Bringing a New Era of Economic Development to Louisiana

March 13th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,
Governor Jindal speaks of investing in Louisiana so our children do not have to leave our state to pursue their dreams.

Bringing a New Era of Economic Development to Louisiana

Now that we have taken the first step towards a New Louisiana by adopting the nation’s toughest ethics laws, we must now move forward by ridding ourselves of cumbersome business taxes that hurt Louisiana employers, employees, and families.

 

Louisiana families are being torn apart by economic uncertainty. Our young people are leaving the state in search of better opportunities and our communities are struggling to meet needs in education and health care thanks to an uncertain economic base.

 

Louisiana must be a place where businesses can startup and thrive, where employers can put down roots, and where families can count on good careers.

 

This can be accomplished by investing in our businesses here at home first and removing the burdensome taxes that are hindering their growth. That is why I have called the Legislature into a second special session – to eliminate the burdensome permanent tax on business utilities, accelerate the elimination of the tax on business investment and accelerate the elimination of the tax on capital debt.

 

Taxing businesses that borrow money to grow and expand hurts all businesses, but it is especially toxic to the small and family-owned businesses that are the backbone of our economy. With these burdensome taxes, Louisiana cannot compete with surrounding states, and will continue to lose jobs and economic opportunities not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren as well.

 

Every time businesses invest in other states and not here in Louisiana we lose more opportunities for our children and face another set-back in our work to ensure our children do not have to leave home to pursue their dreams.

 

Investing in our Roads and Ports

The second purpose of this session is to invest our state’s surplus to help alleviate problems that have plagued our state’s infrastructure for years, such as coastal erosion and unacceptable road and highway conditions. We also have the opportunity to invest in research and technology by investing in Cyber Command in Shreveport and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

 

Increased economic development requires that we ensure that our state’s infrastructure can handle the increased activity, and for too long we have ignored serious problems in this area. Thousands of miles of road in our state are in unacceptable condition, and there is a $14 billion backlog in unmet transportation needs. Too many of our roads are filled with potholes and congestion. This is costing our people hundreds of dollars in maintenance costs and hundreds of hours in wasted time.

 

That is why I am proposing that we dedicate monies that come from vehicle and licensing fees to what they are intended for — transportation needs, instead of disappearing in the general fund.  I am also proposing that we invest hundreds of millions of dollars to improve roads and bridges, as well as for expanding interstates and major highways throughout the state, such as I-12, I-49, and LA-28.

 

We can also work to improve our state’s ports and fully fund ALL projects in the state’s Port Priority Program. This includes funding for the Port of Iberia, the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, the Port of South Louisiana, the Caddo/Bossier Port Commission, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, and the Port of New Orleans.

With the widening of the Panama Canal expected to be completed by 2014, the Gulf of Mexico will see an increase in trade that can either go to Mobile, Houston or New Orleans. By providing funding to the Port of New Orleans, for example, we can help expand the terminal capacity by 45 percent, enable the port to secure a long-term commitment from of one of the world’s largest container carriers and ensure that the increased trade comes to Louisiana. An investment to expand the Port of Terrebonne will help bring 1,000 new skilled jobs to the area with an annual salary of $54,000.

 

I am also proposing that we dedicate $300 million, the biggest single investment in the history of our state, to coastal restoration and hurricane protection. While our state only has 30 percent of the nation’s coastal marshlands, we lose 90 percent of the marshland erosion. The hurricanes of 2005 brought to light the importance of fixing our coast, and we no longer have the ability to wait and study possible solutions. Now is the time for action.

 

Committing to Technology and Research

 

Louisiana must send a strong message to the rest of the nation by showing our commitment to technology and research.

The Shreveport-Bossier community has been working non-stop over the past few months to make Barksdale Air Force Base the permanent home of Cyber Command, the Air Force’s headquarters to protect our country in cyberspace. From my meetings with Air Force Secretary Michael Wynn and the President, I know the Air Force is looking for more than promises; they are looking for commitment through action.

 

That is why we must invest $57 million for Cyber Command, to ensure that it stays right here in Louisiana. Cyber Command will bring thousands of good, high-paying jobs to Louisiana and transform the entire I-20 corridor. 

We must also invest $50 million in Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, a worldwide leader in nutrition research. Currently, the University of Alabama-Birmingham receives more federal research funding than all of Louisiana’s public universities combined. This cannot continue.

 

Our investment in Pennington will help attract more skilled researchers and provide more than 1,100 new jobs, resulting in more than $40 million in earnings annually, and generating an economic impact of more than $110 million every year.

Let me be clear: these initiatives mean thousands of new jobs, new opportunities, and good-paying, rewarding careers so our Louisiana children don’t have to move away to other states to pursue their dreams. From Terrebonne to Bossier, we have to create opportunities for our young people right here at home.

 

Below are some stories regarding our investments that we will be making in the current special session:

 

“Money Well Spent,” New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Jindal Seeks tax breaks and surplus spending,” Associated Press

“Shift state revenue to roads-only fund,” Lafayette Daily Advertiser

“Jindal offers tax cuts, billions in spending,” New Orleans Times-Picayune

“1,000 jobs sweeten proposal,” Baton Rouge Advocate

 

Sincerely,

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

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