What if they just gave us our $40 million?

Letter to the Advocate:

Our city will be safer only when we address the lack of economic opportunities that keep so many of our residents stuck in a permanent, racialized underclass. If Landrieu and the City Council are truly interested in making the city a secure place to live for the whole community, they should drop their plans for expanded surveillance and instead work with community members to develop a blueprint that addresses the epidemic of unaffordable housing, rising costs of living, and few sustainable job options. That $40 million could go a long way if it were spent on the people who live here instead of on the incarceration-driven Disneyfication of the city for tourists.

Maybe if our elected representatives had direct control over the revenue generated in the city and didn't have to coax it out of the tourism cabal, they'd be free to make better choices with it. Guess we'll never find out.