Dr. Ralph Thayer is director of the General Studies Program at the University of New Orleans and an advocate for property tax reform.  The complete quotation from his interview follows [1].

"Orleanians have been imbued with the idea that it's somehow their birthright to not have to pay property taxes.  Why we have tolerated this system this long is completely beyond my wildest notion.  The school system suffers and the road system falls apart because there's no money to fix them."

Reference

  1. Gordon Russell, "Relatives often inherit assessors powers; Regressive system saddles businesses, renters, poor," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, April 6, 2004, p. A-8.