Jackson Whole

 ... as in what is happening in Jackson right now sums up the whole of our culture.

Jackson, Mississippi is out of drinkable water. Yes, there were some floods recently, but Mississippi averages about 55" of rain every year, so floods are something for which you must plan. What happened?

I did a little digging and discovered that it was well known that Jackson Water's maintenance was shoddy. There had been statewide efforts in the last decade to try to give them help, but the place is badly run and it all went for naught. For example, Jackson Water contracted with Siemans to get smart metering going. That ended up in a lawsuit. Jackson Water's billing system is dysfunctional as well with about $100,000,000 in unpaid water bills. Some customers get no bills, others get outrageously wrong ones.

In short, there's a human capital problem at Jackson Water. One of the articles I read hinted at the state having to send in its own technicians to do the work that Jackson Water's people couldn't do. Once you strip away the red vs blue and black vs white garbage, you get down to the real problem. The employees at Jackson Water just aren't up to scratch.

Jackson Water is the answer to the question, "What are the long-term ramifications of destroying the traditional family?"

Dig the test score data from two public high schools in Jackson.

Jim Hill HS

Wingfield HS

Those are your human capital feeders for water system mechanics. They come out of high school, go to a bit of trade school and get hired by the water district.

There's nothing there. You can't do anything with someone who is illiterate.

Dittos for the financial administrative staff. What are you going to do with an admin who can't understand math?

VOTE!

These children are clearly not even going to class. Which ballot measure will get kids to attend school? How much should you pay teachers to get the kids to do their homework? Is it better to vote for Democrats or Republicans if you want the kids to study for tests?

RACIAL JUSTICE!

The essays pointing fingers over the Jackson Water failure all mention racial problems. Jackson is run by Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. Chokwe vowed to make Jackson the most radical and progressive city in the nation. Jackson has had an unbroken string of black mayors since 1997. The power structure in Jackson is black from top to bottom.

I'll say this for him, Chokwe is a stylish fellow.

What must you do to stamp out racism when everyone managing the place is the same race? How many statues do you need to pull down to get the kids to pay attention in class?

Incompetence!

Here's an interesting story about the way Jackson is run.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba gave an impassioned defense Monday afternoon of his administration's actions in its ongoing dispute with the city council over who picks up residents' trash.

In a news conference the following day, Councilmember Kenneth Stokes said the mayor was wrong about what happened during bidding, also known as the request for proposal or RFP process.

Lumumba's statements came during his weekly news conference, just 10 days after he lost in court and only three after the city was sued by the company that is currently collecting garbage.

Richard's Disposal, a minority-owned business based in New Orleans, has been picking up the city's trash since April 1 under an emergency contract enacted by the mayor, without the council's approval, but they have yet to be paid. They are now suing the city, seeking the $1.6 million that the council has thus far refused to give them, citing the lack of a contract.

Everyone involved in that story is black. It's possible that racism is to blame, but the mechanism for that is, err, unclear, shall we say?

Fitness

I work for an organization where most of the workforce wear steel-toed boots and hardhats every day. None of them are obese. You can't be fat and do their jobs. Whatever else you want to say about it, Jackson is in first place in one category. Obesity.

America has an obesity problem. And it's one that's costing Americans almost $316 billion per year in related medical treatment, according to WalletHub.

The organization came out with its 2017 Fattest Cities in America list Wednesday. It analyzed 100 of the most populous U.S. metro areas, looking at 17 weight-associated factors, ranging from "share of physically inactive adults to projected obesity rates by 2030 to healthy-food access," according to the report.

The Jackson, Mississippi metro area took the top spot on the list, while Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue in Washington snagged the lowest.

What needs to be said in a speech by a politician or activist to make it possible for a fat man to be able to crawl around in tight places to repair pumps and drains? 

Look In The Mirror

So the resource pool from which Jackson Water draws its employees is fat and illiterate. As I understand it from the Very Smart People in the punditry class, this is all someone else's fault. Hmm. That's possible, I suppose.

Or maybe there's something else at play here. Could it be that unmarried households produce undisciplined children who grow up to become fat, illiterate and unskilled people? Could it be that a population of fat, illiterate, unskilled people won't be able to maintain what their ancestors left them? Maybe.

BOOM.
"I'll just leave this little pamphlet here. You may read it at your leisure ..."