Reader: Times are a’changing in Louisiana

Dear Editor,

Something highly unusual happened in Louisiana last month — a politician did exactly what he said he was going to do.

Many pundits wrongly figured that Gov. Jindal’s rhetoric during the campaign last year about changing Louisiana’s image of corruption was simply campaign rhetoric, turns out he was serious.

The legislators were serious about changing Louisiana’s image too. In the recently completed special session on ethics reform, Louisiana went from being rated dead last among the 50 states in ethics laws to being ranked first.

No doubt the new ethics laws requiring financial disclosure by state legislators and more disclosure from lobbyists about their spending practices will eventually cause big changes in the way the people’s business is conducted.

Long time political observers said it couldn’t be done, but it was done, and all the legislators deserve real congratulations.

Now is the time, however, to not go back to business as usual, but to keep moving forward.

The governor has called the legislature back into another special session, this time to tackle tax reform.

In the past few decades every other southern state has reformed their tax laws to make their state a more attractive place for businesses to grow and flourish.

This legislature now has the opportunity to make Louisiana truly competitive.

The goal is to not only provide an environment which attracts new businesses from other states, but also to provide a platform for our existing business to grow, and for the people of Louisiana to flourish by starting their own business opportunities.

This legislature has the chance to create an improved tax climate for businesses large and small to flourish. When businesses thrive, jobs become plentiful, opportunities are everywhere, careers can take off, and the people of Louisiana can chase their dreams right here at home.

This is the dawn of a new era in Louisiana. Everyone needs to get involved. You can start by logging on to our Web site at www. believeinlouisiana.com, and using that to contact your legislators.

Our job is not done. Make your voice heard now, and begin to believe in Louisiana again.

Rolfe McCollister,

Chairman, BelieveinLouisiana.com