POLITICAL VISION NEEDED IN LOUISIANA!

March 29th, 2018

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

POLITICAL VISION NEEDED IN LOUISIANA!

There were several gatherings at the state capitol in Baton Rouge last week.  Former legislators gathered for their annual reunion to catch up on old friendships and reminisce about past legislative accomplishments. And the few living delegates from the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention were honored for their service as talk of a new convention was being debated in the capitol halls.  One theme ran through both gatherings. Why aren’t problems being solved?  Why so little cooperation?  Where is the vision?

There is a pall over the current legislative session following the release by U.S. News and World Report’sannual rankings listing Louisiana as dead last when it comes to quality of life.  National research management consulting firm McKinsey and Co. gathered the data using 77 different metrics. Louisiana did poorly in every one of them.

Stephanie Riegel, writing in the Baton Rouge Business Report, observed that Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson was apparently oblivious to the significance of the dead last 50 state ranking.  His “sarcastic and defensive” comments were: “If you’re going to put us on the scale and talk about the birth weight of our babies, our mortality rate, a number of factors that are not in our economic development lane, then maybe you’re going to arrive in a place like that.” he said.  “We would like you to look at a list of how many projects we land, how much foreign capital we have invested here… we’re proud to be in Louisiana.”

As Riegel points out, Pierson’s naive understanding of the state’s bottom of the barrel ranking fails to comprehend “the direct connection that exists between education, healthcare, the environment and infrastructure on one hand and economic development on the other.”

The U.S Bureau of Labor’s just released statistics show that the Bayou State lost 1,600 jobs in the past year.  There is an out migration with more people leaving Louisiana than are coming in. It’s not “Houston, we have a problem.” No, it’s Louisiana that has the problem.

Governor John Bel Edwards seems to have his heart in the right place. But he has let himself get bogged down in the day-to-day grind of keeping the ship a float and trying to keep the trains running on time.  He’s being undercut by Republican opposition, but he knew that coming in to the job. So far, the Governor has failed to rise above the daily crises at hand, and show voters that he has a vision of just where the state should be heading in the years to come.

I once asked California Governor Jerry Brown about how to deal with the “crisis mentality” of being a governor.  He said that every day there is some kind of calamity.  “The first reaction is to circle the wagons, and try to put out one brushfire after the other,” he told me. “But you have to have long-range planning for your state.  Sometimes, you have to let a few of the brushfires burn, as they will often take care of themselves. You cannot put off long range projections for your state if it is going to move forward and progress.”

Unfortunately, that does not seem to be a strategy that is discussed much either in the legislature or in the governor’s office.  There are no quick fixes for a whole litany of state problems. A well-crafted “Goals for Louisiana” program, with specific yearly benchmarks, is a necessary beginning point for any successful state growth.  Why do many other states continue to jump ahead of Louisiana? Because they are problem solvers, not caretakers.

I am fond of a story about former French President Charles de Gaulle. He asked his gardener to plant trees so as to create a certain shade effect. “But General,” the gardener protested, “the effect you have in mind cannot be achieved for 40 years!” To which de Gaulle replied, “Well, then, you had better start this afternoon.”

Leadership means more than carrying on the day in, day out operations of state government. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” So goes the ancient admonition from Proverbs 29:18. The time is passing us by, while our neighboring states are making tremendous strides. New ideas are coming from other southern states, and they should be emanating from Louisiana. Isn’t it about time?

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

A LOUISIANA HERO STOPPED MY LAI MASSACRE!

Thursday, March 22nd, 2018

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A LOUISIANA HERO STOPPED MY LAI MASSACRE!

Fifty years ago this weekend, the focus of the Vietnam war dramatically changed.  Many Americans were skeptical of why the war was necessary. There were scattered reports of American soldiers killing innocent civilians. But some would argue bad things can happen during wartime, and that’s the price a nation must pay. Then came My Lai.

If you are too young to remember the My Lai genocide, it is certainly a low point in U.S. military gallantry. An Army combat unit of American soldiers charged into an un-defended settlement called My Lai, and over a four hour period, systematically wiped out the village of some 500 unarmed old men, women, babies and children. The attack was supposedly to weed out Viet Cong solders, but none were there and no weapons were found.  It was a cold-blooded slaughter.

