New Orleans and Louisiana could potentially see a big economic boom in the next decade after it was announced that former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was chosen by President Biden to oversee the implementation of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The selection has been met with mixed reviews locally, though Louisiana could still greatly benefit. At the same time, the effort to embrace and invest in new business in the Crescent City continues to show potential. Michael Hecht and Rachel Shields of GNO Inc. joined the show to discuss both matters and they agree - if this is all done right, New Orleans would see a huge spike in economic development.
Do we really know how much federal money Louisiana would be getting from the infrastructure bill?
MH: To my understanding is that there's a baseline of about $6 billion of what I'd called ‘direct funding.’ Some of that money is going to be divided up based on population and some will be competitive within Louisiana, but then there are going to be other pots of money beyond that, that we're going to be able to go for federally. Those are ones that I think are more like grants. $6 billion sounds good until you realize that it's out of $1.2 trillion!
Folks are very excited about the fact that a former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was named as the infrastructure czar. What is that role, exactly?
MH: That's unclear. This is kind of an unprecedented amount of money and a new position, so I think the specifics are unknown. In a general way, it's good for the country and good for our region, and New Orleans to have somebody who has the Katrina context and experience under his belt… Louisiana is punching way above its weight in D.C. right now because we've got Cedric Richmond already in the White House, Steve Scalise, who potentially could be the next Speaker of the House. Louisiana should be in a good position to get money, but are we going to be in a position to receive it effectively? That's really the big question.
Tell us about the Emerge Summit.
RS: Emerge Summit is our region's premier young professionals conference. It started back in 2017 as a really great opportunity to bring young professionals from across our region together to network with and make relationships with like-minded individuals who are all experiencing the same kinds of things in both their personal and professional development. Also, it gives them a chance to learn about economic development, and what really drives the economy in Southeast Louisiana.
How important is this young demographic group?
These young professionals may be in their early twenties, exiting college and entering the marketplace for the first time, to folks perhaps in their mid-forties looking for that next permanent phase in their career… They’re very important because these are our workers for today, our workers who are training our next generation of workers. They are planting roots right here at home, putting their kids in school, starting families,
We’re hopefully in the fourth quarter of this pandemic and a lot of our mindset has changed for businesses and economic development. There are major differences from running a business in 2019 to running a business in 2022, aren’t there?
RS: That's a part of the theme for this conference. There's a huge difference in the way we did business just two years ago.
MH: We know that some things changed because of COVID... some will go back, but what's changed permanently, what young people expect out of their jobs. how they value work-life balance, and what they're looking for in their careers is incredibly important to hear from the source. I think we'll come out of this conference with a better sense of whether the pandemic was a detour or if fundamentally, as employers, we have to engage with young workers in a different way going forward.
