Editorial: Capitalism vastly superior jobs generator
Last Modified: Saturday, October 20, 2012 7:31 PM
While many parts of the nation struggle with high unemployment, Louisiana, with its free enterprise-oriented approach to economics, is demonstrating that capitalism is a vastly superior jobs generator to the collectivism and central planning that Washington has been promoting since 2009.
“The Louisiana Economic Outlook: 2013-2014” prepared by Loren Scott and Jim Richardson forecasts the state’s economy to continue out-performing the nation’s. The state has seen jobs increase since 2008.
Scott, a retired LSU economics professor, said Louisiana is a good state to be in because of the petrochemical industry boom and other anticipated projects.
The forecast projects metro Lake Charles will have a 5.7 percent increase in jobs between 2012 to 2014.
As a whole, Louisiana is projected to see a 2.6 percent increase in jobs in the next two years. Job increase projections elsewhere include: Lafayette, 6.9 percent; Houma, 6.2 percent; Alexandria, 2.7 percent; Baton Rouge, 2.4 percent; Monroe and Shreveport, each 0.8 percent; and New Orleans. 0.6 percent. Rural parishes are forecast at a 3.1 percent growth rate.
Lake Charles is benefiting from the petrochemical boom and industrial construction activity, the report said.
The massive $5.6 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal planned by Cheniere Energy is especially noted in the jobs expected for Southwest Louisiana. The forecast calls for 2,300 new jobs for our area in 2013, 2,800 in 2014.
Metro Lafayette is generating even more jobs. There, the estimate for new jobs is 5,800 in 2013 and 5,600 jobs in 2014. The economic activity there is the result of the return of oil companies to the Gulf of Mexico after the disastrous Obama moratorium on drilling and expansion of businesses such as Schumacher Group, Acadian Ambulance and Stuller Settings.
Houma is also benefiting from drilling activity revival in the Gulf with 2,800 new jobs forecast for 2013 and 3,200 for 2014. More activity is also expected to be generated by BP claims settlements and shipyard hiring.
States struggling most with job losses are those that have been following the collectivist philosophy of central planning and social engineering. Part of the genius of the Founding Fathers was giving us a governmental system that allowed only limited powers to the federal government, which are specifically enumerated in the U.S. Constitution; other powers were reserved to the individual states because the people can most easily watch and control government officials closest to home.
While the Founding Fathers’ vision of America has eroded over the past 238 years, the principle of government closest to the people being the best government holds true. The current contrast between states following the free enterprise route and those following the dead-end of collectivism shows our founders were right.
This editorial was written by a member of the American Press Editorial Board. Its content reflects the collaborative opinion of the Board, whose members include Bobby Dower, Ken Stickney, Jim Beam, Crystal Stevenson and Donna Price.
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