Limited government is a core American value that has empowered individuals to prosper across the nation. The framers of the Constitution understood government as a necessary evil: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” wrote James Madison. He went on to say, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next instance oblige it to control itself.”

Our nation’s founders acknowledged the need for a central mechanism to keep order, administer essential services, and preserve the integrity of the free market. However, when government grows beyond what its boundaries ought to be, it can become costly and infringe upon the rights and well-being of its people. Such is the case in Louisiana, where government remains big and in need of further self-control. Despite good progress in reducing the state’s income taxes and doing away with burdensome taxes on business, it boasts the nation’s highest combined state and local sales tax rate and continues a tangle of unnecessary regulations that stifle innovation and punish honest workers.

As government grows, so too must spending in order to maintain itself. Furthermore, transparency becomes more difficult to achieve with so many layers of government, and the public becomes less empowered to overcome challenges that arise without state or federal intervention. The remedy is clear: Louisiana must rein in state spending so that it aligns with what taxpayers can afford—and to prevent regulations that erode personal freedom and initiative.

While the Louisiana Constitution technically includes an expenditure limit, it has not prevented the state budget from growing dramatically in just the last decade despite declining population due to outmigration. Louisianans should not be saddled with the costs of pork projects or watch their taxpayer dollars funneled to non-governmental organizations and special interests. This approach is inefficient, unfair, and unsustainable.

What Louisiana needs is a government growth limit with teeth—one that caps recurring general fund spending and ties growth to objective benchmarks such as inflation and population change. Legislation to achieve this was introduced in the 2025 legislative session but ultimately failed in the state senate. Ironically, during the same time, lawmakers advanced a state budget that included $136 million largely from the state general fund for favored local projects and organizations. The growth limit proposal would have contributed much needed fiscal discipline while still allowing for non-recurring expenditures, such as one-time infrastructure projects, and for spending from other revenue sources. Importantly, this kind of spending restraint could have allowed for the eventual elimination of state’s individual income tax—a move that would provide relief to Louisiana workers while increasing the state’s economic competitiveness.

As federal funds decrease, Louisiana must prioritize and exercise greater fiscal responsibility. It must curtail its spending habits, and making sure that recurring spending doesn’t exceed the rate of inflation and population growth is a no brainer. With this limit in place, the state can chart a course toward responsible budgeting, lower taxes, and a stronger economy that gives every Louisianan the chance to thrive. Lawmakers should seize this opportunity during the upcoming regular legislative session.