To bring jobs and opportunity back to Louisiana, the state needs to ensure a friendly, fair, and legally consistent legal and regulatory environment. Louisiana’s history of litigation abuse and government red tape continues to stifle opportunities for job seekers and working families to find good-paying jobs as businesses flee Louisiana for states with fairer, more predictable policies. Louisiana’s burdensome regulations and state government overreach only hinders our ability to create quality jobs for hard-working Louisiana families. Regulatory reform that limit strict government oversight is necessary to prevent jobs and opportunity from fleeing Louisiana to neighboring states currently experiencing economic booms.
Last week saw the release of some of best economic news for the state of Louisiana in a long time. According to the Department of Labor’s data for the week ending August 8, the number of Louisianans on unemployment insurance decreased by more than 53,000. This comes on the heels of a 27,000-person decrease during...
Last Wednesday’s Congressional antitrust hearing often had little to do with actual discussions of antitrust and instead, served as a platform for Congress to air their pet grievances to some of the nation’s largest tech firms. During the more than four-hour hearing, I couldn’t help thinking of the Inigo Montoya’s often quoted line from The...
On Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards signed House Speaker Clay Schexnayder’s HB 57, which will help to lessen lawsuit abuse and lift the burden it places on Louisianans. With citizens across the state demanding solutions to lessen the harm caused by lawsuit abuse, this legislation earned widespread support in both the House and the Senate...
In a huge victory for connecting Louisianans to high-speed broadband internet, Governor John Bel Edwards signed Senator Beth Mizell’s SB 10 into law on Wednesday. SB 10 removes major hurdles to providing broadband access to people and businesses who sorely need it across the state. The following is a statement from Daniel Erspamer, chief executive...
Following the revelation that Louisiana suffered one of the worst Q1 economic declines in the nation, today’s weekly unemployment claims announcement contains even more bad news for Louisianans. Despite remaining steady over the past six weeks, the Department of Labor reports the week of July 4 saw a 45 percent increase in the number of...
Just in time for the Independence Day Holiday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released some good news for the American people. The national unemployment rate fell 2.2 percent, leading to a total of 11.1 percent in June. Most notably, an astounding 4.8 million Americans who were temporarily laid off are now back in the workforce....
Today, the Louisiana Legislature passed HB 57 by Speaker Clay Schexnayder, the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020, in an overwhelming majority. HB 57 is a major victory for curbing lawsuit abuse and lessening the personal financial pain it causes, as well as its damaging effects to our state’s economy The following is a statement from...
Today, in a landmark victory for First Amendment and school choice champions, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued a ruling in one of the most anticipated cases of this term, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. At issue was whether Montana violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by prohibiting families who choose to enroll...
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) latest report, which showed that Louisiana personal income grew in the first quarter by 2.2 percent, appeared to be a welcome sight for a state still reckoning with the fallout of COVID-19 and subsequent economic shutdown. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals the income growth is a...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently reported that America gained 2.5 million jobs in the month of May, leaving many in Louisiana wondering how that would translate to the state’s economy. This morning’s BLS report showed Louisiana gaining almost 33,000 jobs in May, leading to a decline in the unemployment rate of 1.8 percent. The state’s...
On Friday, Governor John Bel Edwards’ vetoed an important piece of legislation for connecting Louisianans to high speed internet. SB 406 by Senator Beth Mizell would have removed government barriers that are preventing countless Louisianans from getting connected. The following is a statement from Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the Pelican Institute, regarding Gov....
Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a critical piece of legal reform legislation. Louisiana’s judiciary has adopted a practice to ignore legal liability limits and other protections, instead allowing aggressive plaintiffs to sue entrepreneurs of all sizes. This impacts everyone from small mom and pop shops to large oil and gas companies. HB 313 by Representative...
With COVID-19, the economic crisis, and the protests taking place across the country, Americans are feeling the need more than ever to communicate with their friends and family. Given all these circumstances, social media has become the go-to method of communicating for many. What many don’t know is that this ability to share our thoughts...
What if the government forced you to rent out property you own to a virtual stranger for his or her lifetime? The Pelican Institute’s Center for Justice recently filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Peyman Pakdel’s petition for rehearing en banc pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit implicates the...