Walter Pierce

Second issue of 'Transform Louisiana' is up

by Walter Pierce

After seven months of imaginably arduous work, New Orleans retiree and state government watchdog Tony Gagliano has compiled the second issue of his webzine, Transform Louisiana, an encyclopedic review of the Byzantine structure and finances of Louisiana government. The first issue of Transform Louisiana, which exists only as a Web entity, was released last April.

Following the release of the first issue, Gagliano told the INDsider the purpose of Transform Louisiana is “to prod Louisiana’s leaders and its people into taking immediate steps to transform the structure, financing, processes and political ideologies of state government as a means of alleviating the chronic poverty, poor physical and mental health, learning deficits, and social conditions of too many of Louisiana’s people.”

His key points:
â- That Louisiana, compared to other states, as well as to the nation as a whole, and considering its own aspirations and ideals, has made little or no significant progress over the last 30 years
â- That this stagnancy is particularly evident in terms of the state’s human development — the poor physical and mental health of its people, high levels of crime, and other conditions associated with poverty, family instability, high levels of substance abuse, and low educational attainment
â- That state government can and should lead a collective effort involving all mainstream institutions and all individuals of good will to radically improve these problematic human conditions in Louisiana
â- That Louisiana’s entire governmental system needs to be fundamentally transformed if its people are ever to progress beyond mediocrity and towards excellence
â- That the key principles of the transformation involve the development of more effective policies, programs, and investments in the state’s human infrastructure, i.e., education, physical and mental health, criminal and juvenile justice, and human services by all sectors in the society
â- That to make more effective investments in human infrastructure the state government must transform its own structure, financing, process and political attitudes