With the announcement last week by Home Depot that they will shut down their retail Operations in Opelousas, Louisiana, the St. Landry Parish government seat is set reeling after losing several other businesses over the past few months.
In addition to closing the 40,000 square foot store #379 in Opelousas, the Home Depot also announced 14 other closures of “under performing” outlets.
However, Depot’s withdrawal comes on the heels of an exodus of Ryan’s Steak House outlet, Valero Energy and a downtown eatery named Le Zinc.
Moreover, Office Depot has now scrapped its plans to move into the vacant Wal-Mart space located adjacent to Home Depot.
Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins, said last week that the city has an interest in buying the soon to be vacated Home Depot building with the intent of turning it into a convention center. Cravins has publicly stated that the depot building could be purchased for “between 2 and 4 million dollars” with additional assistance from state funding.
The business exodus may have less to do with politics and more to do with realities as St. Landry Parish remains among the poorest per capita incomeCounties or Parishes in the nation and one of its largest employers remains a casino and race track
According to the US Census St Landry Parish continues to rank near the bottom of the state’s 64 Parishes with a per capital income of $12,042.
This is a syndrome that is typical of ‘artificial’ economies…. Sort of like sitting around and playing Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas……. That is a video game, which costs a lot of money, but produces absolutely nothing……. Except for additional cash in the author’s pockets……… Likewise, White Elephants, or 'gaming centers' are built, that are entirely dependent upon the infusion of disposable income, or income most ‘sensible’ folks have no business parting with in that fashion in the first place. For the most part, they generally have to travel to that destination for its ‘entertainment’ or ‘fantasy’ value….. instead of any number of dozens of other ‘similarly’ themed fleecing operations that may, in light of the high cost of fuel, be closer and more convenient to attend…….. if throwing money away is their intent or aim in life. And sooner or later, as the hard facts of economics start to hit home, a great deal of the participants will digress to a point that emulates the actions of people that have little if no hope of ever elevating their selves out of their ‘semi impoverished’ condition who often live in shanties, or public housing, or are a burden to their other family members or society in general. Often they are observed taking the very last dollar they have, and instead of buying food, or providing for better living conditions, instead continuously invest in habitual wastes such as an overpriced Coca Cola every time they feel the need to ‘obey their thirst’, or they spend it on Lottery tickets, or on the video gaming machine at the nearest truck stop/gas station/package liquor-beer/video kiosk…… The economy that is built around one of these White Elephants in theory “or practical effect”, is a person that generally works at boutique A, and takes its paycheck and spends it at convenience store B whose employees take their weekly paycheck and spend it at department store C next door, and on and on and on….. Merely dollars exchanging hands each time they feel a hunger pain, or a thirst, or a moment of boredom, and the bottom line is they are not saving anything, nor are they really producing anything of any lasting value in the first place, just spare change at the register…… and dollars "floating around that really maintain nothing, just eventual obsolesence or disrepair...... I was speaking of the production of durable goods when I speak of 'real production'………. something of lasting quality and value....... Sadly tax dollars are used to obtain, build, promote, operate, maintain ‘fluff’ establishments such as as gaming extravagances instead which contribute highly to ‘illusional’ economies….. Some of the byproducts of ‘illusional’ economies are; crime, drug abuse, violence, illegitimate children, instability, homelessness, mental anguish, poor health, and many others. Perhaps the most basic fundamental cornerstone at the foot of these type of problems are the lack of affordable or lower cost housing…… No, not cheaper housing, the word or words are: AFFORDABLE, or LOWER COST. That effect can and will evoke a certain measure of stability and is a stabilizing influence on society in general….. When a person invests in its home, it is investing in its community…………. When a fleecing operation is ‘conning’ a person out of income it cannot afford to classify as ‘readily disposable’ income, then it is detracting from the community………. The same holds true for government….. When it is wasteful of public funds it arrives at as a result of taxation, then society in general is cheated, and additional burdens such as the above crime, drug abuse, violence, illegitimate children, instability, homelessness, mental anguish, poor health, and many others type of problems become endemic causing an even further strain on the productive portions of the population in general… Written by Timmy
on 5/12/2008
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Gee, I wonder if electing a mayor who is a populist, term limited legislator who handed off his old job to his son is any reflection of the poor business climate in St. Landry parish. Brilliant economic development plan he has, use public funds to buy the building from a failed business to build a convention center. I know that conventioneers can't wait to come to Opelousas. Written by the St. Landry madam
on 5/12/2008
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