A phony excuse for New Orleans population decline

Expect a population boom in New Orleans now that the city has rid itself of those hurtful Confederate statues that have long been a draw for tourists and history buffs.

At least that is the expectation of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu who said the historic monuments are the cause for the out-migration of New Orleans residents.

Wait a minute. Did I read that right?

Yep, Landrieu said the monuments -- "symbols of white supremacy" -- had caused residents to flee the city in droves.

"The cultural and economic and the spiritual loss to this city for having those statues up that have run people out of the city. This great migration that sent some of our best and brightest to places across the county that we don't have the benefit of has been incredible."

That's right. The mayor, who has run a two-year campaign to remove the monuments, believes the dramatic population loss in New Orleans is a direct result of the history that has helped to make New Orleans famous.

Perhaps the good mayor wasn't around in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and forced nearly 140,000 residents to flee elsewhere.

The statues have been in place for over a hundred years and, according to the Census Bureau, New Orleans has consistently lost population since 1970 -- which mirrors other urban centers.

Even prior to the population migration from Katrina, New Orleans had dropped another 140,000 residents from 1970 until 2005.

Rents are up 40 percent there since Katrina and New Orleans consistently remains in the most dangerous list of cities in America.

Yet Landrieu ignores all of that while promoting the patently phony argument that somehow these historic monuments are the culprit for New Orleans' woes.

And while he's ignoring these facts, Landrieu might instead point to the reality that New Orleans population is actually on the rise again following the disastrous hurricane.

Those who actually study population trends say the mayor is all wet. They argue that the city is a tourist hub and draws both tourists and locals as a public history museum, unlike any other city in America.

But the political correctness crowd -- led by Black Lives Matter affiliated groups -- wants the mayor to go further and remove more monuments and street names in an obsessive push to erase history.

Just down the road in Alabama, the state legislature has approved a measure that would prohibit the removal of historic monuments in a direct answer to the lunacy underway in New Orleans.

Mayor Landrieu played to his audience and bowed to the pressure of the radical left. He then propped up his position with a phony argument rooted not in fact but in hyperbole.

New Orleans today is but a shadow of its former self. There are several reasons for this decline but the presence of Civil War monuments is certainly not on that list.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.