In 1982 criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling postulated the “broken window” theory that leaving minor things broken and unfixed will send a message of chaos and dysfunction that will spur more serious crimes. Fixing the little things helps prevent bigger problems.
Whoever is the new mayor of Jackson should follow the broken window theory. Fixing the little things can rebuild confidence in Jackson and turn the momentum around. This is crucial to saving our downtown.
And it can be saved. Just look at neighboring cities that have been faced with similar problems and similar demographics and overcame them: New Orleans, Birmingham, Grenville, South Carolina, Memphis, Montgomery. These cities have vibrant and growing downtowns.
Even in Jackson, we can see evidence of this in the Fondren area, which has experienced an amazing renaissance over the last 20 years with new hotels, new banks, new stores and new restaurants.
Just this past weekend I was visiting Nashville, which is absolutely booming. From the early 1970s until the mid 1990s, Nashville suffered from traditional industry decline, suburban flight and crime. Even the now iconic Lower Broadway music strip was marred by vacant storefronts and adult businesses. Things can and do turn around.
Most citizens evaluate the state of their city in mundane ways: Is trash picked up? Do the stoplights work? Are the road markings well maintained and visible? Are potholes repaired quickly? Are streets repaved? Are dilapidated buildings torn down? Is the grass on the medians and sidewalks properly mowed and trimmed? Are the broken windows fixed?
Fix these things and the entire impression of Jackson will turn around. And, according to the broken windows theory, bigger crimes will go down.
Last month Google was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge for the second time within 12 months.The first time was for illegal monopolization of Internet search. This second time for illegal monopolization of online digital advertising. Each case was in a different federal court before a different federal judge. The U. S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division brought both lawsuits.
This is very personal to me. My business has been greatly damaged by illegal monopolization and massive online theft of our content. I am one of two class representatives in the private class action lawsuit against Google which will follow the government's actions. Once the remedial actions for the government are completed, then our private class action lawsuit on damages can begin.
Everybody saw the Internet coming. What I didn’t see was how a handful of companies would be able to monopolize it. In fact, we thought the Internet would be commercially fragmented and decentralized. Boy were we wrong.
And we had no idea that Big Tech companies would be allowed to use bots to scrape our websites and steal our content without compensation.
Years ago, having gone whole hog into digital Internet advertising on our websites, I came home one day discouraged. “What’s wrong,” Ginny asked. I sighed. “I don’t know how they do it, but the whole system’s rigged. It’s 99 for Google and one for me. I’ll never be able to survive in this environment.”
I have survived, barely, by refusing to play in a rigged game. There are no Google ads on our websites. We sell all our online ads directly to our advertisers without going through the monopolized Google networks. But it’s swimming against the stream.
I am 100 percent for free markets. But when a company buys up everything and then controls the market, the market is no longer free. It’s an illegal monopoly. That is the exact opposite of a free market. That’s why we have laws to stop this.
Google, Facebook, Amazon and the others did it by buying everything that moved in their space. Hundreds and hundreds of acquisitions designed to consolidate their position of power.
How has this hurt consumers? Well, we have one-third as many journalists as we did 20 years ago for starters. Local independent news has been destroyed. We now have vast “news deserts” throughout our country. We are manipulated by a handful of powerful Big Tech monopolies. Like the proverbial lobster in the slow-boiling pot, we are losing our freedom and we don’t even know it. Now AI and fake news will take this to an even more dangerous level. It’s scary.
Mississippians love to hunt and shoot so it's appropriate that the U. S. Open of clay shooting is occurring this week at Providence Hill Sporting Club in Madison. Fifteen hundred shooters will be participating, coming from all over the world. Thousands of dollars in prize money will be awarded, including $7,500 to the winner.
The 1,200 acre Providence Hill, located eight miles southwest of Flora and a mile or so east of Highway 22 , is under new ownership and “committed to making Providence Hill the world's top sporting lifestyle resort and private club. We offer the elite sporting lifestyle — in every sense of the word. Poised to become the South’s most sought after outdoor resort, Providence Hill is undergoing an expansion that includes awe-inspiring accommodations, luxury residences, a working farm and garden, and stunning new event spaces. Whether for a weekend escape, a grand Southern wedding, or an executive retreat, our property will be an unparalleled destination.”
Wow! That’s a pretty cool addition to the Jackson area.
