Small Town's Economic Death

There is currently an election being held in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District to replace former elected representative Luke Letlow, who died just before replacing former Representative Ralph Abraham. All the candidates have stated their platforms that are supposed to separate one candidate from the other in hopes of being the next person who will represent the voters in Washington. Whoever is elected as the District's newest representative will have to face a situation that has haunted the 5th District for the last several decades. That situation has been the deterioration of small towns and the economic impact that it has had in certain regions of the state. The winner of the election will have to come up with ways to give small towns an economic jolt that can hopefully bring some of them back to life.

It is a problem that politicians like to talk about but never come up with innovative solutions that pan out, such as high-paying jobs from new businesses. Many towns in the area have small populations that are less than an urban high school, where there is a very small tax base to support essential services for its residents. The populations are small because towns that were once thriving have seen an increase in the number of people dying over the years and have not been replaced by enough younger people who want to live and raise families in many of these small towns.

For many of the small towns in certain regions of Louisiana, finances and infrastructure matters are commonplace because there are often issues having to do without enough money to meet the needs of town services. Raising taxes as a possible solution to financial woes, or for any reason, are not very popular in a state where the first thing politicians like to promise is that they are against raising taxes. However, in the absence of new money coming from the state in sufficient quantity and revenue from jobs, raising taxes is a hard pill to swallow. Large urban areas with huge populations and numerous businesses can usually offset raising taxes. Sometimes, small towns need a continuous influx of cash to balance the high cost of living; if gas prices are high in urban areas, they are just as high in rural areas.

Voters in small towns should pay close attention to a candidate who promises economic development mixed in with common campaign themes that have been said over and over. Voters should ask for concrete plans from each candidate on how they will bring in economic development. With every election cycle, small towns lose a little more of what they once had, as a small town dies. Small towns have debts that must be paid, and their accounting practices have to pass state standards. Some may face legislative audits or be taken over by the state for a certain period of time.

Voters in small towns should make sure that whoever goes to Washington will not go there to occupy a seat at the taxpayer’s (small towns) expense and wait for something to happen. Small towns have always enjoyed their independence, but times are different from the days of Ozzie and Harriet, as town leaders continue to grapple with ways to pay the bills while at the same time looking for that economic shot in the arm. Small towns face a future that is anything but good. The next 5th District representative will have his/her hands full, as their patients, many of them, are on life support.