I’ve seen too many “For Sale” and “For Rent” signs all over town; many more than last year, it seems. New Orleans has always lagged behind the rest of the U.S.’s economic fluctuations, and while the rest of the country has been experiencing a worsening economy over the past 12 months, we’re just now starting to seriously feel it here.

If musicians don’t—or can’t—travel, they surely don’t make the money they used to make in New Orleans pre-Katrina. Luckily, some of them do and are traveling. It’s a rough life on the road, even when you’re in your twenties and single. When you acquire a significant other, possessions, and even kids, it gets a whole lot harder (so you can’t just say “hit the road.” It’s not that easy).

I received a letter from bassist Jim Markway that articulately outlined the problems many musicians face in New Orleans (it’s in our Letters to the Editor section). He’s right—we have a very long way to go here so that our musicians will be able to survive. It’s hard now, and it’s going to get harder. Why doesn’t our city government (and state and federal) find a way to nurture live music with some economic incentive? A break on taxes or giving out more permits for live music? Isn’t it ironic that a city whose music and musicians are known and loved worldwide not only doesn’t nurture music; it discourages it? Yet, permits keep on comin’ for bars that feature recorded music. All while our musicians can barely pay the rent.

Thank goodness for organizations such as the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, Sweet Home New Orleans, the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation, and many more. Do you know that these groups actually pay musicians to play gigs? The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic has a fund that they’ve set aside for audience development for trad jazz. They need a sponsor downtown to create an ongoing event to encourage people to listen to jazz. I love that. We’ll help.

If you haven’t subscribed to the Weekly Beat, our weekly newsletter, please do. Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I’m passionate about New Orleans and its survival, and especially the survival of our music scene. Last week, I was distraught over hearing about another young man who was shot to death. I suggested that we simply ban handguns and assault weapons (got just a very tiny bit of negative response to that one!) But another idea which has been rolling around in my mind is to once and for all improve New Orleans’ economy year-round (not just for Mardi Gras, or through festivals) with what we do best: (so-called) vice.

Decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution in New Orleans—and controlling it—would mark New Orleans as the new American Amsterdam. If you’ve never been there, Amsterdam is a really wonderful, culturally aware city that just happens to have legalized prostitution and “coffee houses.” Of course, this assertion stirred up a big response—but virtually one hundred percent were for this idea. Think about how this could help our tourism dollars. We would never, ever have to worry about conventions wanting to book here again. We’d have a leg up on Vegas for sure—New Orleans will never have the neon factor that Las Vegas has. We have so much beauty here, so much history here (so does Amsterdam), but we have world-class music and food, too. Let’s just add a little more spice to the mixture. Would love to hear your thoughts: [email protected].