LEANWEB Quality of Life

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It's Not Just for Fun:

Quality of Life is the Key to a Healthy Economy.

It's time to go for the green: Economic health AND clean air, water and land!

Good roads and schools, low crime levels, clean environments, a rich local culture; these ingredients make up quality of life. When people live in communities where quality of life is high, they receive a kind of second paycheck, paid not just in dollars but in convenience and civic pride.

Smart communities know that businesses invest where second paychecks are high. Investors need skilled labor, an environment that enhances their prestige, and dependable government partners. Austin, Texas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and North Carolina's Research Triangle followed this formula in the 1980s. Today, investors are thronging to set up shop in these communities, proving that good jobs and quality of life go hand in hand.

Our state is a great place to visit, but few firms wants to live here. Louisiana is seen as a state where the environment is polluted, public services are unreliable, and the workforce is unskilled. Business people also know that in Louisiana:

•we pay extra for cleaning and health care because of high pollution levels.

•we pay extra for energy because state officials lower energy prices for industry and raise them (to four times what industry pays or twice the national average) for small businesses and families.

•we pay extra for or do without public services because the state takes money away from local governments to provide tax breaks to heavy industries.

•we pay extra for insurance and risk more from storm damage because state policies don't adequately protect our coastal wetlands

Our economy is focused on attracting smokestack industry, and we do that fairly well. But we could get a larger piece of the economic pie if we changed our priorities and put quality of life at the top. Enforcing our environmental laws, revamping our tax incentive program, and equalizing energy rates would go a long way toward convincing business people that the Bayou State is a good place to invest.

Misinformation has divided Louisiana's business people and environmentalists. While we were fighting for jobs OR the environment, our state sank to the bottom of every prosperity index, despite our enviable culture, history, and natural resource base.

We must get our state's economy back on track. And, as other savvy states have learned, a clean environment is essential to that vision. Why? Because business in the '90s isn't about luring smokestack industries, it's about creating a high quality of life. This, in turn, attracts businesses that provide good jobs and spinoff opportunities for local economies.

Let's not buy the old rhetoric that pits entrepreneurs against environmentalists. It's time to go for the green: economic health AND clean air, water, and land.

•We all want a thriving economy.
•We all want good jobs.
•We all want the best for our state.

•Assure a good level of environmental quality. Louisiana's poor environmental record scares off the new investment our economy needs. By enforcing existing regulations and providing the right kind of economic incentives, we will reward law abiding firms and affirm our commitment to healthy communities.

•Bring our energy rates in line with national averages. Residential and commercial customers pay twice as much as their counterparts elsewhere in the U.S. Equalizing our energy rates will help new businesses flourish.

•Revamp our tax incentive program. Each year our industrial tax exemption program takes more than $100 million from local schools. It gives millions in subsidies to petrochemical conglomerates that provide few local jobs. By changing our tax incentives, we can attract businesses that truly benefit their communities.

•Customize pollution prevention plans for individual businesses. Firms worldwide are saving millions by reworking production processes to avoid pollution before it starts. Given time, technical assistance, and economic incentives, Louisiana businesses can also make higher profits while lowering waste and pollution.