Another BIG BIZ bites the dust

Nobody seems to care about the fact that one of the two Fortune 500 companies headquartered in LA is leaving the state. We’ve learned that Freeport Copper and Gold is leaving for Phoenix.

I expected to see stories, columns and editorials about this tragic economic loss to our state.

I expected to see the governor, the mayor of New Orleans and the New Orleans City Council holding press conferences to announce this as a wake-up call.

I expected our economic guru Mike Olivier announcing emergency plans to keep this from happening again. I expected to see a serious call to action by Greater New Orleans, Inc. and the N.O. Chamber of Chamber.

I saw no such thing.

I saw plans to spend tax dollars on a possible, maybe, someday, steel mill in St. James Parish. I saw plans to speed up some already enacted tax reductions for some businesses.

The loss of FCX is another example of the failure to focus on existing businesses in LA. Could the FCX headquarters been kept in LA? We'll never know because there was no effort to do so.

It's not the job of existing businesses to build the economy, they must remain focused on staying in business. It's not the job of businesses in other states to build LA's economy. hey go where they can provide a needed service, or product and where they can make a profit in doing so.

What business will we lose next? We won't know until we read about it the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Who cares? Apparently, nobody who is responsible for the economy.