Tuesday, November 2 is the Midterm elections. Included in this election are issues and candidates for Congressional, state, and local offices. In the first primary on October 2, 22.5 % of Louisiana voters actually cast their ballots. The expected turnout for the second primary on November 2 is estimated to be 30-35%. The amendments adopted and the officials elected will be our voices for many years to come. If we take the top end of the estimate we will be allowing 35% of the voters to determine the fates of the other 65% of the citizens in Louisiana. What can we do to encourage voter turnout? How do we get voters to participate in the upcoming Midterm elections? The following were historic solutions used in the River Parishes and in St. Bernard Parish.

Growing up as a child in the River Parishes under the Police Jury form of government for Louisiana politics was wonderful. The incumbent Policy Juror would get a flat bed trailer, hire a band, and place it strategically outside one of the local River Road pubs. Adults could enjoy the music and go in the bar and get unlimited free drinks and food. For kids, the political rallies were also great fun. We were able to run around getting all the cokes and snacks we wanted and play with our friends. I can still remember watching the adults laughing, joking, and the Police Juror smiling patting everyone on the back. For a kid growing up in the River Parishes, it was a great introduction to Louisiana politics.

If we can’t go back to the Police Jury approach, perhaps we could use the legendary St. Bernard Parish method for Louisiana elections. I have a friend that was born and raised in St. Bernard Parish or as he continues to remind us, in Arabi. Arabi he explains is the upscale area of St. Bernard Parish. The voters of St. Bernard Parish, many who for generations have lived there are known for their commitment to voting in elections. As history has it they adhere to some distinct voting patterns: they vote early & on many occasions often in the same election. They are also resilient voters and have a legacy of continuing to vote several years after they die. Now this is truly Louisiana politics that we can all understand!
Unfortunately the River Parish and St. Bernard Parish methods of voting are no longer put up with.

We can all agree that there is a climate of voter apathy that permeates our entire country. Many voters see it as disenchantment with President Obama. Other voters simply state “it’s the economic stupid.” Just like other states, Louisiana will probably reelect most incumbents, allow some career politicians to reshuffle positions, and do the things that guarantee that change will not occur.

As Louisiana voters, we have several choices. We can let the 35% of voters that cast their ballots determine the political agenda for the entire state. Or we can attempt to make a difference beginning with this election. On election day let’s do the things that can help to make a difference. Each of us individually can get on the phone with our family and friends and inquire as to whether they’ve had a chance to vote. If they have not voted, encourage them to vote. Offer them transportation to the voting site if they need a ride. Suggest a willingness to watch their kids or anything else that will make it easier for them to vote. Work you list of phone numbers. Participate in the solution. Don’t try to tell your friends and family how to vote, let them make their own decisions. Let them know how important this race and every race are to their future and the future of our state.

It’s time for us to stop blaming what’s happen in our country on everyone else. Let’s make this the first step of changing the political culture of Louisiana. We do have the power to make meaningful change. That change can occur, “One Vote at a Time!”

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It was the mid-70s, we were all recently married, starting families, working full-time and attempting to finish our undergraduate degrees in a night school program. Our break from this grind was to meet on Friday mornings for way too much coffee,and a platform for debate on politics, sports,and any other current event that may be subject to our caffeine wrath!

Fast forward 35 years, one of our members is now a Yankee in NC and we have a cadre of Johnnie-come-lately’s that have only been around for 30 or so years. For the group, some things have stayed the same, others have gotten better, and then there are those that have dramatically declined.

It’s easy to remember the group’s consensus on how the “older guys” were making a supreme mess of the entire political system in Louisiana. It’s 35 years later, our children have grown, grandchildren have arrived, and the politics for our federal, state, and local governments have continued to decline. We now represent those “old guys” perpetuating the political status quo. We’re the generations allowing politicians the rein/freedom to mortgage future generations. We’re the ones that will be held responsible for the economic, healthcare, and immigration issues that will challenge future generations.

For all of us, politics have always been a dirty, unpleasant experience, run by the shady characters that keep feeding at the public trough until they are finally busted. Our delay and denial of the inevitable outcomes have finally come to fruition. Unfunded mandates, economic tsunamis, out of control healthcare costs, and endangered retirement/pension programs are now a reality.

