Last week, the politicians and bureaucrats in D.C. told us if we didn’t understand the need for a $700 Billion bailout of nation’s financial markets, we were dumb.

Last Monday, when a majority of the House of Representatives listened to us dumb mullets they voted down the bailout.

The proponents of the bailout were quick to point out how terrible it was that the Congressmen who voted nay weren’t statesmen enough to do what’s best for America.

Gloom and doom

We were told the 401k and other retirement portfolios of the widows, orphans and elderly was crashing.   The old folks would soon be unable to buy food to eat and would have to live in the streets.

Following the failed vote, last Monday, the bailout the stock market dropped over 700 points.  The politicians were quick to say “I told you so.”  Yet, the next day the market rebounded and almost wiped out all the losses.

Happy days

The threat worked.  Last Friday, Congress, following the lead of the smart folks in the “upper chamber,” voted to pass the bailout.

Following the bailout passage the stock market which had risen by about 400 point earlier in the day, suddenly went down the tubes.  Say what!

Today, as I write this (1:45 PM CDT) the market has dropped over 700 points.   The market is currently at its lowest ebb in years.

Questions

The stock market nose dive begs questions for which we need answers from the geniuses who caused the mess and who also concocted the Rube Goldberg bailout:

– Now, what’s going to happen to the widows, orphans and elderly now that their retirement portfolios are continuing to sink?  Will we build poor houses?

– How is repeal of the 39-cent Excise Tax on wooden arrows made for children (part of the bailout plan) going to benefit the retirement portfolios of widows, orphans and elderly and free up the credit market?  Is this an effort by the anti-gun folks to move our children from guns to bows and arrows?

– How is a tax break for race-track owners (part of the bailout plan) going to benefit the retirement portfolios of widows, orphans and elderly and free up the credit market?  Will they now be able to buy lunch at a race track on credit?

– How is a tax break on rum imported from Puerto Rico,(part of the bailout plan) going to benefit the retirement portfolios of widows, orphans and elderly and free up the credit market?  Will the drinking age be lowered so the kids can forget their sorrows on cheap rum?

– How is a tax break for worsted wool makers, (part of the bailout plan) going to benefit the retirement portfolios of widows, orphans and elderly and free up the credit market?  Will it keep them from itching because of wearing “unworsted” wool?

– How is a tax break for Hollywood film and television production companies (part of the bailout plan) going to benefit the retirement portfolios of widows, orphans and elderly and free up the credit market?  Will their cable bills and the price of movie tickets go down?

I admit, I’m too dumb to answers to these questions.  I look forward to the geniuses in Washington enlightening me.

C.B.

Below is a copy of a column that appeared in Tuesday’s Shreveport newspaper.

One may argue with some of the conclusions and one may argue with the suggested solutions, but the numbers are easily checked and we definitely have a problem.

New ethics laws, more government, more studies, more commissions, higher lege pay and wishful thinking aren’t going to change this disastrous trend.  It is going to require some sacrifice by government in order for the state to survive.

This is the “elephant in the room” about which nobody in LA government is even mentioning much less looking for solutions.

C.B.

“Grow or Die”: Lessons From 200 Years of Louisiana Population History

When the 2010 Census is conducted and completed, 200 years of Louisiana’s population history will have been recorded, and many remarkable aspects of “who” Louisiana was and is are in that record. Included among these are our 228% population explosion in the 30 years before the Civil War, the near-halving of our black population from 1890 (50% of our population) through 1980 (down to 29%), and the relatively minor impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on our population trends.

Also dramatically documented is Louisiana’s descent to the bottom of national rankings in population growth for the past 25-30 years, with stagnation likely to soon turn to unprecedented loss. As important as that fact is on its very face, what is even more striking is that our recent such history is the opposite of the record of growth in our first 150 years.

