Two cents: Colleges trump chickens
Call me crazy—many have said much worse—but if the Jindal administration can rationalize tapping the state's mega-fund for $50 million to purchase a closed chicken plant, then how can it not also use the economic development fund to save higher education? No offense to the 1,300 workers and suppliers impacted by the plant closure in Farmerville, but the health and vitality of our community and technical colleges and our four-year universities is of far more vital importance to the long-term economic health of Louisiana. Without question, there's a need to overhaul and streamline higher education and how the systems are managed and funded, but until that happens (and we hope soon) the administration can't sit back and watch many of the gains made by LSU and others get reversed in one fiscal cycle. If Gov. Bobby Jindal truly embraces the concept of a knowledge-based economy, then he absolutely must find a way to minimize the fiscal hit on higher education -- even if it means raiding LED's sacred mega-fund. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com. —JR Ball
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