The state of Louisiana is in trouble. The state's Legislature appointed a joint committee to study the Bayou state's tax structure, with an almost-immediate warning from the chairman that state budgets could suffer if the tax situation is not resolved.

The initial recommendation called for a more 'growth-oriented tax base.' In plain-speak, this means that tax receipts should be sought in ways that would provide growth to the state's economy and help industry, business, residents and the like at the same time.

At the root of the problem is that mandated expenses for education, bonded debt, liability insurance and health care for the poor are increasing faster than the tax base itself.

Other states generally have more to work with based on their tax base, but the base in Louisiana only has grown about 1 percent each year, representing almost flat growth.