Businesses Leave New Orleans As A Result Of Its' Image

It is no surprise to me as well as other present and former New Orleanians that businesses are leaving New Orleans. I have given up hope that New Orleans will ever change its' image. Who wants to do business in a city where corruption runs rampant? Yes Katrina devastated New Orleans, but New Orleans had serious problems before the hurricane even struck the gulf coast. After reading the following, in the Times Picayune, yesterday, I cannot help but wonder how businesses will be recruited:

Intermarine is one in a long list of companies that -- citing concerns about infrastructure, corruption, crime, taxes and work force -- have shifted operations from the metro area. Katrina exacerbated those pre-existing issues.

Since 2005, the New Orleans area has lost nearly a dozen publicly traded companies. Among them is Ruth's Chris, which moved its headquarters to Orlando, Fla., after Hurricane Katrina devastated its Metairie headquarters and its local restaurants. Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold moved its headquarters to Phoenix. And International Shipholding Corp. moved its longtime Poydras Street headquarters to Mobile.

Still, business leaders are hopeful that the city will seize on what they believe is a unique opportunity to transform the way it retains and recruits businesses.

Perhaps less governmental interference is the answer as suggested by the following statement:

"Almost all major U.S. cities are controlled and directed by the business community. New Orleans is the only place I know of major size that government (officials) are the major players," Ricchiuti said. "It's a very odd town in that the business community doesn't call the shots here."

After all, it has been our elected officials who have done the most harm to New Orleans' reputation. Corruption is a crime. Who wants to do business in a City where they feel they have to grease some corrupt politician or his cronies hands in order to do business? Yes, Jim Letten has weeded out some corruption here, but I believe we will never ever really get the "big fish".