As the killings continued, an Army helicopter pilot named Hugh Thompson, from Lafayette, Louisiana, flew over and observed the massacre taking place below. I had the opportunity of questioning Hugh Thompson several times on my syndicated radio program. His words are as disturbing today as they were when I interviewed him years ago.

“ We started noticing these large numbers of bodies everywhere,” he said, “people on the road dead, wounded. And we’re just sitting there saying, ‘God, how did this happen? What’s going on?’ And we started thinking what might have happened, but you didn’t want to accept the thought–because if you accepted it, that means your own fellow Americans, people you were there to protect, we’re doing something very evil.”

Hugh Thompson had a gunner and a crew chief on board with him, and he decided to put down his helicopter to investigate just what was happening. “I just figured it was time to do something, to not let these people get killed.”  He landed, got out of his aircraft, and confronted the American troops.

Then, he did something unique in wartime. He demanded that the U.S. soldiers back off and stop the killing. He bluntly told them that if they continued the slaughter, he and his crew would open fire directly on them. That cooled the confrontation down, and the killings stopped.

Hugh Thompson filed a full report and complaint, but he came under attack from some in the military who felt he should have said nothing. The Army initially covered up the genocide. But an investigative journalist named Seymour Hersh pieced together the horror that took place, and Hugh Thompson’s heroics became worldwide news.  Many historians feel that My Lai was a turning point in the war as support continued to dwindle.

After thirty years of being ignored and scorned, the Army finally acknowledged that Hugh Thompson was, in fact, a hero.  He was given the Soldier’s Medal for heroism.  My Lai is located in the center of Vietnam on the eastern coast. If you travel there today, a museum can be found in honor of Warrant Officer Hugh Thomson.  

In his book, War Without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam, historian Bernd Greiner concludes that My Lai was “the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War."  Fifty years ago, a few American soldiers dishonored their country by committing unfathomable crimes. But a young American helicopter pilot from Lafayette, Louisiana had the courage to step and demand that the carnage come to an end. 

All Louisianans should be proud of Hugh Thompson. He died at 62, but remains one of the Bayou State’s very best.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE NEEDS SKIN IN THE GAME!

Thursday, March 15th, 2018

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE NEEDS SKIN IN THE GAME!

The Louisiana Legislature just completed a “do nothing” session that proved to be a stalemate towards solving the state’s financial crisis.  A new regular session has begun with few signs that anything substantive will come about.  By law, no new tax matters can be considered in this even numbered year. So what’s the problem in getting some cooperative effort?

Look no further than a new book on the New York Times bestselling list by mathematician and philosopher Nicholas Taleb.  His premise states: "Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will profit and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them."  Simply put, the legislature often does not function in the public interest because the members have nothing at risk. There are no costs. They have no skin in the game.

Governors have to face the results of their actions. Policies can be put in motion that can affect thousands of lives throughout the state. Mayors also face the outcomes of their policy decisions. But legislators rarely face repercussions of their votes on their in-actions.  Particularly in Louisiana, the majority of lawmakers face little scrutiny and get easily re-elected. They are showered with campaign contributions by a herd of lobbyists that surround the supposed “hallowed halls” of the state capitol.

As Tom Aswell points our in his Louisiana Voice column: “When legislators are unable/unwilling to fix the state’s fiscal problems, they certainly see to their own financial well-being.”  During the just completed special legislative session, 41 campaign fundraisers were held for 46 different legislators. So some would argue that at least something got done. But who were the beneficiaries?

Defenders of the current system will argue that there is a day of reckoning when voters can pass judgment on the actions of legislators at the polls. But gerrymandering has made a mockery of any real accountability when election time comes around.  Here’s what ends up happening. During election season, voters don’t choose their legislators.  No, under the current system in Louisiana, legislators choose their voters.

As this column has pointed out before, the problem is one of gerrymandering. District lines are not drawn by the legislature to reflect geographical or political balance, but are specifically crafted to favor the incumbent or some other partisan choice.  When legislators do the redistricting, the norm seems to be that the state ends up with meandering footprints meticulously designed, it would seem, to ensure that no incumbent will face serious opposition, regardless of how the political winds are blowing.  

