During – and before – the 1950s, Paris Texas was a good-looking community. In the 60’s, it was a community of economic promise. Going into the 70s, Paris was a growing community. Then, in 1982, as the politicians swapped the private enterprise system for State Capitalism – a partnership between Big Business and Big Government – a tornado hit, and changed the community’s condition.
The amount of destruction of homes and established businesses in older areas became an opportunity for members of the leadership to rebuild Paris, or enrich themselves.
But, the local leadership personally jumped on the new opportunities offered by state and federal grants and low-cost loans to invest heavily in vacant North and East areas along the relatively new NE Loop 286.
Today, inside the Loop, approximately three-fours of Paris is a “social and economic liability…a menace to health, safety, morals and welfare.” It’s an official “distressed area”.
That’s what the City of Paris claims, not the Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce.
It’s the result of decisions by those organizations in charge of community and economic development. And a local real estate group that, almost without fail, played a major role in the conspiracy for which the bill is now being presented.
(If you are in the real estate industry, tuffy-wuffy: It’s your bitter pill-of-fact. You – or too many of your fellow agents – swallowed perceptions and myths that are responsible for most of the stagnation in Paris. As a group, you supported – allowing – community organizations that are responsible for decades of no growth.
As professionals, you should have known better! We are not saying that all of you are clunks, but there is more than just a touch of troglodytic clabber in the mental makeup of those who allowed the perceptions and myths fostered by those in charge.
YOU gave them your money and your support. You didn’t say, “Wait a minute – How can I sell Paris as a desirable place to live or do business, if half the town is undesirable?
Over time, words get lost; even words like “on the west (or south) side…”
Excuses became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
For years, residential and retail developers were urged to invest in the vacant North and East areas. They were quietly warned in hemi-demi-semi-thunderous under-tones, with a racist sort of squeak that would kill knee-high cotton, that “nothing will go on the west and south areas of Paris” and “oh, you don’t want to live in those areas!” On behalf of investors and depositors, local banks led the way with lending policies on appraisals by approved appraisers who toed the line.
The leadership forgot that people don’t want cancer, and chickens do come home to roost.
Today’s problems were over 40-years in the making. Giving the downtown area another aspirin or a corporation cash will not cure them.
What Paris has done to itself is almost unimaginable.
And what we’re doing today is unimaginable.
We know not what path others may take, but as for the Paris Texas Chamber, we will never lie to ourselves about the community’s condition.