The Good ol’ Days
Everyone has their own idea of the Good ol’ Days and everyone has been talking about making things “the way they were” and or “better than they were”. I’m a pretty big fan of New Orleans history so I’ve given it some thought and come up with some ideas of what I’d like to see the city become based on what I’ve determined to be the high point in New Orleans history. I’ve tried to base my ideas on fact, but some of it is just a hunch and some of it is just a big pipe dream. In the end though, I just hope people think about it and come up with their own idea of what the city should be that’s more concrete than “the way it was”
The mid 19th century. That’s right, around 1850. During that time the New Orleans was the wealthiest city in the nation. The city started annexing other areas like Jefferson City and Carrollton. The city was important politically since we had the third largest population in what is now the U.S. We were important commercially and strategically because of the port.
Now I know the first thing everyone is going to say is that this is a time before emancipation so it’s like saying I want to bring back slavery. This is not the case. But since I brought it up, it is important to note that this was also a time when Code Noir was in place before the British system of Slavery. Code Noir (The Black Code) allowed New Orleans to have the most prosperous community of free people of color in the south. This isn’t to justify slavery in any way but it is a culturally important time for blacks. When code noir was revoked most of that community was forced to flee the South. And I really believe the fate of the African American community in New Orleans was altered for the worse as a result of that exodus.
I suppose the next thing people won’t like about my choice of time periods is that we seceded from the union in 1861. Yeah, well?
I’ll be the first to admit that if you were a slave then shit had to suck pretty bad for you during this time. And if you were a soldier in the Civil War, shit was probably only marginally better. But for everyone else, shit was pretty tight.
Look, I’m not saying this is what I want to bring back, I’m just saying that looking at the history, this is probably the best we’ve got to go on. The history of this city is actually a pretty depressing read so if the best time I can find happens to involve slavery and the civil war…well, I think that speaks volumes in of itself.
I’ve been told by several people that the late 60s to early 70s were the best times. But looking back, being raped by the oil companies and segregation don’t sound all the great to me. I could be wrong since I was only a zygote for part of that time.
Now, on to my point.
Tourism makes up about 40% of the tax revenue in the city at around 5 Billion Dollars annually, the hurricane not withstanding. We’re the busiest port in the world by gross tonnage. We’re ranked 5th in oil production and 8th in reserves. Where’s all that money?
Almost 30% of the population lives in poverty. We’ve the worst schools in the nation. We have horrible roads. We only have one Fortune 500 company headquartered here. The crime is unholy and the police are understaffed, the DA is understaffed, the judges are elected so they’re useless in that crime is so high that being soft on crime gets them a better chance of being re-elected. Drugs are more available than anywhere I’ve ever lived at least. Firemen are paid a pitiful wage that makes me wonder why anyone would want to bother. At around $10 an hour I’d have to say “let it burn”. And I want to make this especially clear: Nothing listed here has anything to do with the storms. nothing.
So my question is, where is all this money going? Can a city of half a million people really burn through 10 billion dollars a year in tax revenue with nothing to show for it? congress just tossed us some scraps to shut us up about the oil revenue, but what can I expect to see as a result of that money? It seems to me “more money” was never our problem. We have all kinds of opportunity for revenue in this city. Seems to me, our problem is one of managing our revenue correctly.
So what would I like to see in the next few years? Here’s a list.
Judges are nominated by the governor and approved by Congress - not elected.
The DAs office establishing a task force to provide oversight on all government officials including the mayor and city council.
Independent, out of state, accounting firms brought in to audit how the city government is spending money - done every year and the results made public.
Significant raises for Police and Firemen contingent on them continuing their education either in their field or at a university.
Streamline the city government and get rid of dead weight and people getting paychecks based on friendships.
Strict enforcement of littering laws.
Disband the Teacher’s Union and force teachers to meet standards. (when the president of the teachers’ union uses bad grammar during a press conference I feel all woozy)
No Sales Tax in Orleans Parish.
Fuck this Hollywood South bullshit and get some good paying low skilled manufacturing jobs to bolster the middle class and give people a chance to climb out of poverty.
Drug testing for welfare recipients.
complete transparency in local government.
Good skills training for the poor as well as job placement - maybe so far as an employment mentoring program.
Fix the fucking roads!
