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Brown eyes Jindal's future
A former Ferriday resident who knows his way well around the political world said Gov. Bobby Jindal would make a great president one day and can continue to enhance his clout by leading Louisiana to prosperity.
Jim Brown, who has served the state in the capacity of State Senator from Ferriday, Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner, was guest speaker at the Ferriday Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
"I think Gov. Jindal can be a good president, but he can't let go of what is happening here," he said. "He can make an even bigger impression by what he can do in Louisiana."
Brown said the state and Ferriday have had plenty of highs and lows since the 1970s.
"We had some great opportunities in the 1970s and missed some opportunities," Brown said. "Back then the price for a barrel of oil was $2.15. Eight years later when I left office it was $60 a barrel. Now it's going towards $100. There was such a boon here because we had so many from this area working offshore and farming was at a peak."
Brown said the decade of the 70s brought a new Mississippi River Bridge, National Guard armory, improvement on Hwy. 15 and money for the new courthouse.
"We also had a road built to Lake St. John and since I later moved out there it was called the 'Jim Brown Road,'" Brown joked.
Brown said inflation and long gas lines highlighted the 1980s.
"Ferriday began losing some growth then," he said. "It seemed all the development headed to Baton Rouge and New Orleans."
Brown said Jindal and State Senator Andy Anders, who was in attendance, have their hands full handling the economic crisis.
But Brown believes Jindal is a good leader.
"I am a big Bobby Jindal fan, but there's too much being said about his future," Brown said. "We have some basic fundamental problems right her at home, especially with the tax structure. This area has a lot of potential for retirees with hunting and fishing and the charm of Natchez. But high income taxes hurt us. They do not have income taxes in Texas and Florida. We've got to be more competitive. And our educational system is a big challenge. We have 90,000 jobs that can't be filled because we don't have the work force to deal with those jobs."
Brown said Louisiana has the highest insurance costs with automobile and homeowner insurance leading the nation and health insurance among the top two or three. |
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