A series exploring the highs and lows of Lafayette’s economy, providing critical commentary about what’s working and what’s not.
Currency
How tolerance is essential to growing Lafayette’s innovation economy
The Drag Queen Story Time episode’s impact is bigger than drag queens and literacy.
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4 min read
The parish is broke, and it’s a drag on the city’s finances
In the upcoming fiscal year the city general fund will bring in just over $100 million and end the year with a fund balance of almost $40 million. The parish general fund will bring in less than $12 million and end the year with a fund balance of about $100,000.
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6 min read
How cashing in on LUS reveals the unfairness of consolidated government
While there are more questions than answers about selling LUS, one thing we know for sure is that it’s a perfect example of the unfairness baked into the structure of Lafayette’s consolidated government.
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5 min read
The high cost of political uncertainty
Lafayette needs less uncertainty from local government not more. But that’s not the direction we’re going.
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5 min read
Downtown’s most important domino: the old federal courthouse
No project is perhaps more emblematic of the morass Downtown has been in than the old federal courthouse. Yet, a project of this magnitude is exactly what we need to catalyze development.
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6 min read
How CGI is doubling down on Lafayette’s digital economy
While headlines have focused on the creation of 400 jobs, there’s a lot more to unpack about the benefits to Lafayette’s digital economy.
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5 min read
Why Lafayette’s economy needs more Waitrs
As a result of Waitr’s hard work and pluck, our community now has all the ingredients needed to power an explosion of growth in our digital economy.
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6 min read
How did Lafayette’s economy lose $10B of GDP?
Much of our GDP has been lost to an industry that seems unlikely to ever fully recover. And none of our industries are on pace to have the kind of billion-dollar growth our economy needs to get back on track.
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6 min read
Perspective: Katie Hebert
UHC’s CEO says losing the hospital would deal a devastating blow not only to Lafayette’s economy but also the region’s poorest population.
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10 min read
Closing UHC will open up a world of hurt on Lafayette’s economy
If Lafayette loses UHC, our community will be sicker, poorer, weaker, and less able to dig our way out of the $10 billion economic hole we find ourselves in now.
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5 min read
Lafayette’s $10 billion economic problem
Lafayette needs to replace $10 billion in local GDP in the next five years or risk losing an entire generation of thinkers and doers.
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3 min read
Aug. 30, 2018, marked the fall of oil and (hopefully) the rise of tech in Lafayette
The day started with the news that LAGCOE was leaving for New Orleans and ended with a pitch competition that’s a symbol for a future where Lafayette is a hub for healthtech startups.