And finally, and I don’t know how to say this exactly. But somehow, the city has to find a way to change the cultural perceptions and trends like: lack of importance on education, suspicion of the government, littering, elitism, single motherhood amongst the poor, and the generations long trend of not being employed. The poor need to be dealt with in a way that moves them from being a drain on the system to being a contributor to the system where possible and that isn’t going to be easy and will probably take generations to accomplish.
This is by no means a complete list. I didn’t say anything about health care. Nothing about university outreach programs to poor communities. Didn’t address the projects or other housing options for the poor. And many, many other things. And I know almost all of these things require money, but that’s sort of my point, once we find where the money is going I think we’ll see that we’re being robbed, can hang some people in Jackson Square and then we’ll have the money to do shit right.
I just refuse to believe that other cities, that have so much less going for them than New Orleans does financially, can have nice roads and schools when we can’t. How is it that the city can not provide a better quality of life for its citizens with all that revenue? How does Houston do it? How does Atlanta do it? how does Nashville do it?
Maybe I’m missing something. I dunno, but I suspect it isn’t any more complicated than the fact that money is disappearing into peoples’ pockets along the way. I have no proof, but its the only thing that makes sense.
These are my little pitiful thoughts. They’ve been keeping me company for a few days and I thought I’d share. I’m curious to see what other peoples’ thoughts are. How far out there am I?
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1850 was the mid-19th Century, not 17th. That aside, bravo!
Damn, man. If it were only a matter of putting words into action, you’ve got a hell of a plan to get NOLA out of its hole. Great ideas, baby!
Here’s a link to the pdf of the Mayor’s budget:
http://www.cityofno.com/Resources/MAYORS%20BUDGET%20OVERVIEW%20PRESENTATION.pdf
Thanks El Stevo, I’ve made the correction - stupid mistake on my part….heh heh….talk about losing credibility right out of the gate.
Is it just me, or is the above-linked pdf file of the Mayor’s budget one of the most un-informative pieces of puffery you’ve ever read?
That document does not offer a damn thing as far as information as to WHERE ALL THE MONEY IS GOING.
How much is the city spending on:
Trash?
Police? (how much for salaries, or equipment, or recruiting, etc?)
Road repair?
City Employees (how much does a grass-cutter make, or a secretary?)
I really liked the PR-speak about how 97% (or whatever) of “medium to large” businesses are back. Umm….yeah. Too bad 97% of the businesses in town were SMALL businesses. Who the heck is “Medium - Large”?
I can think of…Entergy….Freeport McMoRan, Shell Oil, and…………
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I think you get my drift. That “budget” leaves the reader as clueless as ever. Maybe THAT’S where all the money is going…paying over-priced, dubiously qualified people to waste time making worthless pie charts in Excel.
Well, HeatherLee, there’s nothing to suggest the plan would work at all - could be just a lot of bullshit to be perfectly honest. Luckily, I have no authority. And I can’t help but think for every person who thinks those are good ideas, there are 5 or so that don’t like it just because it goes against the status quo.
Nice link Skeeter.
Actually that plan would work for the entire country.
Hmmm… Ware in ‘08???
Not a chance Fred.
I know you feel better for venting it and I certainly feel better for reading it. Well done.
Where are the manufacturing jobs for poor people, exactly? Even the semi-better manufacturing jobs require specific skills for which you need: a) a community college associate’s degree and/or advanced vocational training, at the least, and b) a sho’ nuff bachelor’s degree, and one from at least a vaguely respectable institution of higher learning.
Are you talking about bringing in something on the level of, say, textile factory jobs? I hope not, since they hardly exist anymore, at least not within the U.S. It sucks, hard, but unfortunately that’s our reality these days, has increasingly been so since the late ’70s and early ’80s.
excellent post dear man.
let’s drug test not only welfare recipients, but elected city officials as well…. heh heh..
wouldn’t that be interesting..??
There are manufacturing jobs in New Orleans. It actually would take someone out of poverty and no associates or degree of any kind are needed. There is a company in Elmwood called Intralox/Latrum. They provide thousands of jobs. A friend of mine left his low paying cook job, and was hired instantly to work a full time shift. He was 19. One year later he has gotten three raises and is now making $18 an hour. That is a little over $40,000 a year plus overtime.
It can be done, you just have to look for it.
