Displaying items by tag: Louisiana business

Louisiana Business shorts news for today: the Important event at the convention center in New Orleans IAEE; New Orleans technology; NOLA Christmas Fest

Today's Louisiana Business shorts--New Orleans technology, Talk Time for attorneys and plenty of energy money for Louisiana

RISING TECH HUB

According to an email from Michael Hecht of GNO Inc, New Orleans tech community has plenty of activity which is receiving national recognition. Here's the latest:

LABI, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, has bestowed honors upon the state's innovators and job creators.

by Stephen Waguespack, President and CEO of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI)

In 1994, after two years under the Clinton administration and decades more toiling as the minority party in Congress, Republicans decided they needed a plan to better communicate with the American people and detail the specific actions they promised to take if they assumed leadership in Congress in the upcoming elections. They suspected their ideas would resonate with a country growing more conservative by the day, but they knew the President’s bully pulpit and rapport with the mainstream media made it difficult to get those ideas heard by voters around the country. They knew they needed a workaround. Thus, the Contract with America was born.

by Stephen Waguespack, President and CEO of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry

Every now and then, it is important to take the time to reflect on those who deserve some recognition and appreciation.
 
I for one feel blessed that I have a loving family, supportive friends and am surrounded daily by hardworking and talented coworkers. I want each of them to know how grateful I am for all that they do.
 
The last several months, we at LABI have worked daily with an army of elected officials and other dedicated public servants to try and solve the state’s policy challenges affecting Louisiana’s business community. While we agree with some and disagree with others, I want to say thank you to all of them for their commitment to Louisiana and their willingness to offer themselves up for public service.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is the largest and most politically powerful business group in the state. Last week at the 2018 Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) formally announced its officers and Board of Directors for 2018, along with the members of the 2018 LABI Emerging Leaders Council, a group of distinguished entrepreneurs and young professionals. LABI is pleased and proud to be guided by some of the top leaders and talent from the Louisiana business community from every corner of the state.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) has good news to report for the Capitol city area regarding its economy. Today, it presented its 2018 Economic Outlook at its Regional Stakeholders Breakfast. The report is available online at brac.org/reports. 

Below is the press statement released by BRAC which shows that progress is being made, regional jobs are growing and the business environment is improving:

by Stephen Waguespack
President and CEO of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
In 1993, professional basketball star Charles Barkley made headlines when he used a Nike commercial to say, “I am not a role model…. just because I can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids…. parents should be role models.”

These were quite controversial comments at that time. While some agreed wholeheartedly, many saw his comments as an excuse for perceived bad behavior on his part and that of several other athletes during that era.

Today is one of those moments in which you feel a strong sense of accomplishment, even when simply observing.

New Orleans, has made strong advances in the area of technology over the years. This is largely due to numerous companies taking advantage of the Digital Media Tax Credits to help tech-based enterprises grow their respective businesses. At the beginning of this decade, GE Capitol opened up a large headquarters in the city which put a large skin on the wall to promote. Today, the city and the State of Louisiana announced they landed a really big one, DXC Technology, a multi-billion international enterprise that is one of the largest companies in the world. 

With Louisiana, once again, getting ready to fall off of the fiscal cliff, would it be better for the state to go to pot?

At some point prior to mid-June 2018, Louisiana legislature will be forced to either engage in major budget cuts amounting to roughly $1B, raise revenues, a combination of both or, extend a penny sales tax since the size of government has exceeded the revenues to pay for it.