Although Louisiana was not a state until 1812, we were nonetheless included in the 1810 Census, the third Constitutionally mandated enumeration conducted by our federal government. That census reported 7,239,881 residents of America’s then-17 states and assortment of official “territories.” Included was the Territory of Orleans - soon to be Louisiana - the home of 76,556 souls.
Between 1810 and 1950, the population in the United States multiplied 21-times, from 7,239,881 to 151,325,798, but Louisiana’s growth blew that away, multiplying 35-times - from 76,566 residents to 2,683,516.

We would never again experience such growth.

Between the 1950 Census and the most recent official Census estimates of July 1, 2007, the U.S. population nearly doubled, growing 99.3%, from 151,325,798 to 301,621,157. Louisiana’s growth during the period - from 2,683,516 to 4,293,204 - was a notably smaller increase of 59.98%.

The picture further worsened after 1980. As most of us living in Louisiana since the mid-1980s remember only too well, Louisiana and a handful of other states took the brunt of the decade’s oil-patch-dry-up. The damage to our economy spread quickly from our oil fields to our financial-service and real estate sectors, and within a very few years, a massive out-migration was underway. By the time of the 1990 Census, Louisiana was solidly in the teeth of the severe and extended downturn. Between that 1990 Census and the most recent data of July 1, 2007, Louisiana’s population barely grew at all, from 4,219,973 to 4,293,204, an increase of only 1.7%. During the same period, the national population grew more than 12-times as much, an increase of 21.3%, from 248,709,873 to 301,621,157. Our state’s 1.7% growth ranks us 48th among the 50 states in the period, with West Virginia and North Dakota faring worse.

Particularly damaging is the degree to which populations in regionally competitive states jumped past us during the period: Mississippi grew 13.4%, Arkansas 20.6%, Alabama 14.5%, Georgia 47.3%, Florida 41.1%, Tennessee 26.2%, and Texas 40.7%.

It is tempting to believe Katrina and Rita are largely the cause of our stagnation, but that is not the case. When data are analyzed for the period 1990 to July 1, 2005 - two months before Katrina and Rita hit - we find that Louisiana’s population growth-ranking improves only to 43rd rather than 48th. Specifically, as of July 1, 2005, Louisiana’s population had grown 6.53% since 1990, while the nation’s growth was nearly 3-times that, 18.97%. Again, we lagged our neighbors dramatically: the Mississippi population grew 12.72%, Arkansas 17.93%, Alabama 12.35%, Georgia 40.59%, Tennessee 22.8%, Florida 37.09%, and Texas 34.48%.

“Grow or die” and “demographics is destiny” are axiomatic in this context. The risk of sliding into irrecoverable non-competitiveness is clear, as is the underlying cause of our worsening condition. Simply put, far too many residents leave Louisiana, and far too few move in. The simplest test a city, parish, state or nation can face arises in the choice people make about where to live. How does the place in question compare and compete? It is this test Louisiana consistently fails.

There are but three population characteristics to be studied in drawing such conclusions: births, deaths and migration. As detailed in latest Census data for the period Census 2000 through July 1, 2007, Louisiana’s ratio of births-to-deaths is now below the national ratio, but not dramatically so: the national ratio is 1.69-births-to-a-death (1.69:1.00), and Louisiana’s is 1.51:1.00. Among all states, 27 have a better ratio than Louisiana, 20 have a worse ratio, and 2 have the same.

The clear and present danger for Louisiana is “net migration”- the number of people who move into Louisiana, minus the number who leave. Between the 1980 Census (reported in 1981) and the most recent Census estimates of July 1, 2007, Louisiana has averaged the net loss of 30,555 people per year, or about 84 residents each day, or 3½ each hour - for over a quarter-century. Again, if the impact of Katrina and Rita is a question, the period of Census 2000 through July 1, 2005 provides the answer: during that pre-hurricane period, Louisiana’s net migration rate ranked us 48th of 50 states, precisely the same as our 48th-of-50 ranking in the most recent July 1, 2007 data.

To complete this stark picture, consider Louisiana’s young people, who - in our dearth of in-migrants - must rescue us. In the quarter-century between 1980 and July 1, 2005 (pre-Katrina and Rita), our total population weakly rose 7.6% while the nation’s grew more than 4-times that much, 30.8%.

