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Louisiana families know what it feels like to stretch a budget. They know what it costs to fill a prescription. And most of them have no idea that a significant reason American drug prices are so high is that wealthy foreign governments — our own allies — have spent decades rigging the system to avoid paying their fair share. That imbalance is now squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, and Louisiana has every reason to pay close attention. A recent analysis f

By Sean Corkery One of the first things I did when I turned 18 was open a brokerage account and buy my first stock. The rules were clear, the broker had to be registered with FINRA, material risks had to be disclosed in the prospectus, and fraud carried real legal consequences. These aren't bureaucratic hurdles, they are the bedrock of a system that made American capital markets the deepest and most trusted in the world. Now Congress is considering legislation that would exem

You don't spend four decades in banking without developing a feel for when a market is about to turn. Joe Zanco has that feel — and right now, he's more optimistic about Louisiana than he's been in years. Zanco is the President and CEO of Catalyst Bank, a community lender with deep roots in Acadiana. His career includes more than a decade as CFO at Home Bank, one of the region's largest institutions. He's seen Louisiana's economy at its best and its worst. And when someone wi

Louisiana’s economic challenges are well known in the business community: slow population growth, inconsistent job creation, and difficulty attracting outside investment compared to neighboring Southern states. While recent tax reforms have improved the state’s standing, they have not yet addressed the core issue shaping long-term competitiveness—how Louisiana taxes income. For business leaders and site selectors, tax structure is not just a line item. It is a signal. It refl

Something unusual is happening in the wetlands south of Pecan Island, and in the committee rooms of the Louisiana Legislature, and in the quiet corridors of the Landry administration. Hunting leases are being cancelled. ExxonMobil is shelving a major carbon capture project. A coordinated package of aerospace incentive bills materialized in the Louisiana Legislature within 48 hours of the March 31 filing deadline, carried by two of the most powerful committee chairmen in the H

here is a version of Louisiana's economic story that is always about what's next — the next LNG terminal, the next petrochemical plant, the next foreign manufacturer choosing a greenfield site along the Mississippi River corridor. That story is real and it matters. But this week in Arabi, St. Bernard Parish, a different kind of economic signal went into the ground: a groundbreaking that looked backward as much as it looked forward, and that may say more about Louisiana's unde

For decades, Louisiana has imposed one of the most economically damaging and outdated taxes in America: the inventory tax. At a time when states across the South are competing aggressively for manufacturing projects, logistics hubs, distribution centers, and industrial investment, Louisiana continues taxing businesses simply for holding inventory on shelves and in warehouses. Forty-one states do not impose this type of tax at all. That matters. The inventory tax punishes comp

Louisiana has spent the past several years positioning itself as an emerging hub for next-generation industry. From advanced manufacturing at Michoud to a growing footprint of large-scale data centers, the state is quietly building the kind of infrastructure that will define the artificial intelligence economy. That makes a largely Washington-focused debate over AI export controls more relevant to Louisiana’s economic future than it might first appear. At its core, the issue

After a decade of explosive growth, digital assets are rightfully moving into the financial mainstream. Financial institutions from NYSE to Nasdaq are investing in plans to integrate digital assets and tokenized securities. Even U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins has claimed that much of the financial system could move on-chain within " a couple of years ." In preparation for this shift, the SEC is expected to announce an innovation exemption f

Thanks to the more than $300 million services contract to Green Tug Towing , a joint venture of Harbor Docking & Towing and Saltchuk Marine , for the design and construction of four new tugs to be built at C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chase and delivered to Louisiana LNG in 2028, Woodside and its contractors have now committed more than $1 billion to Louisiana suppliers for the foundational development of this LNG project. Jeff Landry , Louisiana Governor, highlight

Louisiana’s workforce development agency has a new $7 million initiative that businesses from across the state can take advantage of. According to Louisiana Works , the Workforce Outcomes and Reimbursement for Key Sectors (WORKS) Training Fund addresses the need for skilled workers throughout the state. It’s supported through a national initiative. “This is about helping employers solve real workforce challenges, right now,” said Louisiana Works Secretary Susana Schowen. “W

For decades, Louisiana has quietly played a central role in America’s space program. Now, as commercial space companies look to expand, the state has a real opportunity to turn that legacy into a competitive advantage—and Gov. Jeff Landry is right to aggressively make that case. Louisiana isn’t trying to build an aerospace industry from scratch. It already has one. NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans has been the backbone of American rocket manufacturing for more