With the ethically-challenged Stephen Moret as the head of economic development for our state I didn’t think our state’s economy had a prayer .
I was wrong. According to a story ( see here) in Wednesday’s Alexandria paper, prayer is still a possibility. The economic development folks in Rapides Parish are holding a prayer service.
C.B.
1 8:00 am
Two months ago, Si Brown, CEO of Bruce Foods, an 80 year old Louisiana business, appeared on the Moon Griffon statewide radio talk show. (See report here.) Brown explained that the state’s ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret was underwriting an out of state competitor using his and our tax dollars.
Brown said that since 2003 he had plans to build a sweet potato processing plant in South Louisiana similar to the one proposed by ConAgra in North LA near Delhi that the state was helping to underwrite. The difference, according to Brown, is that he would have built the plant with incentives from the state at a cost of $8,000 per job ($1 Million) versus the one in North LA at a cost to the state’s taxpayers of $104,000 per job ($37 Million).
Broken promises
While Brown was on the radio show that day, Moret called and left a message for Brown that he was coming to meet with Brown shortly about the matter. The Rhodes Scholar even called Brown and promised to make sure that the project moved forward.
According to Brown, Moret met with him on September 3 and Moret made promises regarding the infrastructure assistance for Bruce Foods’ sweet potato processing plant.
This morning, Brown again appeared on the Moon Griffon Show and reported that after two months and numerous contacts by Brown, Moret has only delivered broken promises.
The moral of the story is that if one has an existing business in Louisiana one is taken for granted and ignored. However, Moret and his Rhodes Scholar boss will bend over backwards for one’s competitors to come to Louisiana.
That is known as “economic development -Louisiana Style.”
C.B.
1 10:20 am
Obviously, Louisiana’s Rhodes Scholar-in-chief doesn’t believe in leading by example.
When he was campaigning for governor in 2007, The Rhodes Scholar wrote:
We must demand an honest government that puts the residents of our state first and the special interests last. It is time we break free from the lingering legacy of the past and fully embrace a government that is ethical, efficient, and accountable from top to bottom.
In other words, The Rhodes Scholar believes that the state must be protected from “special interests.” He also claims to believe in “transparency” and “accountability” in government.
Monday night, The Rhodes Scholar held a fundraiser in Port Vedra Beach, Florida.
When asked who or what “special interest” sponsored the fundraiser, The Rhodes Scholar’s mouthpiece said: “That info will be available on the campaign reports” when they are filed next year, …. Times Picayune, October 26, 2009.
So how do we know that some evil-doer special interest did not give The Rhodes Scholar a pile of money and is now in line to get some special favors from the state? We don’t.
Clearly, it’s just another case of The Rhodes Scholar saying one thing and doing another.
C.B.
1 9:37 am