So the question for Louisiana voters is this: Are they that concerned that the legislature is, for all practical purposes, creating their own voters?  Doe it matter that legislators in Louisiana really have no skin in the game?  Is this healthy in the Bayou State — or in any other state?  Many think it’s not.

“The self-dealing quality of legislators drawing districts for themselves or for their partisans has basically collapsed the enterprise,” says Samuel Issacharoff, a law professor who is an expert on redistricting.  “There’s an increasing sense of revulsion among voters at this self-dealing. It is somewhat scandalous that there are few competitive elections anymore.”

We always hear the dictum that elections have consequences.  But in Louisiana, they don’t.  The legislature is allowed to reapportion itself, so lawmakers vote for a reapportionment plan that protects their own self-interest. They basically surround their districts with voters who either don’t care how lawmakers vote and often don’t vote at all, or by voters who are only concerned about party labels. Yellow dog democrats and knee jerk republicans both come to mind.

Author Taleb writes that politicians never have to pay for the results of their decisions and that they are “conveniently separated from the consequences of their actions.”   The legislature should cut out the gerrymandering and let an outside group draw district lines on a balanced and fair basis.  It’s time for politicians to get some skin in the game.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

THE CASE FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION!

Thursday, March 8th, 2018

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

THE CASE FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION!

One million dollars down the drain to pay for a special session of the Louisiana legislature. And all for naught. The Governor is hollering that the financial sky is falling and the state is in dire fiscal straights. Legislators protest that their hands are tied by too many constitutional dedications. And since there is little appetite for trimming the budget, the legislature now begins its regular gathering at the state capitol with a shortfall of over one billion dollars.

After years allowing state dollars to be dedicated and ignoring constitutional limitations on spending, there are finally murmurs in the halls of the capitol that it just may be time for a constitutional convention to unlock so many dedicated funds.  Since the current constitution was adopted back in 1974, it has been amended 186 times, often to dedicate tax dollars for a specific purpose. This means fewer dollars for the legislature to appropriate for current and changing needs.

To put into perspective as to just how often the present document has been amended, the United States Constitution, which has been around for 231 years, has been altered only 27 times. One might argue that the legislature really isn’t all that necessary with so many constitutional amendments, approved by the voters, which require how the annual state budget is to be spent.

Currently, almost $2.5 billion have been constitutionally dedicated in 40 different funds. Programs that have such protected revenue include a Transportation Trust Fund that receives $1.2 billion of revenue for road construction, the TOPS scholarship program, and the minimum foundation program to fund public education.  All these programs are noble and necessary to improve Louisiana’s quality of life. The question is whether or not the legislature in Louisiana should be able to set spending priorities to adjust for changing needs. Right now, lawmakers are, for all practical purposes, impotent to adapt as other financial concerns arise.

This lack of any fiscal flexibility was not always the rule. The original 1974 constitution gave specific instructions as to how state funds were to be disbursed. Spending was set out in Article VII, stating: “except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, money shall be drawn from the state treasury only pursuant to an appropriation made in accordance with law.”

What this article meant was that all state funds would be put into the state treasury, and then appropriated by the legislature, who were entrusted with the duty of evaluating and setting priorities for state spending on an annual basis.  Initially few tax dollars were locked in to the constitution.

I have first hand knowledge about the spending protections built into article VII of the 1974 Constitution. I was an  elected delegate, and during that time, I served as co-chairman of the revenue committee along with future Gov. Buddy Roemer. We often went to a local Pizza hangout, and debated for hours the pros and cons of giving the legislature the authority to set spending priorities.

We concluded that a constitution should be flexible enough to allow for changing times. A responsible legislature should have the tools to deal with current emergencies, catastrophes, new innovative programs that needed state funding, and have the ability to curtail or eliminate programs that had outlived their usefulness. What was important in 1974 maybe irrelevant in 2018.

