Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: Metro Council insults the public

A majority of the council refused to let us vote on changing our own parish plan of government to put term limits on boards and commissions--just as there are on the mayor, council and legislators. So A6 took the issue to the people and collected more than 16,500 signatures (only 12,000 are required), which means the item must be put on the ballot.

The council's inaction on what is a passionate issue among voters, given the record number of signatures on the petitions, may require a special election that will cost us $250,000. That is the council's fault. Maybe we should ask the council members who voted "no" to pay for the election out of their own pockets. (In favor of giving you a chance to vote were Councilman Boneno, Walker, Ourso and Culbertson.)

Now, to add insult to injury, Council Members Lorri Burgess and Joe Greco are asking their colleagues to approve spending our tax dollars to reimburse them for legal fees in their attempts to illegally vote for themselves for the mayor pro tem position. They are guilty, and the plan of government says they should be removed from office. In fact, the parish attorney should move to enforce the Plan of Government.

Justice is being served

Former Gov. Edwin Edwards gets another day in court on Sept. 28 to appeal his conviction for extorting money for riverboat gambling licenses. Let's hope that justice continues to prevail and his conviction is upheld. Edwards is paying for his crimes and rightfully so. In fact, we all are paying for his crimes, his arrogance and his corruption.

This man was governor for 16 years out of a 24-year stretch from 1972 to 1996. He crafted a new state constitution. He was a gifted politician who wielded great power--but he used most of it for the aggrandizement of himself and his friends, not for the people of Louisiana. We are still reaping the pain from his legacy, as I mention in the following segment, with the out-migration of people from 1980 to 2004.

Edwards was often flippant about his shady reputation. Remember these quotes? When he ran against Gov. Dave Treen he predicted an easy victory, saying: "The only way I could lose this race would be to get caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl." Ha ha ha. Or when he ran for governor against David Duke in 1991, he said, "Duke and I have one thing in common--we're both wizards beneath the sheets." These two ended up in a runoff for governor, and out came the bumper sticker: Vote for the Crook, It's Important. What a sad day for our state. These two politicians held us up to international ridicule. I had a young person tell me the other day, "That's when I moved out of Louisiana."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

So, let me get this right: All of those parents and grandparents who have watched their children leave our state and all of those who have traveled and been embarrassed by the laughter and jokes about Louisiana and all of those businesses who have suffered due to the out-migration and poor image are now supposed to feel sympathy for Edwards?

While I do sympathize for his son, Stephen, who idolizes his dad and whose family and children suffer, Edwin Edwards is lying in the bed he made, and justice is being served. The problem is, our state has spent much time in that same bed--but then again, the voters kept electing him. If we knew everything Edwin Edwards had been involved in, he might have gotten a 30-, 40- or 50-year sentence.

The most frightening thought is that if Edwards were to be set free at age 77 with many of his cronies still in the Legislature until 2007, he could still do even more harm to Louisiana. Heck, he might even get elected to something. And I am sure his release would get national attention. That's just what our state doesn't need--more of Edwards.

Numbers send warning

Our state used to have eight congressmen. Now we have seven. Will that number be reduced yet again to six in 2010? Our population will determine that, and the trends are worrisome. Just as much a concern for our political clout in Washington, D.C., is the danger of losing talented, tax-paying workers and retirees to "greener pastures."

Here are the U.S. Census numbers:

* From July 2000 to July 2004, Louisiana's population grew 1.03% compared to a national growth of 4.05%.

* From 1980 to 2004, the nation's population grew 29.6%--Louisiana's grew 7.4%.

* East Baton Rouge Parish added 46,256 residents (including births) from 1980 to 2003, or 12.6%, better than the New Orleans area (+1.7%) and state average, but only 40% of national growth.

In fact, after a boom decade for EBR in the '70s with 28.4% growth, the '80s slowed to 3.8% gain caused by much out-migration. From 1990 to 2000, it picked up to 11%. But from 2000 to 2003, EBR has had a 0.1% decline in population, much of that caused by relocation to Livingston and Ascension--but also some out-migration coupled with little in-migration.

Louisiana state demographer Karen Paterson told the Times-Picayune that "the numbers indicate that people are migrating out of state at a rate so high that both births and people moving into the state are barely keeping up."

She noted that "the most recent numbers available from the Census Bureau indicate that from 1995 to 2000, 75,759 more people moved out of Louisiana than moved in."

The Times-Picayune also reported this: "Elliott Stonecipher, a political pollster and demographer based in Shreveport, said state officials should be trying to find out why people are leaving the state, and they should reshape state economic and taxation policies both to reduce out-migration and to entice people to move in."

Losing our productive and tax-paying seniors could be a sign of trouble. I am told by AARP that in 2000, 18.5 million people over the age of 55 were in the workforce. By 2015, that number will be 31.8 million. In addition, the workforce in America between the ages of 16 to 49 will only increase by 3% by 2015. In other words, we could be looking at a labor shortage without our older workers. In addition to keeping our talented young people, state government, nonprofits and businesses need our older workers and retirees to stay in Louisiana.

But what do I read and hear about state government? The Labor Department has discovered a $10 million shortfall and will have less money for training and job-placement programs for seniors. And I heard that the Louisiana Retirement Development Commission has no current members and has been inactive since 2004. Kathleen Blanco established the commission when she was lieutenant governor, but as governor has yet to name any members from nominations submitted.

Baton Rouge shines

Our community came through with flying colors as host to the National Balloons Championships and Miss Teen USA Pagent recently. Kudos to all who made it happen.