In Baton Rouge, one in four residents lives in poverty. A few days before the Baton Rouge school board vote, the groups held a meeting at St. Mary Baptist Church to organize opposition to the Exxon Mobil application. Edgar Cage, who organized the meeting, was careful to say that no one was accusing Exxon Mobil of any wrongdoing. “We want a balance.”Business leaders reacted strongly to the Baton Rouge vote because they are worried about much more than just how a few capital improvements are taxed. Instead of dealing only with a central state board, businesses must now make their case for tax breaks to a host of parish councils and school boards and sheriffs, and win them over individually.

Source: New York Times February 05, 2019 08:00 UTC