Stunningly, our young people aged birth-to-24 dropped -14.6%, from 1,926,000 to 1,645,389. (Not that we see ourselves as competitive with Texas, but its population 24 or younger during that period increased +38.95%.) No rescue from our young people and their birth-rates is in the pipeline.

Certainly, there is nothing resembling a quick-fix for our systemic and threatening condition. Neither, however, is the remedy difficult to identify and implement. Simply, our leaders must recognize that our tax structure guarantees this defect. Louisiana must have a new tax structure specifically designed to reverse our worsening out-migration, and induce in-migration.

The elimination of the state income tax - with revenue loss off-set by a combination of a “renter’s tax,” a consumption tax on certain major purchases, and business tax changes - might start the debate. Regardless of the content of that debate, the debate must start immediately, and that new tax structure must result. Otherwise, Louisiana’s destiny is, inarguably, anything but bright.

Elliott Stonecipher
evetsmanagement@msn.com
318-424-1695

Yesterday, we were told by the politicians who created the country’s current financial mess if they weren’t given $700 BILLION to fix their mess there would be financial Armageddon in American and around the world.

The media breathlessly reported that the Dow Jones average plummeted by 777 points.  That’s the single biggest point drop in the history of the Dow!  So.

What’s it mean?

The 777 point drop was a loss of 6.98%.

On October 19, 1987 the market lost 22.61%.

On October 26, 1987 the market lost another 8.04%.

In one week the market lost over 30%.

I don’t recall hearing about a financial Armageddon.

On October 27, 1997, the Dow dropped by 7.18%.

On September 17, 2001 the Dow dropped by 7.13%.

Apparently, we, as country, weathered those earlier downturns in the stock market without the collapse of civilization as we know it.

As 9:15 AM, the Dow has climbed over 250 points.  That’s a 2.6% gain.  So far, in two days the Dow has suffered a net of less than 5%.

More info needed

The sky may fall one day, but we need more evidence from our public officials before we agree to give them $700 BILLION to implement some Rube Goldberg bailout plan.

We don’t need to be told that we are too dumb to understand the Rube Goldberg bailout.  We need politicians who are smart enough to explain it to us. We are their bosses!

Have you ever told your boss that you have made a mess of his business; that he’s not smart enough to understand the problem,  but you can fix it if we will just give you more money.  If you had that kind of nerve, what was the result?

A proposal

We also need a plan that holds those who created the problem responsible.  That includes those in the White House and Congress.

Include in the next bailout plan a provision that until we see the long term results of the plan, the pay of the President, his advisors and Congress is suspended.

I wonder what the outcome of the vote will be in Congress if the Congressmen actually have something at stake.

C.B.

Today, I’ve been listening to attempts by members of Congress to explain the need for the $700 Billion financial bailout.

The universal response to the question posed to the politicians of why a majority (57%) of us mullet/voters are opposed to the massive bailout is because we are too dumb to understand the problem.

Despite not hearing one politician able to adequately articulate either the cause or the solution to the alleged problem, we are the ones being called dumb. That reminds me of a quote by Bishop Richard Whatley: “He who is not aware of his ignorance will only be misled by his knowledge.”

That said, the politicians may have a point. We were dumb enough to elect to office those who caused the problem.

We will continue to be considered dumb by those we entrust with our money, lives and property until we start demanding accountability from our public officials at all levels.

C.B.

“Significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein

Unfortunately, at this very moment, Einstein’s admonition is not being heeded in the U.S. Capitol.

Since the financial crisis being debated in Washington, D.C. began, I felt unqualified and inadequate to comment on such weighty financial matters.  However, after reviewing the proposed plans and the comments coming from those who we entrusted to make sure such an occurrence would not occur, I feel qualified and adequate to opine.

What are my credentials?

The same those in D.C. — I’m over 18 years old, a registered voter and I was born on American soil.

