Student Government hosted a forum to discuss the past, present and future of Louisiana’s economy Tuesday in the Union.
SG welcomed Barry Erwin, president and CEO of the Council for Betterment of Louisiana, and James Richardson, University economics professor and Public Administration Institute director, as experts to discuss the state’s economy.
A crowd of students, including several SG and Student Senate representatives, listened as Erwin and Richardson explained where Louisiana is economically compared to other southern states, the state of the education system and the issues Louisiana should be concentrating on in order to better the economy.
Both guests said for Louisiana’s economy to grow, the state has to be appealing to companies that can locate themselves anywhere in the country.
Richardson said an example was Alabama’s support to bring a large Mercedes plant to the state. He said the plant not only brought a new industry to Alabama, but also gained credibility for the state’s economy.
Richardson said for people to move to Louisiana to work, the educational systems must improve and Louisianians must see their tax dollars working for them. This gives interested company members confidence that the state will take care of them and their families.
The forum moderator, Student Senate Speaker Jay Buller, asked the guests how Louisiana should deal with the number of people leaving the state to work elsewhere.
Erwin and Richardson agreed while many Louisianians are moving to work in other places in the country, many Americans are moving from other states to work in Louisiana’s big industries.
“The neat thing about this country is that people move around,” Richardson said. “What we have to do is attract other people [from other states].”
Richardson said Louisiana already attracts people from out of state to the oil and gas industry, but the state needs to work on making the other aspects of Louisiana appealing, including other industries, the taxes and the educational system.
“We can’t be all things to all people, but we can find our strengths and concentrate on them,” Erwin said.