WHAT NEW ORLEANS NEEDS

This is an open letter written by Louisiana political consultant Roy Fletcher. I only wish I would have written it, because it is spot on...

Here’s what Louisiana needs today:

First, if New Orleans is to be a community again, we must have new levees
that can defeat the wrath of a Cat 5 hurricane. Does this mean the levees
we currently have should be repaired?No, they must be rebuilt. It is
quite obvious that political corruption led to faulty construction on these
levees. There is nothing more important than this. Nothing can
be permanently accomplished without this reconstruction. We must not fool
ourselves into believing that alligator farms, shrimping studies, and all the
other pork contained in the congressional bill is worth a warm bucket of spit
without these reconstructed levees.

Secondly, like every other state that has faced crisis, our schools,
hospitals, sewers and basic infrastructure need to be rebuilt in the impacted
areas.

Thirdly, declare the Gulf Coast a tax free zone for business.
No federal or state taxes for five years so these businesses can be reformed and
rebuilt. We need jobs, but we want real jobs…permanent jobs…jobs that mean
something. This means we need businesses to be reconstituted.

Fourthly, help us make certain that the temporary cleanup jobs go to
Louisiana citizens and businesses. Now, this does not mean that we want
the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution to be violated.
Rather, it means Louisiana should be given a preface.

If you do this, we will accept our share of the responsibility. By this I
mean, our people must be willing to go to work in these jobs. Complaining
about someone else working while people sit on their backsides is not good
enough. There is a way out of the poverty of our state. It’s
working, not complaining. It means you have to hustle, accept the
conditions, and make do. Many of our people are ready and willing to do
just this. Give them a chance. If they do not, then, hire someone
else.

Finally, help us with our indebtedness so that local governments and the
state government will not go broke. We want to pay our bills, not walk
away from them. We accept our obligations and we intend to meet our
obligations. We are not a Third World nation. We don’t
want debt relief. Let Bono worry about someone else’s debt, but do not
worry about Louisiana’s.

This will not be easy on our state and people. However, in the
difficulty of fighting and working our way out of this tragedy, we will learn
new words and concepts. Accountability, responsibility, political
priorities…these will be new to our state, but it’s time we understood exactly
what these words mean. When we do, corruption will no longer be tolerated,
and this will mean a new Louisiana.

We need help in one other area. I want an Inspector General,
independent of state and local government, independent of Louisiana politics…a
tough, mean, no nonsense Inspector General…to watch every move we make and every dollar we spend.