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The reaction to Forbes ranking LA as DEAD LAST in places to do business is so typical of the reaction by the government officials and bureaucrats to all reports that show them in a bad light. See story here. Rather than address the problems, they “shoot the messenger.”

In effect what those “messenger killers” are doing is merely arguing whether LA is last or next to the last or in the bottom 25% or whatever when compared to other states. Perhaps we should be asked to be compared to Third World Countries.

The Forbes list is not the first time that LA has been ranked poorly in comparison to the other states. In fact, I would challenge the bureaucrats and politicians to find the last time that LA was ranked in the top 10 or even the top half of places to do business among the other states.

Interestingly, while debating the subjective nature of the criteria of all the various reports from numerous states never is it explained why, regardless of who does the ranking, the same states come out on top and the same come out on the bottom.

Does it really make our public officials proud that we rank higher than Mississippi or West Virginia. Are our goals really that low? Why don’t we strive to rank higher than Texas?

When your children leave for school in the morning do you tell them that you hope they make above an “F”on their tests that day? When they head out for the track meet, do you tell them not to finish last? As they leave for the baseball game, do you tell them to try not to strike out every time. When they go to play a football or basketball game, do you tell them that you hope the team doesn’t get blanked out.

What’s worse than being at or near the bottom in all these rankings is that we never show any improvement. These rankings are like one’s bathroom scale. On it your weight might not be the same as that when you weigh on the scales at the doctor’s office, but it shows accurately wether one is gaining or losing weight.

In the last 10 years the cost of state government has more than doubled. The population of the state while growing older, poorer and less education remains relatively static when compared to the other states. But for the “disaster spending” our economy remains in the cellar compared to other states. The out-migration of our “best and brightest” continues.

As long as our state, with all its natural resources, remains in the bottom half of the states what difference does the number make. It’s NOT ACCEPTABLE.

If there was a ranking for it, LA would be at the top for denial and in number of “messengers killed.”

Why do I still live here you are asking yourself. I used to think that I could help change things. Now, I’m not so sure that enough of us want change. The only reasons that these “messenger killers” get away with what they do is because we accept it.

Perhaps I just have too lofty of goals to want to be better than last. If so, I lay the blame at the feet of my parents who instilled in me to be the best at whatever I did. I’ve never achieved that, but I never set my goal as being merely better than the worst.

C.B.