So do we merely ride off into the sunset and leave future generations to cope with these political and economic calamities? Or do we make the hard decisions and take the necessary steps to leave a better life for our children, grandchildren, and future generations? Has it become our destiny or simply our responsibility to right the wrongs we allowed to occur under our watch?

The November Fall elections are inflection points for our generation and generations to come. This is our first opportunity to make the changes that are so desperately needed and future generations so richly deserve. When we all go to the polls this election, let’s try to keep it real basic. When we pull the lever for a candidate, answer a simple question – is this a person you would welcome into your home? Would you be honored to call them your son-in-law/daughter-in-law? Are you willing to trust the future of your children and grandchildren to the decisions these individuals will make?

It’s late in the political game to bring in new candidates. In Louisiana politics we have a bad habit of recycling the same politicians from one position to another. This is an opportunity to break this cycle that has clearly not worked. If not for change, then perhaps for future generations why not try someone new. It should be clear  to us all that our ”recycled Louisiana politicians” are not doing the job we elected them to do. 

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Recently Governor Bobby Jindal was brought to task by J. Hudson, president of the LSU student body. Governor Jindal was in New Hampshire keynoting a fund raiser for yet another Republican fund raiser. Hudson was told repeatedly by Jindal’s staff that he had a busy schedule. Too busy in fact to meet and discuss the massive educational cuts likely to occur in higher education with the student body president of the largest university in Louisiana.

As it turns out, Hudson wasn’t so easily dissuaded. His approach was through a letter to the New Hampshire Keene Sentinel telling its readers “Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is spending more time in your state than the one he was elected to represent. I read almost daily about his trips to other states, which makes me believe that he is more interested in running for president than running the state of Louisiana.”

On Monday Jindal, through his mouth piece, Kyle Plotkin,explained “The Governor has spent over 90 percent of the days since taking office in Louisiana, traveling to every parish multiple times. It’s good for Louisiana for the Governor to share with business and other leaders across the country our success in outperforming the national economy.”

Well let’s see humble voters, do we all feel like we are out performing the national economy? Does this mean the national economy sucks, so Louisiana sucks less? Plotkin, the mouth piece explains it as follows: “The reality though is that higher education officials are not delivering the value our students deserve. That’s why we’ve encouraged higher education administrative officials to prioritize reductions so that they come mainly from administrative overhead, not teaching and research.”

Wow, Louisiana higher education not delivering value! Why was it when just a little over two years while throwing around the surplus funds from former Governor Blanco Jindal gave higher education massive increases in funding? Perhaps the mouth piece, or when Jindal comes back in town this Monday from yet another out of state Republican fund raiser they can explain this rapid deterioration of higher education in Louisiana. Worthy of massive raises two years ago, now worth of $62 million in cuts, poor education or poor leadership? Maybe if our governor stayed around long enough for meaningful discourse these issues could be addressed!

Let’s get real here. Jindal’s chance for being the Republican nominee is about as great as Peewee Herman coming back on a children’s daytime fun show. In his national debut he embarrassed the Republican Party, the voters of Louisiana, and himself. If the truth be told, remember this is politics, Republicans at the national level have no confidence whatsoever in Jindal. He had his chance, he blew it, time to move on. Jindal’s pathetic attempt to curry favor with the national Republican party is an embarrassment to Jindal and to all of us in Louisiana.

Wake-up Governor Jindal, take your medicine, lick your wounds and come back home and show us and the nation you can make a difference. You want a challenge? You don’t have to go to Washington to find challenges. Look in your own backyard. If you don’t start taking care of the details, you won’t be around next term for a second chance. Political graveyards are full of politicians with potential and broken promises. While you’re out of town raising funds for others, there’s lots of people working on your headstone here in Louisiana.

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Thankfully Mitch Landrieu didn’t pick up any bad habits from Bobby Jindal while in Baton Rouge. Mitch, unlike Bobby understands the days of ’smoke & mirrors’ to solve our financial woes in the city and state are long gone. Bobby in his first year as governor inherited a surplus of almost a billion dollars. Fiscal conservative that he is, in his first year Bobby added 3,200 employees to the state payroll, increased the wages of state employees by over $278 million, and tried to sign off on huge legislative salary increases until we the voters got involved. Drunken sailors don’t throw around money like Bobby did in his first year in office.

