Stop talkin’ out the side of your neck
6th May 2019 · 0 Comments
“Watch what we do, not what we say,” was the famous advice Nixon Attorney General, John Mitchell, gave the press at the onset of the Nixon presidency in 1969. Obviously, Mitchell’s suggestion was taken seriously. But watching Nixon and hearing what he said on the Watergate tapes resulted in his resignation from office; before Congress could impeach him.
Regarding today’s politicians, it’s equally important to watch what they do and what they say. Often the two are at odds. It’s important to bear this in mind when listening to politicians speak.
To put it in street terms, politicians are still doing what the R&B group Cameo suggested back in the day, ‘Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck.’
For example, Donald Trump promised “great competitive healthcare that will cost the U.S. nothing.” He also promised no cuts to Medicaid and people with preexisting conditions would keep their affordable coverage.
But what is Trump doing about healthcare? The Trump Administration is in court trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act; people are losing their Medicaid benefits, and people with preexisting conditions will lose affordable healthcare if Trump wins in court.
Candidate Trump once boasted via Twitter, “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.” That’s another promise that wasn’t borne out by the Congressional Budget Office, which found the 2017 House Obamacare repeal measure would cut Medicaid by $880 billion.
Yet, news is flying under the radar that Trump supports cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to pay for the 1.5 trillion corporate welfare tax Trump gave away last December.
In the case of Trump, “watch what he does, not what he says,” is most appropriate. Last week, The Washington Post, which tracks Trump’s lies, reported that the Liar-in-Chief’s lies have surpassed the 10,000 mark.
Closer to home, “watch what they do and what they say,” applies.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s fight for a fair share of the tourism tax dollars generated by state-owned entities and hotels based in New Orleans, touched off a “talking out of both sides of their neck,” phenomenon.
Tourism leaders J. Stephen Perry, president/CEO of New Orleans and Company (formerly the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau) and Melvin J. Rodrigue, president of the Ernest N. Morial Exhibition Hall Authority, say they want to work with Mayor Cantrell to get the money needed for the city’s crumbling infrastructure and to repair its 111-year-old drainage system, but they are on record opposing a slate of legislative bills that would give the city a fair share of the multi-millions in tourism taxes the state collects.
Currently, 14 percent of the tourism taxes, or $151 million, goes to sports and tourism marketing entities, while only three percent, or $31 million, is going to the city.
Perry opposed HB521, which would take a portion of the hotel industry’s self-assessment tax and redirect it to the city for infrastructure needs, and HB 522, which would restore the “lost penny” the one percent the city gave up in hotel occupancy tax revenue in 1966 to help with the construction costs for the Louisiana Superdome.
Perry viewed the Mayor’s request for a fair share of the revenue as “a very earnest attempt to take down and destroy the largest economic development corporation in Louisiana.”
Mayor Cantrell countered, “The New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Commission and the New Orleans and Company have reserve funds.”
The city is looking to get back its lost penny but also wants some of the tax revenues redirected and dedicated to infrastructure and flood prevention.
Rodrigue acknowledged the infrastructure needs. While Rodrigue says the Exhibition Authority is committed to helping find solutions, the Convention Center has not lived up to a mandate to give excess revenue to the city, as mandated by the law that created the entity. Despite having $149 million in surplus income, Rodrigue says the Morial Exhibition Hall Authority doesn’t view the surpluses as surpluses; but rather as dollars to be reinvested into ongoing construction projects. Cantrell says the city has yet to see any excess revenue from the Convention Center.
Rodrigue pointed to a $74 million Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the city, but didn’t clarify whether the city receives that amount from the Convention Center.
For now, House Bills 521, 522, and 573, are on hold. If no agreement is reached, the bills will go to the House for final passage.
Clearly, everyday folk have got to pay close attention to what the politicians we elected are doing and saying. And citizens must get serious about who they are voting into office. If not, we may wake up one morning and not recognize the United States of America. Cameo’s advice to the politicians is timeless. We would do well to remember their words of wisdom.
Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck
Hey, you talking out the side of your neck
Hey, you’re gonna get what’s comin’ to you yet
Now you carry the weight, but we carry the vote
And that’s been fair so stop rockin’ the boat
You think you’ll get away with political crimes
But don’t take us for granted, they’re still on our minds….
– Cameo
This article originally published in the May 6, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
