In a fit of unusual candor, the ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret, admitted that Louisiana was NOT experiencing an economic boom.
Moret was on the Garland Robinette show on WWL-Radio in New Orleans. When Robinette held Moret’s feet to the fire, Moret was forced to fess-up.
Additionally, as Bobby Jindal travels the country in pursuit of the 2016 GOP nomination for President, he talks about the “Louisiana Miracle” in reference to our economic growth.This morning, I scanned the Internet for mentions of the “boom” and found that as far back as 2011 Moret was talking about the coming Louisiana boom.
Now, Moret admits that we are doing better than “most Southern states.” In fact, we are merely recovering to where we were before 2008. That’s a far cry from an economic boom.Moret says we aren’t booming in Louisiana because the country has been in a recession since 2008 and we are just now recovering.
In other words, our lack of an economic boom is the fault of – are you ready? – George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.
Moret was asked about a pronouncement that Louisiana had created 50,000 new jobs in 2013. Moret confessed that since 2008 (when Jindal took office), Louisiana had only created a total of 23,100 new jobs. That is less than 4,000 jobs per year. Moret never explained the difference in the 50,000 jobs claimed and reality.
When one considers the number of high school grads entering the workforce each year, 4,000 new jobs per year isn’t even enough to take care of a small percentage of them.
When push comes to shove, Moret can only tell us to trust him; the boom is coming in a couple of years. Of course, at that time he and Jindal will no longer be in office.
Do you trust them? It’s time for the leges to wake up and prepare the state budget based on reality and not for the coming of the Tooth Fairy.
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