Displaced residents still need new or rebuilt homes; corporations are relocating; children require schooling; cleanup of environmental hazards needs priority â?¦ the staggering list goes on and on.
There's a lot of work to do, and state officials know it. They're promoting that fact on an unprecedented scale, with ingenious advertising inserts explaining what kind of work is available ' as well as their related incentives ' in national publications like Business Week, Entrepreneur and Forbes. Ads have also been designed for the Web sites of CNN and The Economist. Like a coupon for free money, the ads are working; after years of worrying about Louisiana's business reputation and restrictive laws, companies are starting to regard Louisiana as a hot prospect.
But once the rebuilding process slows down, will any of these companies stick around?
Louisiana Economic Development officials argue that the wide variety of tax breaks and assistance programs will entice companies to stay. The business stimulants set the stage for a productive future, and the state's new "open for business" philosophy, in tandem with long-term incentives beyond recovery, only bolsters the belief.
This amalgam is partly what lured Virginia-based Booz Allen Hamilton to south Louisiana this year. It's not your average mom-and-pop outfit; the strategy, management and technology consulting firm employs 17,000 people on six continents and generates roughly $3.6 billion in annual sales. Unlike other companies wanting to cash in on debris removal or other manual labor jobs paid for directly by residents, Booz Allen is trying to drum up business directly with the state, says Bill McDade, a senior associate. The company is already making its rounds to the Louisiana Recovery Authority, Louisiana Economic Development and the governor's office and considering opening an office in Baton Rouge.
Presently, Booz Allen has a Metairie office with 50 employees, which pulls in an estimated $6 million in revenues each year. This office is strictly dedicated to federal contracts, such as the one Booz Allen has with the Minerals Management Service to help streamline offshore drilling leases.
But the Baton Rouge office is where the company's future could possibly reside, and it will be committed solely to state contract work.
"There is an incredible amount of money moving through the state right now," McDade says. "A week after the hurricane hit, we started to do business development offsite and strategizing on our next step, and that major play was state work."
The leap would have come sooner, he adds, but the company had always been slightly worried about age-old perceptions of the state and, frankly, threatened by certain contract laws. For instance, McDade points to an indemnity clause that Louisiana uses to wiggle out of paying vendors if they don't like the work.
"When you look at the bottom line and get into large contracts, that can be a risky proposition," McDade says, adding he has received commitments from the state to possibly work around that clause.
Additionally, the process of rebuilding has placed Louisiana in the national spotlight, he says, and that attention helps serve as a catalyst for corporate responsibility. Donald M. Pierson Jr., assistant secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, says this type of story has been retold countless times since last fall. Due to the hurricanes, companies that would have never considered Louisiana are now working with the state.
While some observers worry the new businesses might be fly-by-night and could pack up after a short stay, Pierson doesn't have a concerned bone in his body.
"Some of these companies are traveling a long way, and they are nationally respected companies that haven't been able to do large scale business with us before," Pierson says. "But in this moment of history, we need all the engineering and technical expertise we can get to speed up recovery. They are welcomed, and they will continue working with us."
Pierson says LED has beefed up its outreach program and is keeping track of new businesses. The department is also making the companies aware of all the incentives available to the state, like Community Block Grant funding and the almighty Gulf Opportunity Zone Act ("Pass the Go Zone," May 10), which provides tax-free borrowing, a slew of write-offs, depreciations and much more.
There are 31 parishes eligible to participate in the Go Zone program, and Pierson says companies are targeting them with a vengeance.
"I think we're going to continue to see a vast number of major U.S. corporations demonstrating a new or renewed interest in doing business with the state," he says. "All of these incentives will help companies that want to make a major investment in Louisiana to put themselves in a favorable position to take advantage of the market."
Anticipation of this declaration was building earlier this month as U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, along with Donald Powell, the federal coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, visited Baton Rouge and New Orleans as part of a major investment mission.
"This is really great," Pierson says. "I mean, when you hear about an economic mission, it's usually to another country or something, but the focus is on Louisiana."
A delegation of 37 companies attended the mission, including major Fortune 500 companies and small-sized enterprises. In addition to promoting the incentives, Pierson says an effort was placed on ports, transportation infrastructure and natural resources.
McDade agrees that momentum continues to build, and he's glad Booz Allen is coming in relatively early. He says it would be an unwise business decision for companies to leave the market in the near future. "We're focused on expanding in southeast Louisiana and are dedicated from a personal standpoint," McDade says. "Our employees and partners live in Louisiana, and we want to see both flourish once again."
JUNE 19 Former Saint Steve Gleason, who is paralyzed by ALS, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Atlanta radio station's skit making fun of him and the disease, this Picayune post reports. What did he say? He said he'd accepted the apology of the DJs who did it, notes that at least the incident has got people talking about ALS, and asks anyone who is burning to take action about it to do so -- by helping him fight ALS.
JUNE 19 Blogger Ian McGibboney takes a look at the Gleason incident in this post. He makes a good argument about the difference between having free speech and being free from consequences for your speech (which none of us is). He also admits that many of us got upset before we listened to the skit -- but lets us know that the reality is far worse than we can imagine. It was the incredibly bad judgment, even more than the actual speech, that probably got those DJs fired, he opines.
JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
JUNE 19 Here's Gov. Jindal's post in Politico, in which he asks the GOP to get over losing to Obama (again) and stop "the bedwetting." (Uh, what?) He gives his Republican buddies what is probably a nerd's idea of a coach's motivational talk, which starts with a list of accomplishments that they can't seem to exploit and ending with an absurd description of liberals that sounds like a character treatment for a Fox "News" movie scripted by Gordon Liddy. Sure, he's preaching to the choir, but even the choir's not this gullible.
JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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