WaEx: One of the deep mysteries of the universe is how New Orleans manages to remain one of the great cities of the world, despite suffering under such corrupt and incompetent governance.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who has been in office less than a year, apparently has decided that all the post-Hurricane Katrina federal money and all the aggressive revenue-raising by former Mayor Mitch Landrieu still aren’t enough to pay for the Crescent City’s burgeoning bureaucracy. In recent weeks, she has embarked on two new, self-defeating efforts to grab short-term cash at the expense of the city’s long-term prospects.
First, her administration is cracking down even harder on drivers caught just slightly exceeding the limit in the city’s numerous speed traps. Second, she has pushed the city to join a series of ludicrous lawsuits filed by numerous Louisiana parishes (the equivalent of counties) against oil and gas companies for supposedly causing coastal wetlands erosion.
The lawsuits are a typical example of a short-sighted, dim-witted attempt to kill the golden goose. For a full century, Louisiana has benefited from oil and gas exploration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars, including many tens of billions in tax revenue for state and local governments. The state welcomed the energy industry with open arms; the state and federal governments both regulated and oversaw the industry; and both expressly permitted the fuel pipelines through the marshlands that now are the subject of the lawsuits.
Yet now the state’s constituent parishes want to make the industry pay for wetlands destruction, even though the pipelines are only one of the causes — and indeed, not even close to the largest cause — of the coastal erosion.
Until now, New Orleans itself had stayed out of these lawsuits, perhaps recognizing that Louisiana public opinion seems to be turning against the litigation. Now, though, with federal courts due to make a key procedural ruling on the suits sometime this month, Cantrell wants to grab some jackpot justice, whether or not it’s truly just. more here
Next up is a 10% tax in the French Quarter. That should finish them off.
After the tax on the French Quarter, how about a $50 toll to cross Lake Pontchartrain.
Coastal erosion is caused by the levees.
We have a fed DOJ for this reason. Yeah, it was destroyed by obama and sessions, but Trump is in charge now. This is on him to clean this up, and if Barr cant do it, get someone who can.
If the folks who make beignets moved to another place, there’s be no reason to see the Crescent City again.
No one ever taught her that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and water…
LaToya? Do I even need to look?
Ever seen a white woman named LaToya?
Cause we doenot gets no mo Obama stash bucs we need to get mo fo bucs from de big oril dudes!
It’s a black politician thing – you racists wouldn’t understand…
Much of the ms river sediment that used to replenish the wetlands is trapped behind missouri river dams and mo and ms river levees and rip rap
Apparently NOLA isn’t the only shameful player in this game:
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/tampa-bay-buccaneers-dp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-damages-001457350.html