The following editorial appeared in The TownTalk newspaper on August 7, 2007
Our view: Cenla must 'Bring 'em home' in order to grow
In order to thrive, Alexandria has to keep growing, but recent U.S. Census data shows that's not happening.
Sun Belt cities are booming. A U.S. Census Bureau report shows that overall population concentration is shifting southward and much of it to cities with populations under 100,000.
But it's not happening in Louisiana.
Only Baton Rouge is among the 25 fastest-growing cities in the nation, and that is due primarily to the evacuees who fled Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to the explosive growth of state government.
Louisiana's population totaled 4.3 million on July 1, 2006, down nearly 220,000 from a year earlier, according to census estimates.
The state lost almost 5 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina population during the course of the year. In the year prior to the hurricanes, Louisiana was showing growth and had a population of 4.5 million.
The state for years has been losing its younger, more-educated population. If the Louisiana population continues to decline, the "brain drain" will continue and leave Louisiana with an older, poorer, less-educated populace.
Central Louisiana already struggles with a less-educated workforce, an older population and a high percentage of residents living at or below the poverty level. This doesn't bode well for civic advocates who hope to attract new businesses. Economic development opportunities are closely tied to a city's economic health.
It's a Catch-22.
We need an educated workforce to attract companies that pay decent wages, and we need to find ways to keep our best and brightest at home. That, of course, requires good employment opportunities.
From the outside looking in, investors see Louisiana as a state that cannot shake the dirt of a corrupt government, poor -- although improving -- public education, poverty and a tax structure that makes businesses locate elsewhere.
Currently, there are few good jobs here to attract those young, educated professionals.
That is, perhaps, one good place to start.
Cenla Advantage Partnership, the economic development arm of the Rapides Foundation, launched the "Bring 'em Home Cenla" campaign a few months ago. The campaign is designed to attract talented, young adults back to Central Louisiana the way only a parent can.
We already know that many young adults who grew up in Central Louisiana have left the area after they graduated from high school or college. Many seek higher-paying jobs while others are attracted to life in bigger cities. But we also know that as they marry and begin to have children, many would like to come home.
But they have to have a job to come back to.
Through Bring 'em Home Cenla, CAP is publicizing in advertisements and mail-outs the many job opportunities that are already available in our communities.
This, hopefully, will arm parents with the knowledge of the job market that will bring their kids home. Meanwhile, we must work hard to attract more businesses to lure those educated and skilled former Central Louisianians back home.
