Analysis: Perfect Storm Brewing for Louisiana Economy

July 20, 2010

  • July 20, 2010 at 3:10 am
    Rich says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    It’s time someone makes the decision to “call the game”. Consider the following: A city built below sea level is at perpetual risk of flooding; at it’s twelve o’clock position in the gulf it is a prime target for every tropical storm or hurricane that comes into the gulf; it has no economy; nobody, individual or corporation, wants to build or relocate there; there is no skilled or educable work force; it’s never contributed much to the U.S. economy and pays comparatively little in income taxes; it had a few profitable industries thanks to politicians getting some “pork”; billions of federal tax dollars have been wasted to rebuild the city on multiple occasions.
    Sounds like a loss loser to me.

    How many hurricanes, tropical storms, levee failures, or drilling disasters are taxpayers of the rest of the country willing to finance? Turn the place into a national park for fishing and hunting. The locals might “want” to continue to live there, but the reality is that “someone moved their cheese”.

  • July 20, 2010 at 4:19 am
    Jimmy says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Your comment is aimed at the city and surrounding area of New Orleans. I live about 70 miles from there and agree with your statements about New Orleans. I have to disagree with your statement as regards the balance of the State. We are one of the only areas that offshore drilling is allowed in; not by choice but by federal mandate. We are going to be the ones to have a drilling disaster since we do the most drilling. To you “green energy” people, what do you use to run your automobiles, lawn mowers, boats and darn near everything else is made to some extent by petroleum products. We can only get petroleum by drilling.

  • July 21, 2010 at 8:15 am
    Sanchez says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Then RELOCATE. There are worse things that could happen. Staying in that area is like my favorite definition of “insanity”: continue to do the same thing and expect a different outcome. Maybe the only people who should inhabit New Orleans is a small contingent of oil workers who need to be there. Kind of like the small fishing villages in Alaska. But don’t expect the other 49 states to subsidize stubborness and unwillingness to change.

  • July 21, 2010 at 10:29 am
    matt says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    To quote a “Shakespearean” (hah!) Palinism, you ‘misunderestimate’.

    I guess we should all just pack up and head for Nebraska then?

    I am confident in the fighting spirit of Louisianans; a spirit which apparently isn’t shared by the “give up and leave” crowd.

  • July 21, 2010 at 11:58 am
    Tony says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I am saddened to hear about the economy in Louisiana. The cultural character is so rich, we should all be thankful to their contribution to our way of life. Jimmy is right, we need them to drill and refine for us. Natural gas and wind energy cannot sustain our way of life and a moratorium will only drive the activity to another location in the world, never to return. Why would they incur the cost of moving a rig twice? Especially since there is cheaper labor and more abundant resources elsewhere.

    I am not a big fan of unnecessary regulation, but my view from the cheap seats would indicate we should regulate the quality of parts (blowout preventers etc…), not the activity. WE NEED THE ACTIVITY! And the contribution of the Cajuns should not be discounted in any way.

  • July 21, 2010 at 5:13 am
    Cassandra says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I heard no one crying when the steel plants, manufacturing, and auto industry shut down or was severely downsized with jobs expoerted elsewhere in the US (like the south) or overseas in the Midwest. Why is the Midwest called the Rust Belt?

    As for oil, we HAVE to develop alternatives, and, anyway, the spill in LA affected more than LA and could conceivably affect the world climate and food chain as well, so time to make things very, very safe or close up shop.

    Time moves on and so does industry. The handwriting is on the wall, so make a newplan and get over it…but good luck…the Midwest still struggles as it has been since the 1970’s when steel began shutting down taking with it a ton of manufacturing.

    Life’s a ***** and then you get a job at McDonalds….



Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*