As the curtain falls on the career of Governor John Bel Edwards I just saw a map that tellingly portrays the history of his eight years as our leader. Based on 2022 stats, most of the traditional deep south states except two saw strong in-migration and wealth growth. Population in these state swelled by more than 2 million citizens and wealth grew by tens of billions. The only two states showing population out-migration were as usual Mississippi and Louisiana.

Now I can understand Mississippi, it is a state poor in assets and, despite the best efforts of its aggressive governor, it is still mired in poverty and failed education, leaving little opportunity to grow. But as I have said for a long time, Louisiana is a state rich in assets, but hamstrung by leadership satisfied with the status quo. The last time Louisiana had net in-migration was during the last term of Bobby Jindal, long eight years ago during a period in which the South exploded in growth.

Ask yourself this, what efforts have been made to reform education, what efforts have been made to make our state appealing to wealth creating business, what efforts have been to do anything except to protect trial lawyers, unions, and the courthouse gang. Anything, even the smallest thing? And what do we have to show for it, as we are stuck in last place with Mississippi in a booming South.

Oh I forgot one thing, over eight years spending has increased by almost twenty billion dollars a year and that has made it impossible to restructure taxes like our southern neighbors have done.

The next time someone says what a good governor we have had remember these facts. Being a personable, caretaker governor doesn’t educate kids or put food on the table. It doesn’t make our state appealing to in-migration in pursuit of good jobs. It doesn’t keep our children at home. It doesn’t provide a gateway to a strong future.

Louisianans, we simply must abandon the status quo so that we, a people with such marketable assets, can take our rightful place in the Pantheon of southern states that are prospering. Electing or re-electing politicians who are nice, who are cute, whose turn it is, or who are just clinging to petty power and a paycheck has gotten us here.

Only we can get us out of the basement, but like a drug addict, in order to be cured, we have to want to be cured.