If You Behaved Like a Government, You'd Be Arrested
I am one quarter Sicilian, and I grew up with family members speaking to me in Italian with some English sprinkled in. So, when I hear about about protection racket, I can spot it quickly. The idea being you own a business and you want to protect it from thieves or vandalism, you hire the local organized crime organization to watch your place for you in exchange for money. Usually it is a percentage of the profits, and they can go on for years. The idea started in the early 1900's as a mutual aid society. Immigrants would come in and they would stick together. If one of them opened a business they would hire men to watch it for a fee. Over the years this idea got contorted and stretched into what it is today, where a criminal gang is getting paid not to rob a place or vandalize it.
I read this little story about Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard, and he wants to do the same thing. I will protect the schools in the Parish, but you got to pay up sucker! One could make the argument that it is his job already, tax increase or no. I don't know, maybe re-prioritize your deputies. Doing less bullshit traffic stops that aren't about "public safety" and are really about over-policing the public. Save some money by freeing the multitude of people in your jail that are only there for non-violent drug offenses. The possibilities are endless!
Just because an elected "official" wants to promise some security in exchange for payment doesn't make it right. If you or I were to go and demand payment for some security it would be illegal.
Dude, your headline says it all. You could drop the mic right there! So true!
Louisiana is living up to the joke, "We are the banana republic of the south."