Additionally, unlike many in D.C., I’ve never been bankrupt and I can balance my checkbook.

The bailout

The proposed “bailout” is about covering the collective asses of those who have been “asleep at the switch.”

The politicians and bureaucrats made politically-correct, but poor policy decision for the private sector, to insure that financially-irresponsible could borrow money at the expense of all of us who have managed to live our lives responsibly.

The policy decision was a fraud perpetrated under the guise of the “American Dream” — home ownership.

Message to America

Why bother to be responsible at all.  This is America.  Don’t worry; be happy.  If you fail, the suckers who manage to live their lives responsibly will take care of you.

Under the new form of American Capitalism there is no risk because there is no such thing as failure.

Solution?

I don’t have the answer to all the problems created by our government.  Frankly, there are too many working too long on creating them.

However, I know throwing good money after bad is not a solution.

Thanks for allowing me to have my say.  I would say, thanks for letting me “put in my two cents,” but clearly this debacle is going to cost me way more than two cents.

I confess; I’m a sucker.

C.B.

We, in Louisiana, supposedly live in the “greatest nation on Earth.”

Therefore, it difficult and very sad to watch the long lines of citizens in Louisiana standing in the heat to get emergency Food Stamps.

It’s not so much sad because of the heat and other inconveniences they are suffering as it is that they are in line at all.

Those in line are not the very poor, the working poor and the handicapped. Those folks automatically got their Food Stamp cards credited for extra money to help due to the damage from Hurricane Gustav.

The people I see in line are those who, prior to Gustav, were not recipients of Food Stamps. They are primarily working class people who, due to no fault of their own, aren’t able to draw their paychecks or were forced to spend their savings to evacuate. Thus, they cannot temporarily afford to take care of themselves like they did before the storm.

Some of those in line probably aren’t bothered, except for the heat. However, it must be very difficult for the proud, self-sufficient who find themselves, for the first time in their lives, putting their hands out to government.

Government at its worst

The sights I am seeing is the result of government at all levels at its worst. We working people have had to give government so much of our hard-earned dollars in the form of taxes that we are no longer financially capable of taking care of ourselves.

Our plight is not accidental. It a result of the gradual move toward Socialism that has been perpetrated upon us by our elected officials. In order to make themselves indispensable and to protect their individual power bases, the politicians have made us more and more dependent upon government.

The current sight of working class people standing in long lines asking for a hand out is a result of that plan. We find ourselves not only without hands out, but actually thanking government for putting something in our hands which the government confiscated from us.

It must be humiliating for hard-working people to find themselves begging government to give them back their own money.

Solution

There is a simple solution. Government should stop taking so much of our money and give us credit for the good sense to take care of ourselves.

Government should only do what we, as individuals, cannot do for ourselves. Also, government should only take, in the form of taxes, from the citizens what it absolutely needs to provide those services that we cannot provide ourselves.

Government in Louisiana no longer exists to serve the public. It exists for its own sake. It is the biggest spender and employer in the state.

The annual surpluses in Louisiana prove that government is taking too much of OUR money.

Just recently, we asked that the Stelly Plan tax increase be rolled-back to provide some tax relief for the middle class and others from whom the money was confiscated. Bobby Jindal said no.

When Jindal was pounded by public pressure into submission, he reluctantly agreed to the reduction, but only in two years. After more pounding, Jindal agreed to let us have the money in one year, but delayed us getting the money for two years.

Frankly, I believe that the individual working people of this state are more capable of properly managing our money than is government. Perhaps we should consider that as we see people in long lines in the hot sun waiting for government bureaucrats to give them their own money.

There’s an old saying: Give a man a fish; he will be fed for today. Teach a man to fish and you will have fed him for a lifetime.

I would paraphrase that saying to government: Let us keep our money to buy our own damn fishing poles!

C.B.

I’ve never heard so much complaining in all my life about the lack electrical power all over LA.

