VIEWPOINT
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Extracting knowledge and research
JR BALL CLEARLY WILLIAM F. Tate IV, the semi-new president of LSU, is not from here. We know this because Tate, in the 10 months since arriving at the flagship campus, keeps saying stuff that makes way too much sense. What he’s saying—imploring, really—is for Louisiana to be more like Apple and think different. His assertion is this state’s economic future is inextricably linked to our commitment to knowledge, research and technology. For the remedial among us, knowledge leads to research. Research leads to discovery. Discovery leads to new technologies. New technologies lead to new businesses. All that leads to more knowledge and … well, the circle starts over again but on a higher plane. It’s a circle of economic life song that Tate keeps singing whenever he’s outside those inspiring stucco halls shaded by stately oaks and broad magnolias. And he’s right. Here’s the problem—and it’s a big one: The Tiger king is preaching aspiration in a state that embraces a more “Hakuna Matata” way of life. “Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow,” is our siren song. Life is good if there’s a pickup truck, two shotguns, a sack of crawfish, a winning football team and a profanity-filled Mardi Gras parade. Everything else—except the case of cold ones—is lagniappe. And the only discovery we’re
looking to make is why in the hell did that recruit in the cringe-worthy Brian Kelly dance video sign with Ala-freakin’-bama? Such is life in a banana republic suffering from the natural resource curse. Louisiana’s economy has been rooted in extraction since becoming a state in 1812. Agriculture, timber and seafood were our calling cards until the early 1900s when this state sold its soul to the greatest extraction resource of all—oil and gas. Sucking oil and gas out of the ground and then refining it isn’t the cause of the curse. Those things, and the tremendous wealth it produces, merely facilitate the actual problem—the hubris and corruption of government leaders and an absolute lack of vision. It’s why this state has never given a damn about education. Who needs top-shelf knowledge when there’s plenty to go around living large off Mother Earth? Why cure cancer when there’s billions to be made facilitating it? Diversify the economy? What’s up with that? Laissez les bons temps rouler. Yet while the good times and low taxes were rolling, few bothered to give a damn as shakedowns, bad schools and a disastrous state fiscal policy caused most of the oil and gas companies to flee New Orleans for Houston, taking a big chunk of the revenue produced in this state and most of the high-paying executive jobs with them. It didn’t have to be this way. Louisiana could have been more like Texas, investing money made from its abundant resources on schools, public health and economic diversification. Louisiana clung to state
government centralization. Texas decentralized, giving power to local governments. That’s why Texas is Texas and Louisiana is … well … a state that relies on federal government handouts for survival. If that’s not depressing enough, a changing climate and evolving global views on energy production casts a shadow on the long-term future of oil and gas extraction. Given this reality, it would be wise for all of us to give Tate a listen. LSU’s president is calling for Louisiana to get serious about diversification by taking advantage of its long-ignored academic and research institutions. This isn’t some plea for a boost in general fund spending, but targeted investments in research that leads to economic growth. Tate, during a panel discussion hosted by The Advocate, said higher education research has a $600 billion impact on the national economy. LSU’s annual impact from research is roughly $6 billion. That sounds great but dig a little deeper and it turns out LSU is falling behind most of its SEC brethren in research investments. Tate suggests there are five areas for targeted spending: agriculture and biotechnology, cybersecurity, ocean and coastal science, carbon capture technology and cancer research. It’s an attainable vision. The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is already doing cutting-edge research while attracting some of this country’s brightest medical minds. If leaders were to treat it with the same reverence as a chemical plant, then its economic impact in a world driven by research and
Life is good if there’s a pickup truck, two shotguns, a sack of crawfish, a winning football team and a profanity-filled Mardi Gras parade. Everything else—except the case of cold ones—is lagniappe.
technology could be huge. Not only by what Pennington might achieve, but also by the spinoff facilities it undoubtedly would spawn as well as the companies that would certainly relocate here to commercialize its discoveries more efficiently. Similar possibilities exist, though perhaps not on the same scale in the short term, in cybersecurity where groundbreaking national security work is already taking place at Stephenson Technologies Corporation at the Water Campus. This isn’t about chasing after some fantasy like this state did with Silicon Bayou in the late 1990s. These are entities that are already here and doing work that’s attracting international attention. These are the types of facilities that attract the young, educated workers we’re so desperate to land. Louisiana’s economy is struggling. Wonks can spin the numbers however they want, but there’s no denying reality. The sun is setting on our extraction economy. No doubt, oil and gas—as well as timber and agriculture— will remain critical for decades to come, but if this state doesn’t get into the knowledge and research sectors then we’ll forever remain as one of this nation’s worst state economies. We can’t repeat the GSRI mistake. That was to be our Research Triangle some 50 years ago. The Raleigh-Durham campus even sent scores of its brightest minds here to get the complex up and running. So, what happened? Politicians got involved. They whined about funding. Complained it was concentrated in Baton Rouge. Demanded it be spread across the state. In short, they killed it before it even had a chance. All that remains is an old GSRI street sign, stolen before it could be converted to a renamed Innovation Drive. We screwed up that golden opportunity. Will we do it again?
Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022
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