By Ashlee Pintos
Mayor Cantrell’s office is claiming a victory for “Fair Share” New Orleans on the issue of what we call the Stolen Tax dollars. This ridiculous months-long negotiation between the Mayor’s office and the Convention Center has resulted in huge benefits for big business with a marginal benefit for the city. While $180 Million is stolen from New Orleans yearly, Cantrell has only asked for a fraction of the money (a one-time $48 Million with an additional $27 Million over the next 5 years). While the remaining yearly $153 Million is forgotten about for a perceived victory for the Cantrell administration, the convention center has been promised $300 Million for a new hotel and a portion of (more) Airbnb taxes among other concessions. How is this a fair share for the workers?
For over two years, the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Alliance and the Peoples’ Assembly have been bringing this issue to light. It was not until this past year that Mayor Cantrell started to acknowledge the $180 Million in tourism taxes (such as the hotel tax) that are collected yearly. NONE of this money touches the city’s general budget: it currently goes to private, non-elected boards composed of big business/corporation owners and politicians who use these millions to further fatten their wallets. $180 Million is a quarter of the city’s general budget. We could use this yearly money to fund healthcare, childcare centers, paid vacation and sick leave, quality transportation, AND fix streets.
Tax money is supposed to be collected to use for goods and services for the benefit of the people. How can it be that politicians are nicely asking for the return of tax money from rich capitalists? This is robbery of the people on behalf of big business. Cantrell is complicit and as Mayor, she should be held accountable. Why does she want to give the people’s money to the same rich capitalists who oppress us workers?
Without hospitality workers who hold up the tourism industry, none of the profits or the tourism taxes would flow into the city. Meanwhile who pays high rents, high property taxes, and high sales taxes, all with a constant boot on our neck? Us workers! Who gets huge tax breaks and also makes away with millions in tourism tax money? The Convention Center! In New Orleans workers would need a quadruple raise to make a living wage as we currently make a base of $7.25 an hour and even less as tipped workers at $2.13.
If someone had been taking a quarter of your already-too-small paycheck, every single month, for years and you found out about it; would you kindly ask them to pay you back? Would you only ask for a fraction of it? Would you negotiate? Absolutely not!
We as workers have consistently maintained our demand that ALL of the money be given back to the people. All tax money should go into the general budget for city council discussion and public input. It is not up to the Mayor to unilaterally decide to give this money to the Sewage and Water Board to pay the extremely high salaries of their administrators. These funds will not be used to lower our rates. In fact, the Mayor has said she supports raising taxes for drainage. This scheme does not insure a properly functioning system. It’s because of a lack of public oversight of the board that millions were stolen from the budget before.
We need all of us workers to come together to continue the struggle, and we must be ready to fight for what is ours in the first place.