This picture will never fully convey the anguish and the pain going on in New Orleans. For every red dot on this GoogleMap image of New Orleans, there has been a murder in 2007. We are only 6 months into the year, it is likely that this map will continue to be colored red. In 2006, a Tulane University professor estimated that the murder rate was the highest ever recorded in the United States, beating New Orleans previous national record set in 1994, when 425 people were killed. In July 2006 alone, 26 people were killed. By comparison, in the same month, 43 US soldiers were killed in Iraq. There's something seriously wrong when a city is losing almost as many people as an occupying force in a warzone. Compared per capita, it's disturbingly close, considering we are not in a war. (New Orleans had an estimated population 223,000 in July '06, the US had about 140,000 troops in Iraq, and given the fact that Iraq is much much much larger than the city of New Orleans.)New Orleans is down on its' knees, and the murder rate is killing our potential reconstruction and rebirth. The city is beginning to see white flight, which threatens us economically and culturally. The violence is a huge deterrent to tourism, which accounts for 40% of New Orleans income as well as 85,000 people. (Not including the multiplier effect) Combining these two losses, it's unlikely rebuilding will proceed at any reasonable rate and the already-strained social services will be cut back even further. While the influx of Latinos (to a traditionally "Chocolate City") has provided cheap labor to aid reconstruction, it has fuelled a violent drug gang war between Blacks and Hispanics.
What's the solution? I'm not sure, but I am sure what's in place is not working. It is clear that the city of New Orleans needs federal and state aid, they do not have money to police the entire city. (One reason why they commissioned University Police as full police officers at all New Orleans colleges this Spring) This deficit only allows for more violence which perpetuates the downward spiral. A dearth of economic and educational opportunity also causes the violence. New Orleans public schools are barely functional, I can't even imagine what the dropout rate is. Good decent paying jobs are leaving the area and we are left with dead-end reconstruction which is generally being filled by imported Mexicans.
To save New Orleans, the city, state, and federal governments need to act. We need to immediately deploy more police to stop the senseless killings, but at the same time we need functional schools. New Orleans and Louisiana needs to woo companies to come to New Orleans (the 4th largest port in America and within 30 miles of the 4th largest port in the world) to provide decent jobs to attract talent to the city. (Read: wealthy taxpayers) We need to rebuild the oil and gas infrastructure destroyed during Katrina. (Southern Louisiana is the 2nd biggest oil refiner in the US after Texas. Wonder why gas prices shot up during Katrina and still remain high? We're still operating far below capacity)
Whatever the solution, Nagin, Blanco and others must act now, otherwise New Orleans is well on track to reclaim the ignominious title of the United States' murder capital for the 3rd year in the 21st century.
What's the solution? I'm not sure, but I am sure what's in place is not working. It is clear that the city of New Orleans needs federal and state aid, they do not have money to police the entire city. (One reason why they commissioned University Police as full police officers at all New Orleans colleges this Spring) This deficit only allows for more violence which perpetuates the downward spiral. A dearth of economic and educational opportunity also causes the violence. New Orleans public schools are barely functional, I can't even imagine what the dropout rate is. Good decent paying jobs are leaving the area and we are left with dead-end reconstruction which is generally being filled by imported Mexicans.
To save New Orleans, the city, state, and federal governments need to act. We need to immediately deploy more police to stop the senseless killings, but at the same time we need functional schools. New Orleans and Louisiana needs to woo companies to come to New Orleans (the 4th largest port in America and within 30 miles of the 4th largest port in the world) to provide decent jobs to attract talent to the city. (Read: wealthy taxpayers) We need to rebuild the oil and gas infrastructure destroyed during Katrina. (Southern Louisiana is the 2nd biggest oil refiner in the US after Texas. Wonder why gas prices shot up during Katrina and still remain high? We're still operating far below capacity)
Whatever the solution, Nagin, Blanco and others must act now, otherwise New Orleans is well on track to reclaim the ignominious title of the United States' murder capital for the 3rd year in the 21st century.
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