Fast forward to 2010 and the ‘mirror’ is broken! All the shenanigans used to balance the 2010/11 state budget are coming home to rest. The Budget process was fairly simple – over estimate revenues, under estimate expenses, the Budget is balanced and politicians can get through the November elections. Back to the broken mirror – we’ve got to look at the Budget and ‘fess up’ for the first of the year. Now the facts: in all likelihood $200 million will have to be paid back to the Rainy Day fund; there’s a $108 million short fall from the 2009/10  Budget, and $180 million healthcare overages for the first six months of this Budget year will have to be addressed That’s before any other short falls in revenue or unexpected expenses. 

Hello! This means the state will have 6 months to cover an approximate $488 million deficit. Remember Bobby can’t raise fees or taxes – if he did, what would that do to his aspirations for a house on the Potomac? Rumor has it his plans were pretty simple: 1. Get Jay Dardenne elected as Lt. Governor, 2. Resign, let Dardenne become governor (another ‘good ole La boy trick), 3. Bobby takes over as Chairman of the Republican Party (they’ve been trying to can Michael Steele for awhile)’ and 4. Bobby avoids blame for the Louisiana fiscal nightmare that’s coming next Spring and for the 2011/12 Budget. Remember Bobby gave the job to Dardenne, so Jay can’t bite the hand that fed him! Dardenne would become the proverbial ’scape goat’ accepting responsibility for the state’s problems. Bobby gets a free pass, heads to Washington to rebuild has ‘Peewee Herman’ image and gets ready for the next presidential election.

But the best laid plans of ‘mice & men’ don’t always work out! A Democratic new comer, Caroline Fayard has put a fly in the ointment. Let’s suppose the voters of Louisiana are really fed up with incumbents. What would happen if Ms. Fayard actually won the Lt. Governor’s race? Bobby couldn’t quit and turn the office over to a Democrat, that would be suicide for him with the Republican Party. He would actually have to stay home, quit chasing around the country doing fund raiders for himself and others, and finally face up to the harsh fiscal realities facing the state.

I’m a fiscally conservative Independent. I’m not advocating raising fees or taxes. But I am for addressing our problems head on, making the hard decisions that will allow us to move forward. When Mike Foster first hired Bobby he used many superlatives to describe him including ‘whiz kid, Rhodes Scholar, genius, etc.’ We the voters of Louisiana used these same descriptions when we elected him. His potential was unbelievable. But in the words of our ex-Saints coach Jim Mora when asked why he wasn’t playing the rookies with all their potential, Mora literally spat at the reporter and responded ‘Potential…Potential, do you even know what that means? Potential means you ain’t never done it! 

Well for the voters of Louisiana that elected Bobby based on his ‘Potential,’ it’s time for him to stay home and Just Do It! Our state, our families and future generations deserve it. 

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Today’s families face many challenges as they strive to instill the values of truthfulness, honesty, and personal integrity in their children. We teach our children the merits of working hard, doing the right thing with the expectations that good outcomes will result from their efforts. Our task is made even more difficult by the absence of these values in the lives and actions of many public servants. For the citizens of Jefferson Parish the lack of ethical values of their public officials is abundantly clear.

The impeachment trial of Federal Judge Thomas Porteous has been and continues to be an embarrassment to every citizen of Louisiana. It has focused a particularly bright light on how the judicial and political systems function in Jefferson Parish. Questionable relationships between Jefferson Parish judges and attorneys have been brought out in the open. Even the parish attorney was able to get his $30,000 piece of the action for peddling his influence with a judge. What does this say about the Jefferson Parish legal system when attorneys have to spend $100,000 just to have a “friend of the judge” on their side of the table?

With all the recent controversy in Jefferson Parish and the City of Kenner, we the voters have been educated in many areas of our local politics. Perhaps one of the most enlightening was the publication of salaries and benefits our public employees are enjoying. For many including our past parish president, parish attorney, parish CAO, parish assessor, and current parish DA, obviously these pay and benefit packages were not enough. They have or continue to maintain other outside jobs in addition to their public positions. It should therefore be obvious they do not consider their positions full-time jobs.

