The silver lining from the Hurricane Katrina disaster was that its major victim, New Orleans, eventually would come out of it a better place to live. We now know in fact that hope has faded away.
I was more optimistic in my review five years ago, where I concluded things were better both at the state and local, New Orleans, level despite a disaster that cost around 1,400 lives and, in inflation-adjusted terms two decades later, over $200 billion to sort out. In New Orleans, I noted how there had been positive change in terms of education and flood protection that came from overcoming political hurdles the dismantling of which became possible because of the widespread devastation that made revolutionary reforms possible.
The hope was the momentum would continue, for several reasons. With traditional populist-based political networks disrupted, perhaps candidates and organizations focused more on getting stuff done than dividing spoils among supporters would strengthen. Perhaps attitudes would shift to place greater emphasis on industriousness to benefit private sector activities that would include less government intrusiveness that catered to special interests and ideology. Corrupt activities would diminish and more attention would be given to sore spots such as crime fighting.
Unfortunately, over the past five years almost all of these hopes went into retreat. While there is some justifiable question about just how honestly served their terms were, until this month no sitting New Orleans mayor ever was charged with federal crimes, although Democrat Ray Nagin, mayor at the time of Katrina, was indicted and convicted after leaving office. Now, Democrat Mayor LaToya Cantrell has been hit with multiple charges indicting her of federal crimes. Looking to succeed her is Democrat Councilor Oliver Thomas, who was convicted of corrupt activities yet subsequently elected to the City Council.
Already infused with dysfunction and leftist identity politics, in the past five years the Council joined Cantrell to race even further to the left with utterly useless, if not senseless, forays into, for example, environmental wackiness and housing overzealousness. Meanwhile, it continues to suffer dysfunction with water and sewerage provision and crime levels elevated way above national norms even for urban areas, in part a consequence of electing both a woke sheriff and district attorney but aided and abetted by city officials more attuned to fashion than genuine crime reduction even in the face of horrific events that have triggered continued state intervention as a last resort. The lightening of government’s touch that appeared possible after Katrina has faded away completely.
It's all been reflected in broader demographic trends. Fewer people live and work in New Orleans that did two decades ago. And the 37 percent increase in mean income by household from 2010 to 2023 didn’t keep up with the 40 percent increase in price inflation. Contrast that number over the same time span to equally hard hit, if not harder hit, St. Bernard Parish where income has risen 53 percent and in Plaquemines Parish income rose 51 percent.
In retrospect, the victories in New Orleans triggered by Katrina – school choice and better flood protection – ultimately were imposed by the state and didn’t truly organically arise from the city. As bad as the set of politicians were running the city in 2005, the current set is worse on the issues and looming elections show there’s no hope for overall improvement in quality. Of course, it’s a majority of the people there who keep putting in office the same kind of Democrat failures term after term with no serious reflection on whether they ought to keep doing it.
Katrina washed away a chunk of the city’s culture, historical legacy, and unique charm (and lots of more specific things, like Nick’s Bar and its next door neighbor the original Dixie Brewery, the original Deutsches Haus, and crippled for the foreseeable future my doctoral alma mater). Regrettably, it didn’t take out enough of the old populist and coalitional special interest-driven politics that resonate throughout its history. There’s no lasting silver lining. That’s a pity.
No comments:
Post a Comment