local paper, then The Morning Advocate, now The Advocate.
I just ran across one I wrote that was published Thurs., Sep. 28, 1989, under the title “Vote against taxes and power.” Like most of the things I published in those days it’s a bit cringe. In that letter, I went through 13 proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution coming up for a vote and suggested how to vote on them, and why. I basically said “vote not” if it seemed to increase taxes or restrict liberties.
What I find interesting about this one is what happened after. One of my favorite LSU Law professors, Lee Hargrave, 2 who was one of the smartest professors I ever had, ran into me at school and told me that I was wrong to say “yes” to some of them—not because I was wrong about the substance, but because none of them belonged in the Constitution—they were too particular. Like a civil code, a Constitution should be general, not delve into particular details like ordinary legislation. He had a point. I was pretty green, raw, and naive. 3
The text of the letter I sent is below.
Saturday, September 16, 1989
Editor, Editorial Page
The Morning Advocate
State-Times and Morning Advocate Building
525 Lafayette St.
P.O. Box 588
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Editor:
Many Louisianans are trying to decide how to vote for the thirteen proposed constitutional amendments on October 7. I’d like to offer my opinion.
As I see it, there are two simple criteria which can help one decide how to vote. (1) Since taxes are far too high, vote against any amendment which will raise anyone’s taxes at all. (2) Since the government has too much power which it uses to interfere in our lives, vote against any amendment which will increase the government’s power over us.
With these two factors in mind, here’s how I have decided to vote:
No. 1: Against — Dedicating gasoline taxes to a Highway Trust Fund is a good idea, but to get it, you must also accept an extra 4 cents per gallon tax (3 cents that are going to expire will be replaced by a permanent 4 cents). That’s a 25% increase (16 to 20 cents per gallon). Don’t let the bureaucrats bully you into choosing higher taxes; it doesn’t take more money to simply dedicate the existing taxes to roads. We need two separate votes: one for the Trust Fund, one for higher taxes.
No. 2: For — Creates Wetland Trust Fund; doesn’t raise taxes.
No. 3: For — Could lower taxes for certain individuals, although it does give bureaucrats too much discretion.
No. 4: Against — Will give the government more (!) power to seize private property and violate property and privacy rights.
No. 5: Against — Will select a black judge to the Louisiana Supreme Court because he is black. But laws should be race-neutral.
No. 6: Against — Similar to No. 5.
No. 7: For — Empowers the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials—which can affect only politicians. Ha.
No. 8: Against — Will let local governments sell land cheap to businesses. But local governments can obtain land to sell only by increasing taxes.
No. 9: For — Seems harmless enough; purely administrative.
No. 10: Against — Will almost certainly raise some property taxes.
No. 11: Against — Will increase taxes (on license plates).
No. 12: For — Similar to No. 3.
No. 13: For — Will shift money from state to local government, which will probably decrease overall government power.
Stephan Kinsella
Student At Law
- My Stint at the LSU Daily Reveille. [↩]
- W. Lee Hargrave, LSU Law: The Louisiana State University Law School from 1906 to 1977 (2004). [↩]
- For more on codes, and my love of civil and Roman law, see “Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society,” in Kinsella, Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023); Herman, Shael, The Louisiana Civil Code: A European Legacy for the United States (1993); Principal Features and Methods of Codification, 48 La. L. Rev. 1073 (1988), by Jean Louis Bergel; On the Role of Commentators and Codes and the Oracles of the Law; Roman Law and Hypothetical Cases; The Louisiana Civil Code of 1825: Content, Influences and Languages; Past and Future: Returning to my Louisiana Roots; Epstein on Roman Law; The Superiority of the Roman Law: Scarcity, Property, Locke and Libertarianism; “Corpore Corpori”: “To the body”: Torts in the Roman Law; Legislative Positivism and Rationalism in the Louisiana and French Civil Codes; Reading Suggestions for Prospective/New Law Students (Roman/Civil law focus). [↩]