The former parish president maintained a vigorous law practice while serving in his role as parish leader. The former parish attorney seemed to have enough free time to solicit and service a large legal client list. Our recently retired assessor had so much free time that he was able to be the senior partner one of the largest law firms in Jefferson Parish. Our current DA, although not allowing private practice by his assistant DAs, functions as a senior partner in another large Jefferson Parish law firm.

As citizens of Jefferson Parish this should be troubling from several perspectives. Were these public officials elected or appointed to be part-time or full-time employees? How can we allow our elected, public ally funded officials to play both sides of the fence? Should compensation for these individuals come from the public sector or the private sector? Is it unreasonable to expect full-time work for full-time jobs? Currently it appears that many of our public officials are drinking from both sides of the trough!

The Porteous impeachment trial has exposed the public to the hidden under-belly of Louisiana politics. Politics in Jefferson Parish has been, and by all indications continues to operate as a “good old boy” network. Would it be reasonable to expect a fair trial in Jefferson Parish when facing an opponent represented by either the Assessor’s or DA’s law firms? Could an unbiased opinion be rendered by a Jefferson Parish judge whose work history includes experience as an Assistant DA in Jefferson Parish? Perhaps the citizens of Jefferson Parish are blind to the facts, but this is what the rest of the country sees going on here.

With anxiety of the economy, healthcare costs, and now complete distrust of public officials, we all continually struggle with an answer of how to make this a better place for future generations. As citizens we are the exhausted, angry, frustrated members of the “Outer Circle.”  We are the masses that have stood by and watched the “Inner Circle” shuffle from one political position to another. Once term-limited, they influence the candidates elected for their old positions.   Checking the rolls of state and local government will show where many term-limited members of this “Inner Circle” have found a cozy refuge.

As the Fall elections come around, we as voters, have several choices: first, take the insanity route, “keep electing those we’ve been electing and expect things to change,” and second, demand a full-time commitment from candidates we elect and prohibit them from participation in private enterprises of any kind. Campaign rhetoric by candidates usually promises personal sacrifice for the public good if only citizens will trust them with our votes. If elected these candidates promise to make the personal sacrifices of the private sector for the greater good of society.  In Jefferson Parish this public servant, private self-serving line has been blurred for a long time.

For years with friends and families we have laughed about corruption in politics. We joke that we refuse to “wallow in the dirt.”  Yet like lambs led to slaughter we continue to re-elect the same group of “Inner Circle” politicians and expect things to change.  Isn’t it about time to get involved to ensure that our future political leaders are moral, ethical, and share values in which we believe? We owe to our children.

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A famous author tells the story of being on a subway and the kids across the aisle from him are totally out of control. Finally out of exasperation he says to their father, “can’t you please control your children?” With a furlong look, the man replies “we just left the hospital, their mother just died and I really don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Can you imagine the author’s feelings? Just like the rest of us, he got so immersed in his world and couldn’t see the pain others were going through. At times like this rather than looking for the cause we merely depend on our “learned” responses. Responses learned from a lifetime of dealing with the shortcomings of others that we neither trust nor respect. We been programmed by those self-centered, egotistical leering lowlifes that always seem to be trying to “get something” from us.

But what happens as in this instance, when it was not malicious, but rather totally benign? Just because others have done things in the past should we treat everyone in the future with the same disdain? Have we lost our sense of compassion and caring such that past evils are predictors for future experiences?

As parents we caution our children not to speak or interact with strangers. We realize how trusting and vulnerable they are. It is their instinct to trust everyone. Yet as adults we have programmed our minds to question, doubt, and look for the hidden motives in everything others say and do. Is this truly how far society has digressed? Is this the legacy we want to leave to future generations?

We all made that irrevocable promise to our children when they were born – “we would do everything possible to assure that their generation was able to live a better life than their parents’ generation.” Our lives are more complicated and challenging than we could have ever imagined. Many of us question as to whether we will be able to live up to this sacred promise to our children.

All Americans have been impacted by the lack of jobs, the cost of healthcare benefits, delayed retirements, and continuing threats from terrorists. Most of these things are part of a larger macro environment of which we have limited control. But there are things we can and have a responsibility to do. Now is the time to reach out to those that are truly special to you, let them know how important they are to you, share your pain and your joy, let them know what a vital role they play in your life, let them know just how special they are to you.