Anyone can go to a truck driving school to learn to drive rigs for all sorts of companies like Sysco or Conco foods. Every driver that delivers to me says they are looking for drivers. If somebody really wants to work and get out of poverty you can find the job to do it. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist either.
to paul p’s comment. you are correct sir.
there is also a lot of money to be made in the unique to new orleans trades as well.
this is an old city. shit’s allways breaking.
the only guys i can get (and trust) to work on my plaster walls , brick piers , and terra cotta sewage pipes with out fucking them up are old retired guys.
there are no young people who know how to do this work.
what a goldmine the jag offs in city hall could generate if they would nuture trade schools for this kind of shit.
our culture is not all cooks and musicans and indians. these craftsmen also built our culture and nutured it and kept it unique.
great post mr. jack.
One thing I thought was interesting is the gross numbers. For example, the general fund is about $300 million not the $5 or $10 billion noted above.
Yeah, Skeeter, I looked at that again and I think that was my mistake. I went back and looked at my source where I took that number (and not a good one but it’ll do) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans
And I misread the whole numbers thing. It seems upon reading it again, that the city should be collecting taxes on 10 billion - I thought that number seemed oddly high. But even with that 300 million seems sort of low since part of the tourism dollars would be sales tax. I’m not sure what percentage the city collects in taxes but if it’s collecting 300 million of of 10 billion it must not be much.
My shitty math aside, my point still stands that other cities provide for their residents without that significant revenue stream. Also, I’m sure anyone skimming money would long have it in their freezer before any numbers hit a powerpoint presentation.
I meant the numbers to make a point so thanks for not busting my ass too much about it. It was a good catch and I should be more careful in my monkey-esc poo tossing.
When I went to school for woodworking, I had to leave NOLA and go to New England to get proper skills. I was always suprised that I could find no trade school that taught traditional skills like masonry, plasterwork, metalwork, woodwork, etc. And a couple of months at Delgado night classes would not have trained me properly to do one of these things professionally. 1 or 2yr full time sessions would create a class of builders that could restore New Orleans to the glory days. And the fuckin’ Federal Govt. should pay for it, of course.
The thing I’ve noticed is that when people get good paying jobs, many of them don’t want to live in Orleans Parish proper. I think that keeps the city mired in shit to a certain extent. once you start making 40-50k and want to reward yourself with a nice car, well you can’t own nice things here because some asshole will steal it, destroy it, or whatever. or if you want a kid and want peace of mind, you can’t live here. so you move to Covington or wherever along with your tax money. It’s a catch-22 because if we want the city to prosper we need to first make it attractive for people with money to live here. in the end it all comes down to schools and crime, just fix those problems and everything else falls into place. but yeah, go Jack!
Jack,
Interesting post. Be careful ’bout those industrial jobs. See: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Environmental-Justice-Frontline-Timmons/dp/0521669006
I’d vote for you ‘gainst ray-ray anyday!
Truck driving has sucked balls, at least in many if not most cases, since dereg hit in the 1970s. Many truck drivers are overworked and exploited like you wouldn’t believe (and there are too damned many big rigs on the roads in the first place, but that’s another story).
And of course your anecdotal data tells me that, yes, New Orleans can do what no other American city has done since the 1970s–become an industrial haven without doling out millions upon millions from the taxpayers in incentives, tax free operations, etc.
Some industrial jobs would be nice, but you’d have to be on glue to see a wealth of industrial jobs on the horizon. I don’t find any glee in this, however. It’s really terrible.
Jack, the question of where does the money go continues to stand.
I mentioned one number I found in the charts in the hope that someone else would find an interesting number there and tell us.
I wouldn’t hold your breath skeeter. I doubt anyone really knows. That’s why I think we need someone to come in and audit the city. Someone from outside with no loyalties that won’t give in to political pressure. It’s just too bad there isn’t an agency in the federal government that does that kind of thing…ya know, control and manage internal revenue - it would be nice if someone provided that kind of service.
See now I’m just imagining things….
Great list! Alot of it would be great in any city…including the one I work in & have to pay an earnings tax to on top of sales tax, etc. (Kansas City MO)
a few constitutional issues and pratical matters aside, some pretty good ideas, but the film industry has been very helpful–don’t crap on it. A lot of middle class people work in it. Forget the DA oversight of officials–talk about creating a mess! keep up the ideas….
Freeport-McMoRan, the only Fortune 500 in town, is moving to Phoenix in March when they aqcuire another company. So long tax revenue and all the money their Foundation donated to the parks, schools, arts, etc.