The Plan

I have been for a long time turned off by my previous long term interaction with city government. People I would never hire to work for me feel they must prevent citizens from doing something crazy. Crazy is generally was defined as affecting their prospects for promotion. This is an upside down paradigm, if you will excuse an 80's buzzword.

New Orleans is in at critical point in history and in the development of our homes. We collectively have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the future with our skills yet we seem to me to be aligning ourselves with the Ancien Régime. We should be leavening the debate on rebuilding with alternate views. A simple look at the "Team" on http://nolanrp.com/team.php indicates that the same old power structure is in place.

I am not a believer in the 'New Urbanism'. As far as I can tell no new livable communities have actually been created by that philosophy. Seaside is a beautiful facade, so beautiful it was used as the set for a movie about a fake life. A Potemkin Village. None of the new communities compare to the real neighborhoods of New Orleans in any way except Kodak moments.

I believe in organic growth, guided by simple rational, easily understood governmental policies. I believe transparency will fuel real economic growth, something Greater New Orleans has not seen in more than 50 years (in reality our relative economic position has been slipping for much longer than that).

New Orleans and Louisiana has suffered 300 years of French bureaucratic heritage, overlaid by Huey Long's populism. Nearly everyone believes that government is the answer to their dreams.

I was stunned when the guy from Houston announced that people who had relocated to Houston were not going to be taken care of in the manner they were accustomed to. People in need were being given support but that it was their responsibility to find a place to live. If they didn't like their decision they could move.

We need more personal responsibility like that in New Orleans. It requires liberating people from dependency on government. I believe we need to encourage people to act for themselves.

I am willing are you?