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Posted on 09/27/2005 6:18:50 AM PDT by ElCapusto
What is it that bends and twists the soul of man in New Orleans such that he shoots at his rescuers, steals televisions while others drown, and then blames all and sundry for not helping enough? Biloxi and the rural areas of costal Louisiana and Mississippi have similar ethnic makeup and are equally hard-hit; yet they were not witness to the self-imposed parts of New Orleans’ devastation.
The answer lies in the peculiar political economy of dependency in New Orleans, home to some of America’s last remaining old-style housing "projects," home to legions of life-long welfare recipients and home to the bureaucratic and corrupt political structure which sustains itself by maintaining its "clients" -- in poverty. While the American economy has boomed for two decades, New Orleans remains a city where over 100,000 people cannot afford their own car.
A sedentary life of welfare check cashing combined with the feelings of futility and depression which naturally result from the lack of a guiding purpose in life leads to poor nutrition, alcoholism, drug abuse and then chronic health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, emphysema, and heart disease. New Orleans’ public hospitals service these new clients but do not (or cannot) cure the chronically ill, creating yet another layer of dependency and the corresponding income stream for bureaucrats.
The chronically ill are too weak to work, creating another reason to stay on welfare or disability. Their children are raised by a parent who is herself completely at the mercy of "the system." To the child, the government’s power and responsibility looms larger than mom’s and the father is usually nowhere in sight.
Thus the culture of dependency continues into the next generation as does the culture of "being owed." Since society "owes" them, there is no moral argument against property crimes. Once that slippery slope is reached, violent crimes follow along. The police sometime catch the criminals and they enter the criminal justice "system" becoming, in yet another way, wards of the state. These wards of the state might have benefited most from the jobs created in America’s booming economy -- but they rarely take the initiative to even apply for work. When they do, they usually don’t have an understanding of what it takes to get and keep employment. Without realizing it, their cycle of dependency gives them one excuse after another to feel trapped, "owed," and oppressed -- while living on the dole.
In this world someone who works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and supports a family is called a "fool." Those who sell drugs, rape, rob, and kill are seen as "getting over." That is "getting over" -- on "the man" who is "holding us all down." This mentality is the product of the welfare state. New Orleans is one of a few cities where welfare has been taken to its full logic.
In New Orleans this culture of entitlement extends far beyond this "underclass." New Orleans police are the lowest paid in America, as part of their job they are expected to contract out to private parties for security services. This naturally leads to all type of corruption which in turn contributes to the public not trusting or respecting the police. When Katrina hit, about 1,000 of New Orleans 1,500 police officers deserted their posts. This single fact, more than any other, has led to the breakdown in law and order, which slowed rescue and relief efforts for two critical days on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
The culture of entitlement and dependency also extends to the political establishment of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. This leads to the mayor pointing his finger at lack of support by state and federal government while his own police dissolve underneath him. Millions of dollars have been sent to New Orleans for decades, but they were siphoned off to various corrupt activities rather than being used to reinforce levies or build up emergency services. This is a state that has never left behind the depression-era populism of Huey Long. Corruption is legion. Most office holders just haven’t been caught yet -- others have been caught but got re-elected anyway.
As New Orleans is physically rebuilt, this political economy of poverty must be demolished. As an example, New Orleans can look to the entrepreneurial cities such as Dallas and Houston, which are taking in tens of thousands of displaced storm victims. Departing their former home to move west, many are saying they will restart their lives in these cities. After the looting and crime, they don’t want anything to do with New Orleans again. The transfer of people away from poverty and corruption and toward entrepreneurship-created-opportunity is one of the few good things to come out of this disaster.
For those who do stay to rebuild, welfare reform and school choice must move to the top of Louisiana’s political agenda. A platoon of federal investigators should reinforce efforts to indict, arrest, and convict politicians and appointed officials for corruption. The city police department must be reformed from top to bottom starting with the termination of those who deserted and following with pay scales commensurate with that of other police departments. The "projects" must be demolished, as they have been in Chicago, Baltimore and many other American cities. Regulations and taxes that strangle small business development must be repealed. The private sector should lead the way in physical reconstruction.
Nothing warps human nature like the belief in "being owed" combined by the feeling, left by paltry welfare payments, that the debt "owed" is never paid. Thousands of welfare recipients are used to having everything given to them -- albeit in insufficient quantity to be satisfying. Thousands have no concept of working for wages, much less building a business. These same thousands rightfully look at the police and politicians as corrupt. In this twisted existence, the idea of initiative and work does not exist. From their distorted view of the world, looting in the midst of disaster and shooting at rescue helicopters makes perfect sense. The Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death." In New Orleans we are witnessing the wages of socialism.
The father's place at the table has been taken over by the federal government.
Poor genetics.
Well said.
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They're going fast!
What does the welfare mentality have to do with genetics?
Genetics, you say? Pick up your hood. You dropped it.
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Great article and exactly right....there should be limits to how long one can get welfare...going hungry is a great motivator...
because American women have sold their souls to NOW, and their socialistic agenda.
The Socialist's in America, "The New Slave Owners".
So that makes the "New Slave Masters" the leaders of the Democrat Party.
Why isn't the NAACP, Rainbow-Push, the ACLU and other organizations outraged at all the white people running around shooting-looting in New Orleans after Katrina passed by? Oh wait...
Well at least they kept the status quo of crying for the Federal Govt to come in and bail out their sorry butts, and that includes the LA Govt from the Senators, Governors on down to the dog catcher.
Ahhhh.....reaping the fine benefits of federal handouts to people who don't need it, affirmative action, yadayadayada...yes indeed....it is truly a pleasure to watch...
Just keep on going, Democrats. You'll turn out society into a cesspool yet.
bttt
I thought there was a five-year limit on welfare...? With exceptions of some kind?
But this same group can afford $100. sneakers, cell phones for the whole family, large screen TV's where they watch cable and play games. Plus they send their kids to school with wads of money in their pockets so they can buy soft drinks and chips for lunch instead of eating the "slop" the schools serve them for free!
The black principal of the inner city school in New Orleans where my sister teaches once told her she should never feel sorry for the kids at that school because they have more discretionary spending money than the teachers have.
Excellent article. Thank you
Democrats invented welfare to ensure Blacks remained oppressed after Civil Rights legislation passed. I am not suprised to see it has worked. New Orleans seems to be lagging most of the rest of the nation in shaking this oppression.
I agree with the author, the "being owed" mentality destroys all hope and opportunity.
This is truly the mentality of those pushing Socialism. The Democrats, slave owners of the 1800s; housing, feeding, and caring for slaves that in their minds eyes cannot care for themselves, have evolved, through force of civil war, to become master of another sort. Today they feed, house, and care for those whom "they" feel cannot fend for themselves.
I fear that once again, Republicans, like President Lincoln, must step in and do whatever it takes to break the back of the master mentality (which is alway decried as harming the slave).
Being set free is always a difficult path but one that is always necessary.
Study The Cloward-Piven Strategy.
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I have read about it. Would you agree it suggests the same? The end result suggested certainly looks a lot like what we saw in NO. I am of strong belief that welfare creates the poverty and oppression it seeks to cure.
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