Some have only been without power for 10 days so far. Providing it doesn’t rain or storm again, everyone in LA will have power by Thanksgiving. (That’s something to really be thankful for.)

Following the destruction inflicted by the incompetence and negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers in 2005, my house in New Orleans was without power for 6 months.

Power mostly on

People all over the world would love to have the electrical power with which we are blessed in Louisiana. Heck, the power is on more than it’s off.

Ask people in the Third World Countries how great that would be. In those countries the power is off more than it’s on. Until the power is off 48 hours or more they don’t even notice it is offi.

If power was supposed to be on all the time, why would we have needed to invent Meals Ready to Eat (”MREs”)

Convenience is expensive

Government only takes half our money to protect and to make sure we have basic services like power and water. Most have services more than half the time.

If you want full-time power, you’d have to give government all your money.

Good grief, you folks are acting like people who live in the “Greatest Nation on Earth.” You know, one of those ’superpowers.”

That’s the United States of America. We live in Louisiana!

Lower expectations

Finally, Gustav was a once-in-a-100-year event, just like Katrina. There’s no way to prepare for such events that occur only every other year.

Wipe the sweat out of your eyes so you can see clearly.

C.B.

The announcement below makes one wonder about the so-called gambling regulators at the LA State Police.

It seems to me that the casinos and video poker parlors are quite capable of issuing their own press releases or purchasing advertising to announce their business hours.    It is very questionable why a state agency would announce the openings of such non-essential “services.”

I don’t recall getting a press release from the State Police announcing the openings of any grocery stores or medical facilities following Hurricane Gustav.  Nor did I get a notice from the State Police telling me when the power would be back on especially to the traffic signals.

This shameless promotion of gambling by a state agency is disgusting.  It is also self-serving!   The State Police gets a large portion of its budget from the taxes on legalized gambling.

The State Police’s motto is: “Courtesy, Loyalty and Service.”  To whom?  Organized Gambling?

What’s next the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control promoting smokes and booze?

C.B.

LOUISIANA STATE POLICE
COURTESY LOYALTY SERVICE

Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Superintendent

HEADQUARTERS- NEWS RELEASE

September 8, 2008

BATON ROUGE- Casinos throughout the state were affected by Hurricane Gustav and most were forced to close due to evacuations or power outages. Of the state’s approximately 13000 registered video poker machines, almost half of them had to be shut down statewide.

In Lake Charles, casinos closed for the hurricane, but reopened shortly after the storm. L’Auberge du Lac and the Isle of Capri properties re-opened on Wednesday the September 3^rd, at 6:00 p.m., while Delta Downs reopened the following day at 5:00 p.m.

Lafayette area casinos such as the Amelia Belle casino in St. Mary Parish re-opened on Saturday, September 6^th, at 11:00 a.m. and will operate from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. daily until patronage picks up. The Evangeline Downs casino in Opelousas re-opened on Friday, September 5^th at 8:00 a.m.

Both Baton Rouge casinos re-opened on Friday, September 5^th. The Belle of Baton Rouge opened its doors at 7:00 a.m. and will operate from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. The Hollywood casino opened for business at 9:00 a.m. and will operate from 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m until further notice.

The casinos in the New Orleans area will all be open by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 6^th when Treasure Chest opens for business at that time. Boomtown in Harvey was the first property to re-open on Thursday, September 4^th, at 6:00 p.m. The Fairgrounds opened its doors on Saturday September 6^th, at 9:00 a.m. and will operate from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.. Harrah’s Casino re-opened its doors on Saturday, September 6, 2008.

Shreveport area casinos were not affected by Hurricane Gustav and have remained open. Approximately 7500 video poker machines are back in operation around the state.

For more information contact:

Sgt. Markus L. Smith
Public Affairs Unit
Louisiana State Police – Headquarters
Office: (225) 925-6202
markus.smith@dps.la.gov
www.LSP.org

It’s been almost two weeks since Mayor Ray Nagin was given an “Award of Distinction for Recovery, Courage and Leadership.”

