I was wondering how long it would be before someone proposed this:
The time has come to blockade the Mississippi.
It might sound crazy, but as frustrated as people are down here, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
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I like it, I like it. That would certainly get the Katrina devastation back into the national eye for a time.
Or just tax the shit out of everything passing south of Simmesport. Louisiana Nationalism, that’s what we need.
There you go, a major tax on usage of the sip through louisiana would also raise the funds needed to repair and restore. Carpe Diem!!!!!!
By the by, what do you think of the governor’s oil tax idea? On NPR yesterday Diane Reem (spelling?) commented that they get a lot of complaints when they do a Katrina story; truly Katrina fatigue has set in. This saddens me.
I think I’ve talked to Bart about what I call a Louisiana Nationalist platform:
1. Tax petroleum products associated with Louisiana to the fullest extent the market will bear.
2. Pass legislation that would prevent energy companies from pulling out of Louisiana due to that tax. Specifically, require a clean up of any refinery site so thorough as to be prohibitive.
3. As I said, tax the shit out of everything on the Mississippi passing south of Simmesport.
4. Convert Louisiana’s Army National Guard, which is one of the largest in the country and of significant strategic value to the Pentagon, to Air Force National Guard, specifically military police and engineering units. That way, instead of Louisiana units serving over in Iraq, as was the case during Katrina, they’re home, ready to help their citizens. It would also keep Louisiana’s Guardsmen safer.
By the way, when I say “Louisiana Nationalism,” I don’t mean the state should secede. I just mean it should quit allowing itself to be exploited like a third-world country. It should really start to look after itself, because it’s clear the federal government won’t.
Lemming: I was a bit confused as to what you were referring to at first with “oil tax.” As far as I know, the Gov hasn’t proposed any new taxes on oil. Then it dawned on me: You must be referring to her plan to block new offshore leases if Louisiana doesn’t get a share of the federal tax revenue from oil and gas operations off our coast.
I think that’s a great idea. Only two states allow offshore drilling: Louisiana and Texas. Texas gets a much bigger share of the federal revenues. It only seems fair that Louisiana should get a comparable share. That would add up to billions per year, meaning that Louisiana could afford superior flood control and coastal restoration.
Of course, relying on oil and gas revenues may not be good long-term strategy, especially if we have indeed already passed the point of peak oil production, as some are saying occurred in December of last year.
Sorry, B, but you did guess correctly. I only caught about half of the story on teh radio and couldn’t find much more information on-line, so figured I’d ask someone on teh ground.