It’s truly a time for trust and understanding. Try to reach out to someone you love today and every day. With God’s help and each other we will get through these tough, trying times.

Good people always do………….

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Stop blaming the politicians about the problems with our economy, health care, immigration and all the other things that bother us. We keep electing them, they keep doing the same things over and over and then we wonder how they could possibly do what they do. As we prepare for the midterm elections a poll by Politico in conjunction with CBS finds that only 8 percent of Americans believe members of Congress should be re-elected. Perhaps we can learn from H. L. Mencken’s blog titled The Monkey Cage. He does a statistical analysis that clearly reflects the “anger of the people” with their Congressmen. The anger is virtually overwhelming. So what does he predict the incumbent re-election rate to be – 87%! Go figure. You guessed it, time for trip to the mirror!

A recent study by the Center for Responsive Politics found for the period of 1964-2008 over 90% of incumbent members of Congress were re-elected. The term used to describe the phenomenon is “congressional stagnation.”  The theory is that Congress has become stagnant through the continuous re-election of the majority of incumbents. Congress should be applauded on their long-term ability to maintain the status quo.

The Republicans say it’s the Democrats fault. The Democrats say it’s the Republicans fault.  Do we really think that if we vote for an incumbent or one of the recycled politicians running against them we will have change? Pick an office, national, state or local. Ask yourself if you really believe the person who currently holds that office is doing what’s in your best interest. Maybe Kevin Drum is right when in the Washington Monthly he characterizes American voters as being “absolutely brain dead.” Voters he explains continue to give incumbents low marks yet continue to re-elect them.

Obviously the jobs in Congress are pretty lucrative. For example Senator John McCain spent in excess of $20 million to win the Republican Primary in Arizona. Yes, that’s right $20 million American dollars! How much of that do you think came from the voters of Arizona. When he is re-elected and $20 million will make it happen, who do you think he will be accountable to? Do you think it’s any different for our incumbents? Look at their war chests and ask your friends if they sent them any money. When is the last time as a voter you sent a campaign contribution to someone running for an office? Where do you think they got the contributions and who do you think they’ll be responsible too? Who’s the fool? Back to the mirror for the answer!

Lobbyists write laws for our politicians that benefit their clients, influence their votes, and act as a de facto legitimate branch of government. In 2009, there were approximately 11,000 lobbyists in Washington. A recent article in Vanity Fair estimate that they spent $3.5 billion dollars influencing our elected officials. That works out to $1.3 million per hour while Congress was in session. Under this largess exactly who do our elected officials take care of? To who are they accountable? Perhaps it’s time for another trip to the mirror.

Look in the mirror, if you’re happy with the way things are, or will go in the future, re-elect our incumbents and retreads. They want us to make our problems a Democrat/Republican issue. Let’s fool them all and make it an issue of what’s best for us, the voters across our great country. Take the time to look closely at all the candidates, not just the ones with the big bucks for TV, radio, and the other media that bombard us continually. John McCain bought the Arizona’s senate position for $20 million and Rick Scott recently got the Republican nomination for Florida governor after spending $39 million. Their behavior is indicative of races across the nation. Isn’t it about time we stop selling our votes and take our country back? For our kids, our grand kids, and future generations, it’s truly worth the effort!

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Rocked by Hurricane Katrina, corruption, and “good ole boy” politics, Louisiana elected Governor-elect Bobby Jindal in 2007. He promised change in the way Louisiana politics had historically been run. Governor Jindal’s platform promised ethics, accountability, fairness, and an open government truly transparent to the voters of Louisiana.  The voters of Louisiana overwhelmingly voted for and elected him based on these promises. As voters we were excited about the changes our new governor would produce. We would finally have an ambassador of the people in Baton Rouge. Our new governor would be focused on our needs rather than those of big government and big business.

It’s now Spring 2009 and time for the Louisiana legislature to meet. Our dreams for change have somehow turned to reality. It’s the reality that campaign promises are just that, promises. Promises that lost their way once exposed to the realities of government in Louisiana. Realities, if not addressed will crush our dreams of a new Louisiana.

