forgotston.com

Regents’ PR Advisor

The LA Board of Regents has hired a firm from Florida for an estimated $105,500 to help them find a replacement for Sally Clausen as the next higher education commissioner. (Story here.)

This is the same group that we hear whining about higher education needing more money.  Perhaps if the Regents spent the public funds they already have in LA it would help generate more tax revenues to help better fund higher education.

Obviously, the Regents believe that all the “best and brightest” have indeed left this state in order to find economic security.  If Higher Education is the key (as we are told by them) to economic development in our state, the Regents seem to be admitting that they aren’t doing their jobs very well.

Don’t we have anyone in Louisiana qualified to find someone to take one of the highest paying jobs in state government?

The Regents must be getting public relations advice from the soon-to-be-former-head of BP, Tony Hayward.

C.B.

1 CB 5:03 pm

Today, the declarers of such things declared that the U.S. economic recession is over.  ( See story here.)

The recession didn’t end yesterday or last month. According to the experts, the recession that we thought we were in, actually ended in June of 2009. (I’m not making that up.)

According to the experts, it was the longest recession we have endured in the U.S. since WWII.

The recession (that has now ended) officially began in December of 2007.  We learned that from the experts in December of 2008.

Since the recession ended 15 months ago, we have seen fewer jobs created, more people unemployed, higher numbers of those in the poverty category, fewer home sales, declining values of homes, etc., etc.

Are we?

Theoretically, we could now be in another recession or we might even be in a depression.   Whatever we are currently experiencing that seems like bad economic times, we won’t have an official name for at least a year.

Other than for historical purposes, what difference does the experts’ declaration make?

The Crack Mullet Research Team works a bit faster. Tomorrow morning, they’ll be able predict, with a high degree of accuracy, the winner of tonight’s Saints/49ers game.

C.B.

1 CB 2:02 pm

Staying or going?

Louisiana’s new DHH chief starts his job today.  According to the story in today’s Baton Rouge paper ( story here) he is not bringing his family with him, at least, initially.

While there is some rationale to Bruce Greenstein’s explanation for not bringing his family, it does raise questions.

According to very good sources, one of Greenstein’s demands for taking the job was that his children be able to enroll in the LSU Lab School.   While that is not an easy “ticket to punch,” it is doubtful that LSU would turn down a request from one of the governor’s top appointees.  Therefore it is assumed that Greenstein was accommodated.

It seems if one was serious about moving to Louisiana one would make sure that one’s children were enrolled in school at the beginning of the school year.

Perhaps Greenstein has seen the “handwriting on the wall” about Bobby Jindal’s political ambitions to move on rather quickly after this fall’s elections.  In that case, he would merely be a “placeholder” until the new governor comes in.

It may simply be that Greenstein like his new boss (Jindal) doesn’t stay in any one place long enough for his efforts to be truly judged in the long-term.

Maybe Greenstein’s tepid move to Louisiana is because of rapid turnover rate of Jindal’s cabinet appointees.

Fixing what ails our healthcare system, especially in light of Federal funding reductions for Medicaid, plus the uncertainty of “Obamacare” is not something that can be done is one or even two budget years.

In any case, the failure to bring his family with him makes one wonder how truly committed to Louisiana’s future are Greenstein and Jindal.

C.B.

1 CB 9:28 am