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| Dec 2005/Jan 2006 | Vol 1. No. 8 | ||
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Features: Lobbyist's report Liars Contest! |
Calendar of upcoming events Tatman Group |
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Arts Budget Takes Small Hit; FEMA Demands Could Destroy Stateby Charlie SmithI am by nature an optimist, usually confident that people will do the right thing and things will work out for the best. I am also mindful that elected officials sometimes need to be reminded of what the best thing is so I've spent the months since Katrina/Rita buttonholing movers and shakers with a simple message: The arts are a necessary part of the economy and thus of the recovery process. Artists and arts organizations are usually less concerned with creature comforts and rules and are more positioned for recovery than most businesses since our inventory is usually carried in our hearts, brains, and souls rather than the usual goods of a merchant which must be manufactured and stocked on shelves. (Those artists who lost all their inventory - and I know several - can whack me but we basically carry our art with us). Inventories can be replaced with new inspirations. Once, when I was selling poetry for a minimal living, a street person broke into my apartment hallway and stole - for no discernible purpose - my inventory of poems on parchment paper and a week's supply of poetry books. I muttered a few oaths and replaced the goods. It's what we do. We produce art. I am also proud that our arts organizations have not waited for government and have sought to find positions and jobs for the displaced. Our sense of camaraderie has been a bright spot in a bleak landscape. In the recent Special Session, we took about a $150 K hit in our budget. Since we added $110 K last session, that blow was softer than it could have been. Kudos to Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, CRT's Angele Davis, our own Pam Breaux and new DOA Director Veronique LeMelle. I am especially proud that Mitch and his crew put together a concise Recovery Plan and distributed it to the appropriate legislative committees as a bound document while others were talking about what they were planning to do. It was a great effort and staff should receive our heartfelt thanks. Now for the bad news. Our gracious Congress and our incompetent FEMA bureaucrats are insisting that Louisiana pay back $3.7 Billion - with a B - for Hurricane related expenses. Never mind that they spent much of the money without any rhyme or reason, as turning down a free cruise ship for housing while paying triple for others, we're being asked to pony up "our share." The budget is already short a billion and the continuing loss of the South Louisiana economy will only exacerbate the financial crisis. Not only is there no blood in the turnip, the turnip was submerged for six weeks. There's no juice left. To add insult to nature's injury, they are also balking at restoring the coast line, repairing the levees and fixing the first line of defense - our barrier islands. Never mind that the Corps of Engineers, which we trusted to make sure our levees were built to their own standards, dropped the ball. Never mind that the New Orleans Levee Board itself engaged in drive by inspections so they would not miss lunch. Never mind that if we had the same revenues as Texas on our offshore oil and gas, we could bond the money and pay our own way. I am reminded of "Promises, promises." Some wags are suggesting that we secede and maybe we would get the same treatment as such loyal American allies as Iraq. An extreme and unworkable tongue in cheek solution but a justifiable rant for an insulting treatment. All of which means that we will need to marshal our resources as never before to keep the arts budget intact. And as always, that's where you play your part. We must once again stretch a little grass roots muscle and let the Governor and the legislature know that the arts are not only necessary but are, in fact, more necessary than ever. As Governor Blanco herself said when she was in charge of CRT, arts are the clean burning fuel that drives the economic engine of tourism. In previous budget disputes, I've often testified that I have no compunction about putting the arts on a par with health care and education since the arts pay back many times over through state and local economic development. Arts pay for dialysis machines, textbooks, and roads and bridges. Arts are invaluable aids to good education and draw communities together as nothing else does. We do not need to apologize for our minimal request. I believe we should be getting more, not less, but realize that some have not fully digested the message. Our $4.7 million is not going to answer budgetary woes but loss of that money could increase the state's financial problems. We all have work before us. Each of you, your board members, arts patrons and knowledgeable civic and political leaders need to spread the word. Our special targets are the money committees that determine the budget-- House Appropriations and Senate Finance -- and Division of Administration Chief Jerry Luke LeBlanc. Jerry has been good to us in the past and we want to encourage him to continue that. Over the next few weeks, during the holidays, many of you will come into personal contact with movers and shakers and the legislators themselves. Frame the question any way you want but make sure it includes: "Can we depend on your vote and leadership to ensure that the arts budget continues as it now stands?" The standard answer will usually be something like, "I'll do what I can but you know we have a lot of needs to fill and not much money to meet those needs." Your response needs to be, "We do not take from the budget, we add to it." Don't get mad; do get your point across. There is plenty of evidence, empirical, statistical and anecdotal to back that statement up. In the meantime, I'll keep on doing what I do to spread the message but my efforts will go for naught without your grass roots back home. As always, I am available 24/7. Email me your comments and any responses you get at artzlobbyist@aol.com. PS - I'm resending the Prayer for Christmas via list serve. And, since my expenses have doubled with one house I have to pay for despite the fact that I can't live in it and an apartment in Baton Rouge to live in, I'm going back to my artistic roots and pushing poetry again. Signed copies of the Prayer and the Why Art poem are available from me on faux parchment. Also, for you Mardi Gras fiends, I've had my Throw Me Somethin' Mistuh! poetry books rebound and they are available for purchase for a mere $13.95 plus P&H. I'd say they are great but that would be boasting and we all know I don't do that. PPS -- Environmental groups with which I am affiliated have launched a project to inform Congress that "Rash" Limbaugh to the contrary notwithstanding, things are not all right in Louisiana. We still have hundreds of thousands homeless, unable to return and uncertain of the future all across the coast -- including our brethren in Mississippi and Alabama. Just because Bourbon Street has a lot of FEMA workers walking up and down the street does not mean that our citizens are in any way okay. And just because Katrina got most of the ink doesn't mean that those devastated by Rita are not equally affected. Further, even if it appeared to be nothing but a little rain and some wind doesn't mean that all our citizens won't be hit in the pocketbook if they haven't already been. Anyway, here's the note and website: Join me in flooding Washington! Louisiana groups have launched an effort to generate 300,000 e-mails demanding category 5 protection for New Orleans and Southern Louisiana. That means effective levees and flood control projects as well as comprehensive coastal wetlands restoration to give Southern Louisiana a critical storm buffer. Please take a second to help spread the word! Click on the link below or cut and paste this into your browser- http://healthygulf.org. Take action now at: http://www.democracyinaction.org/GRN/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1521 Okay, I'm sure I've worn out my welcome but as Mr. Vonnegut would say, "and so it goes…" Back to Newsletter Top | |||
State-Wide Liars Contest in January 2006!
By Neil & Mary Early |
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Calendar of Upcoming Events | |||
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Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006 LPA Partnership Meeting Bluebonnet Library Baton Rouge, LA |
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The Tatman GroupThe Tatman Group is here to meet your association's needs. Please contact Nicole Hidalgo, your association management specialist, with any questions or suggestions you may have to better serve you. Our contact information is below: |
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The Tatman Group 4707 Bluebonnet Blvd., Suite B Baton Rouge, LA 70809 P.O. Box 82531 Baton Rouge, LA 70884 Phone: (225) 767-7640 Fax: (225) 767-7648 |
DavidTatman david@tatmangroup.com Nicole Blanchard nicole@tatmangroup.com Keli Ourso keli@tatmangroup.com Shelly Wolf shelly@tatmangroup.com Patty Young patty@tatmangroup.com |
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