As the 2009 Louisiana legislative session opens, rather than setting a tone for a new Louisiana, it looks like the same old broken down contraption. The session will be nothing more than a crisis driven fire-drill. Louisiana is facing an almost $2 billion 2009 budget shortfall. To solve the deficit problem our legislators do what they’ve always done: Cut costs, cut employees, reduce funding for healthcare and education. Our legislators assure us with these changes Louisiana will be a better place to live. From 2000 – 2008, Louisiana had a net loss of 325,395 residents. It is obvious those residents that left the state didn’t share this same level confidence.

Now is a time when our state desperately needs leadership. The type of leadership we thought we elected last term. We all know Governor Jindal has the ability to lead the charge to a better Louisiana. This is a time for him to step forward and become the “Boy Wonder” we elected. As voters, we’re tired of being seen as the “half-empty” state, when in reality we have unlimited potential. Recovery in the State of Louisiana is not all about deficits, layoffs and cuts to vital areas such as healthcare and education. It’s all about economic recovery. Governor Jindal if you don’t step forward now, we’ll just fall into the same old politics of Louisiana.

Congress understands, businesses understand, and most importantly the citizens of Louisiana understand – we are in an economic crisis and immediate help is desperately essential. President Obama’s final economic stimulus package probably wasn’t what he envisioned. Even his pundits agree that when implemented it will provide desperately needed money to kick-start our economy. Spreading out money that will be spent is what economists call increasing the “volatility of the dollar.” In other words the dollar has to keep changing hands. When its changing hands, jobs are created, taxes are generated, and good things begin to happen. Everyone benefits.

We need Governor Bobby Jindal to share this same sense of urgency for economic recovery. As Louisiana’s legislative session begins, Governor Jindal wants to talk through the use of his renowned “bulleted list” of things he hopes to accomplish. The governor’s bulleted items include: reducing the size and improve the efficiency of government, creating another “new commission” to provide leadership in restructuring state institutions and programs, balancing the budget, and doing all of this with a new refreshingly open transparency. Where’s the talk about jobs, training, help to our state’s businesses. Where are the plans for economic recovery?

Hello Governor! The ship is sinking and you are busy planning the next cruise! You’re attempting to fix an old broken down boat. Making this junk more efficient and effective is a waste of time.  Pardon our naiveté, but exactly how does this stimulate the economy in the short-term? How does it provide a sense of security and optimism for the average citizen of Louisiana? Exactly which part of this gives us the “warm & fuzzy” feeling of economic security we yearn for? Does this give us the sense of relief that our jobs are secure? We don’t have the luxury of thinking long-term right now.  We’re worried about today and tomorrow. We need immediate help.

Senator Mary Landrieu recently announced the closure of the Weyerhaeuser Co. plants in Simsboro and Dodson. She indicated another 200 people in northern Louisiana could be without jobs in the near future. By Senator Landrieu’s estimation as many as 3,000 jobs had the potential to be lost in the north and central parts of the state. So Governor Jindal, as you head to Boston for your next presidential gig, please find a little time on the plane ride to sketch out an economic recovery plan for Louisiana. This economic plan should not just include New Orleans and Baton Rouge but in all parts of the state. Everyone in the state needs help.

Governor Jindal it’s time to stop the rhetoric and get to work on economy in Louisiana. If you want national front-page grapping attention then it’s time to do the things in Louisiana that will get their attention. Let them talk about our cranes in the sky and our shovels in the dirt. Let them envy economic development activities. Show them how you can drive collaboration with the legislature and local officials to achieve unbelievable accomplishments. Understand that if you don’t have a success story in Louisiana, then you don’t have a presidential launching pad in 2012!

Governor Jindal, we want you to have national fame and fortune. We want you to be the Boy Wonder that changed Louisiana for the better. We want the whole world talking about. That’s why we elected you. We believed that you could do the things to turn our beloved state around. We all ask you delay your national agenda, focus on our needs and show the citizens of Louisiana that you are indeed the governor we elected. Show the leadership the state so desperately needs. Take care of this economic crisis and your higher aspirations will all take care of themselves. We’ve got millions of dollars left-over from Katrina, HUD in New Orleans, and the surplus from last year’s budget. Combine those funds with President Obama’s stimulus package and together let’s get Louisiana moving. The jobs, families, and future of Louisiana are in your hands. Please don’t disappoint us.

