By: Pat Austin
ARNAUDVILLE LA – We are on the road again this week, down in south Louisiana. As it happens, this dysfunctional economy reaches all points of our nation, including tiny little Arnaudville in St. Landry parish.
Through our years traveling in this area, we’ve always known it to be a conservative stronghold; the more liberal elements of our voting population are over in New Orleans and that’s a whole ‘nother world, as they say. In south central Louisiana you find a lot of strong Catholic families who are of conservative belief in their politics. On top of that, this Cajun culture especially is comprised of hard working, independent people who want to raise their families, earn a living, and in many cases, build their business.
And so when you walk into a bakery, for example, and the proprietor is suffering because she can’t get the products she needs to create the goods she sells, the message hits home.
The frustration among business owners we’ve talked to around this part of the state is clear. One of the major issues right now is the cost of fuel; truckers are paying inflated prices for diesel, which is passed on to the business owner, which is passed on to the consumer. The bakery owner we talked to said she was told that the trucking company she uses is laying off drivers and others are shutting down completely. The smaller, independent companies can’t carry these prices increases much longer.
This is all anecdotal, but the fact is, we all see the higher gas prices. We talked to another business owner who can’t get the spirits and alcohol he uses in his bar business. They’re having to get creative in their mixology and sales. But, he said, in the end, they’re still losing money.
The story remains the same in nearly every shop, restaurant, business, that we’ve visited this week. Frustration is real. More and more people are talking about what I call “doomsday planning” – they’re putting in gardens and stocking up on basic supplies. We talked to one lady dining next to us in a restaurant this week who said she’s storing up cans of tuna, dried beans, water, just as a precaution. “I’ll still be able to eat; I’ll still be able to feed my family,” she said.
And that’s what it comes down to. People want to be able to provide for themselves and their families and pretty much nobody I’ve talked to wants any handouts.
I feel fairly certain this is the case throughout the country, not just in south Louisiana with perhaps the exception of those liberal pockets who want to keep making excuses about it being the fault of the conflict in the Ukraine. People around here scoff at that and are quick to remind that gas prices were rising long before that conflict erupted.
I’m not usually a worrier about things I can’t control, but I suspect all of this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. And I also suspect that the midterms are going to be a bloodbath for the Democrats. People don’t like living like this and the only thing we can do about it is vote correctly.
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