Columnist: If La. can rebound, so can Mich.

Michigan has a reputation as a bad state in which to do business. But Tom Walsh, a columnist with the Detroit Free Press, says Louisiana should be a model for efforts to improve the state. Like Michigan, Louisiana faced a problem centered in its best-known city. While outsiders think the U.S. auto industry has shriveled up and died, leaving Detroit in tatters, some people thought Hurricane Katrina had left New Orleans permanently underwater. “After the devastation of Katrina, that left a lingering perception problem for Louisiana,” Ron Starner, general manager of Site Selection magazine, told The Free Press. “They did a lot of smart things to turn that around.” Starner credits Gov. Bobby Jindal and his efforts to revamp economic development programs. Now, Louisiana is ranked at the top of Site Selection’s overall competitiveness ranking of states in terms of attracting corporate investment. Walsh says if Louisiana can rebound during a recession, Michigan can turn around, too. See the column here.