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We can’t turn on the TV, open a newspaper, or listen to the radio without being bombarded with what our politicians call the “Economic Downturn.” They use this crisis as stage time to posture, pontificate, point fingers and in general look for someone to blame for this economic nightmare. If we talk to the Republicans, it’s the Democrats fault. And yes, just as you guessed, if we talk to the Democrats, it’s the Republicans fault. Do you really think the 2.6 million who lost their jobs in 2008 are concerned about who’s at fault? Since January 2009 we have added another 651,000 to the unemployment rolls. So while our federal, state, and local “leaders” fine-tune the Stimulus Plan that will solve all economic evils, how do we survive? How do we live until help (i.e. stimulus package) arrives? How do we, as they say in Louisiana “keep groceries on the table?” We certainly can’t pay for them with political rhetoric.

In Louisiana, we do things just a little bit different than everyone else. History has not been kind to us when others examine our politics, ethics, education, healthcare, and crime. In practically every measure of quality of life Louisiana maintains its position as last or near the bottom in most categories. It would therefore seem we would be the most unlikely State to have the wherewithal to handle the challenges these times bring.
The researchers, surveyors, and expert pollsters who put Louisiana last in all those categories may understand numbers, but they don’t understand people. Warren Buffett, the investor, venture capitalist explains that we should “beware of Geeks bearing formulas.” These are the “Geeks” that don’t understand the culture of the people in Louisiana. They don’t understand the love we have for God, family, and country. They don’t understand how we come together, share, and support each other in times of need.

I teach Entrepreneurship and each semester on the first day of class, I define entrepreneurship for my students. I ask them to consider it’s late at night and they are coming home from a great date. On their way home as they smile to themselves and relive the great time, they drift off the side of the road into a bayou. The bayou has been there for hundreds of years and is composed of layer upon layer of water and silt. Legend has it that cars and trucks have run in there before and never been found. As their car slowly begins to sink they reach for power window switch. Unfortunately once the battery is submerged in water it doesn’t work. The doors won’t open. Now reality sets in. Do they sit back and wait for the inevitable or does their true entrepreneurial spirit kick in? As a newly minted entrepreneur they kick the front window, the side windows, the back window, and the doors. They keep pulling, kicking, and doing everything possible and refuse to give in. Finally when the doors are covered with water and the pressure is neutralized they are able to open the door and escape. This is who we are in Louisiana. We find a way out and never consider giving up.

That’s sort of where we are today. We’re all inside the car and the economy is sinking around us. Even if Washington sent Louisiana relief monies tomorrow, could we survive until the state got it to us? Remember almost four years ago the state received around $74 million to build “Katrina Cottages.” They got the money and s till haven’t gotten it to those who need it. No one has moved in one yet. So what do we do, how do we survive, and how do we make sure this never happens again? What do we do when we finally realize the politicians we elected are clueless and really don’t have our best interest in mind?

We begin by looking in the mirror. The person you see is responsible for the survival and well-being of you and your family. It’s time to look deep into that mirror and remember what’s most important to you: God, family, and country. There’s no time for blame, there’s no time to point fingers, you can’t, time is of the essence. Now is the time to take the actions that have the greatest potential to keep the things near and dear to you safe and secure. Family, friends, relationships are what make Louisiana so unique. Now is the time to let them help.

Renew your faith, make commitments, not deals. Bring your family and friends closer together. Let them know things are tough. Let them know you are all in this together. Take those part-time jobs, cut the non-essentials, and throw nickels around as though they were manhole covers. If your job is not stable, network with friends, competitors, and other potential employers. Networking is always the best source for new employment opportunities. Know deep in your heart that although these times are tough, they will end. When they end you, your family, and friends will be stronger and better people for the struggle.

Finally do the things to ensure this never happens again. Hold your federal, state, and local leaders accountable. Write them, call them, email them and let them see and hear your frustrations. If on the other hand you are one of the fortunate ones not going through tough times, reach out for a friend, let them know you understand and will help in any way possible. Together we will get through these tough times. That’s what Louisiana and its people are truly all about.

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