Others will argue that they just cannot trust legislators to be directly responsible.  Maybe that’s a good reason not to re-elect them.  You might agree with a motto some will adhere to next year of  “in the fall, fire em’ all.”  But any private business would be on the verge of bankruptcy if it functioned as the Bayou State is being run now. A good start, by any measure, would be a new constitution.

Louisiana was just named the worst state in the nation (again) by U.S. News and World Reportwhen it comes to healthcare, education, infrastructure and other aspects of day-to-day life. Going back to square one with a new constitution could be a new demarcation line. After all, it can’t get any worse.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

SPRING FEVER AND BASEBALL!

Friday, March 2nd, 2018

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

SPRING FEVER AND BASEBALL!

It’s springtime, my favorite time of year. The weather warms up without a lot of humidity.  Flowers bloom at their very best. It’s the season of my birthday.  If you live in Louisiana, we witness music festivals galore, including Mardi Gras, JazzFest and a host of local harmonic gatherings of local bands all over the state. And one more springtime reminder. It’s the beginning of baseball season.

I’m spending the next week in Tampa, Florida, surrounded by 15 major league teams who hold their baseball season kickoff in a number of towns surrounding the Tampa area.  It’s my annual ritual that I have shared with friends from the Bayou State for many years.  I grew up watching and playing baseball, particularly the St. Louis Cardinals. There were no televised games back then, but I often fell asleep at night listening to legendary sports announcer Jack Buck on 50,000 watt station KMOX tell his listeners “All’s right with the world cause the Cardinals won again tonight.”

I grew up in St. Louis and lived next door to the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, the great former Cardinals shortstop Marty Marion. I was in his box the Sunday afternoon back on May 2, 1954, when Stan the Man Musial hit five home runs on the same day in a doubleheader. When I moved down to Louisiana, I was disappointed that there were no major league teams close by, but the state is filled with baseball fans from little league to college and professional ball teams.

LSU is a perennial contender for the college baseball world series with ULL in Lafayette also a strong challenger.  Some of the best major leaguers have come from Louisiana. Mel Ott from Gretna was the first national leaguer to hit 500 homers. Lou Brock was raised in Colliston outside Monroe, hit .348 and stole 33 bases to spark St. Louis to a world championship. Alvin Dark from Lake Charles was NL Rookie of the Year in 1948.And who can forget the Louisiana Lighting, Ron Guidry, who went 25-3 for world champion New York Yankees. The list goes on and on.

And speaking of the Yankees, they are a real unifying team. You see, unless you are a die-hard Yankees fan like me, everyone else, and I mean everyone, hates the Yankees.  They are never the underdog.  No, just the opposite.  The Yankees are the overdog, brash, cocky, and rich, always spending more than any other team in baseball. They have won more world championships than many other teams combined.  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields writes: “To be a Yankees fan means to root for Apple or Amazon rather than for your neighborhood mom-and-pop store.”

I know, I know. A populist like me who has hailed for many years from Ferriday, Louisiana, has no business pulling for the Yankees. But I’m just hooked. I have seen the Yankees play three games in a row, and will see many more both here in Tampa and in New York. You know just one of the reasons? The Yankees sell very best hotdogs. Large, grilled just right and juicy with all the trimmings. Not like those shriveled, tasteless weenies on a cold bun sold at LSU’s Tiger Stadium. This year baseball fans will consume more than 21 million hot dogs at stadiums across the country. That's enough to round the bases 29,691 times. And I’ll eat my share.

Many folks think baseball games are too long. Not really. NFL games average 16 minutes longer than a major league baseball game. And think about it. There are only about 12 minutes of actual playing time, from the snap of the ball to the whistle, in pro football.  In baseball, there are about 25 minutes of time when the ball is in play.

Some fans feel like baseball is not all that difficult to play. If you think that, just talk to Michael Jordan, probably the greatest basketball player ever, who couldn’t get out of the minor leagues. Same for former Quarterback Tim Tebow who is still lingering in a minimal Class A league.

So as the new season warms up and unfolds, I’ll be cheering on baseball – from little league watching my grandsons to a cold beer and great hotdogs at the new Yankee stadium in New York. Hey, give the game a shot. You just might get hooked like me.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.