The New York Daily News,
Sept. 4, 2005
In the late 1990s, the state's school systems ranked dead last in the
nation in the number of computers per student (1 per 88), and
Louisiana has the nation's second-highest percentage of adults who
never finished high school. By the state's own measure, 47% of the
public schools in New Orleans rank as "academically unacceptable."
These government failures are not merely a matter of incompetence.
Louisiana and New Orleans have a long, well-known reputation for
corruption: as former congressman Billy Tauzin once put it, "half of
Louisiana is under water and the other half is under indictment."
That's putting it mildly. Adjusted for population size, the state
ranks third in the number of elected officials convicted of crimes
(Mississippi is No. 1). Recent scandals include the conviction of 14
state judges and an FBI raid on the business and personal files of a
Louisiana congressman.
In 1991, a notoriously corrupt Democrat named Edwin Edwards ran for
governor against Republican David Duke, a former head of the Ku Klux
Klan. Edwards, whose winning campaign included bumper stickers saying
"Elect the Crook," is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for
taking bribes from casino owners. Duke recently completed his own
prison term for tax fraud.
The rot included the New Orleans Police Department, which in the 1990s
had the dubious distinction of being the nation's most corrupt police
force and the least effective: the city had the highest murder rate in
America. More than 50 officers were eventually convicted of crimes
including murder, rape and robbery; two are currently on Death Row.
Fifty billion dollars are about to pass into the sticky hands of
politicians in the No. 1 and No. 3 most corrupt states in America.
Worried about looting? You ain't seen nothing yet.
Sept. 4, 2005
In the late 1990s, the state's school systems ranked dead last in the
nation in the number of computers per student (1 per 88), and
Louisiana has the nation's second-highest percentage of adults who
never finished high school. By the state's own measure, 47% of the
public schools in New Orleans rank as "academically unacceptable."
These government failures are not merely a matter of incompetence.
Louisiana and New Orleans have a long, well-known reputation for
corruption: as former congressman Billy Tauzin once put it, "half of
Louisiana is under water and the other half is under indictment."
That's putting it mildly. Adjusted for population size, the state
ranks third in the number of elected officials convicted of crimes
(Mississippi is No. 1). Recent scandals include the conviction of 14
state judges and an FBI raid on the business and personal files of a
Louisiana congressman.
In 1991, a notoriously corrupt Democrat named Edwin Edwards ran for
governor against Republican David Duke, a former head of the Ku Klux
Klan. Edwards, whose winning campaign included bumper stickers saying
"Elect the Crook," is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for
taking bribes from casino owners. Duke recently completed his own
prison term for tax fraud.
The rot included the New Orleans Police Department, which in the 1990s
had the dubious distinction of being the nation's most corrupt police
force and the least effective: the city had the highest murder rate in
America. More than 50 officers were eventually convicted of crimes
including murder, rape and robbery; two are currently on Death Row.
Fifty billion dollars are about to pass into the sticky hands of
politicians in the No. 1 and No. 3 most corrupt states in America.
Worried about looting? You ain't seen nothing yet.