There was a big gala ceremony at the Ritz Carlton staged by the mayor’s personal photographer (You mean you don’t have one?) Bernardo (goes by only one name) where the grateful citizens of New Orleans could pay homage to Hizzonor.

Apparently, the “recovery” part of the award was due to his miraculous political recovery following the Katrina disaster when a majority of the people in the city hired him for a second time. The courage must have been because he actually ran for re-election. I’m still stumped by the leadership part. But I digress.

This is now

As I understand it, the mayor didn’t want the ordinary citizens of New Orleans (his employers) back in the city following Hurricane Gustav because they might get in the way of folks trying to fix things up just so in the city. At least, not as long as there was a chance that a street light might be out. (I know, they’ve been out since Katrina hit over 3 years ago.)

No matter that many of the people who had evacuated at Nagin’s command and with their own vehicles and resources found themselves in places harder hit and with less services than in New Orleans.

In Baton Rouge and many parts of the state the local officials don’t have enough supplies and manpower to take care of their own citizens, much less those of New Orleans.

Not Nagin’s problem apparently.

Bad memories

The situation was deja vu of my final days in New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I can empathize with the citizens who were being kept away from their homes and property.

Despite the flood waters (a result of the incompetence and negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers) having long receded in my neighborhood and the ground being baked dry by the ever-present heat and sun, Nagin would not allow us to return to our homes to see if anything could be salvaged.

Many things may have been salvaged had they not been allowed to sit and bake for weeks after being soaked in salt water. By the time enough pressure could be put on Nagin to allow the citizens to return to their homes, it was too late to salvage much of anything.

Apparently, that sorry episode slipped from Nagin’s mind or he is an incredibly slow learner. Or, perhaps the recent Award of Distinction for Recovery, Courage and Leadership gave him the impression that preventing citizens from returning to their own property was wiser this time.

This time the citizens wouldn’t stand for such an outrage. The citizens of New Orleans stormed back into the city daring Nagin to stop them. Fortunately, Nagin, as usual, backed-down.

However, Nagin didn’t back down without a fight. When it became obvious that he was going to get no help from the public officials in the surrounding parishes (many harder hit than New Orleans) nor anyone in New Orleans, he realized he had chosen not only a unpopular stance, but a dumb and unwinnable one.

New award

Perhaps Bernardo will host another ceremony and find an appropriate award to commend the mayor for his defiant, but losing effort to prevent the citizens of New Orleans from returning to their city.

It could be called the “Award for Discovery;”  as in Nagin’s discovery that the city of New Orleans belongs not to him, but to the citizens of the city.   Maybe a copy of the U.S. Constitution would be an appropriate gift.

Kudos to the people of New Orleans who returned to claim their city in spite of the mayor’s best efforts to keep you out.

C.B.

After gathering information from around our state, as best as I could, I’ve come to a few conclusions.

The politicians appear to be more than up to the task of congratulating themselves and each other for simply doing their jobs.

Applause

The people who deserve a huge round of applause are the individual citizens of this state:

–Those who took the initiative to evacuate on their own and who are managing to find their way back home despite literal and figurative roadblocks from some public officials.

–Those who didn’t evacuate who looked out for themselves, their friends and families.

–Those who are cleaning-up their houses, yards and those of their neighbors.

–Those small and large business people who are busting their butts to open up essential businesses.

I would suggest you hold a press conference and take a bow, but I know you are too busy working.   You are the survivors and the heroes of the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

Lesson not learned

As there was with the failed levees following Katrina, there needs to be serious review of the state’s power grid.  There’s something very wrong when over half the citizens of our state without power because of one weather event.

For all those public officials who are upset because I am not congratulating them for doing their jobs; I say, that’s what you get a paycheck from us taxpayers to do.   As you were!

Hat’s off

For all in Louisiana, I hope this email finds you well.  I know you may be uncomfortable, tired, hot, maybe hungry and thirsty, but keep on keepin’ on.   You will get through this because you are a survivor.   I take my hat off to you.

C.B.