Crescent City Council Foolishness

Fire of Liberty

Josh Wexler, a book vendor in New Orleans, has a good piece over at National Review Online that demonstrates one of the main reasons why New Orleans will continue to remain in the muck of poverty for a considerably long time to come. Here's a brief preview:

After two months away, I was happy to return home after evacuating this past summer. When I returned in the fall, I found most of the city was still in shambles. While today so much of New Orleans remains a graveyard of empty houses and boarded storefronts, there has been a vital force pushing outwards from the few neighborhoods that remained relatively intact despite Katrina. Some of the most encouraging sights to me have been the signs of economic life organically rising up in the city'’s public spaces — shops flowing out onto the sidewalks, outdoor flea markets (often organized by neighborhood bars), garage sales after people have sorted through the property in their flooded homes, trailers parked in the French Quarter serving food to locals and tourists, mobile vendors serving food to workers in devastated areas. People have a deep attachment and an abiding commitment to this place that is on display as folks spend their days rebuilding their homes, their businesses, and their lives.

The sweeping city-council measure, introduced by my councilwoman, Renee Gill Pratt, outlaws the very activity that has restored life to city sidewalks. The penalty for engaging in such commerce or for displays, signs or advertisements for outdoor sales? Six months in jail and/or a $500 fine.

This is precisely the wrong direction for our government. With all that needs to be done to get this city up on its feet, it is unconscionable that the city council would be wasting its limited capacities on such obstructionist efforts. Fortunately, they didn'’t waste too much time according to our local newspaper, the Times-Picayune: The measure passed 7 to 0, with no discussion. Nor did they waste any time notifying the public of a possible ban.

Why can't these folks on the city council understand that their actions are making the recovery of New Orleans even harder. Then again these are the same folks that took guns from the citizens of the Crescent City during the flooding rather taking on the looters and gangs that threatened the city. Go figure.