The Tax Foundation says Louisiana was second only to Oklahoma in state government spending growth from 2000 to 2010.
Although it's likely not greatly influenced by his tenure, a Tax Foundation map showing Louisiana second only to Oklahoma in state government spending growth from 2000 to 2010 is nonetheless a graphic Gov. Bobby Jindal probably doesn't want widely disseminated. The decade spans the second term of Gov. Mike Foster, the sole term of Gov. Kathleen Blanco and half of Jindal's first term in office.
Although Louisiana's government spending growth, 64 percent, trails Oklahoma's by 10 points, it is still high relative to the rest of the nation and particularly the South, save for Mississippi, which ranks No. 9 on the map with a growth rate nearly 20 percentage points behind Louisiana. Both states' spending growth rates were no doubt affected by the redistribution of federal disaster assistance funds following the disastrous 2005 hurricane season during which Louisiana suffered the Katrina/Rita double whammy.
According to the Tax Foundation:
These percentages show the growth in direct spending between 2000 and 2010, in real dollars per capita (to eliminate the effects of population growth and inflation). Oklahoma leads the pack with a 74% increase in state government spending over ten years; Alaska, whose state government only grew 17% faster than its population, is at the bottom.
The Tax Foundation offers no analysis for the map, but if you'd like to go directly to the source visit the group's website here.