Resetting the Shreveport, Bossier Economy
At the recent announcement of SLB (a Global Technology Company) establishing a manufacturing facility in the former General Motors plant, we were told as we were leaving to hold our heads up high and welcome and assist in the success of our new economic neighbor. This to me is a resetting of the local economy from the days of the Sun Belt Boom. In fact, the last of the boom to leave (General Motors) was mentioned in the presentation and addressed the many negatives that exodus caused.
The Sun Belt Boom attracted General Motors, General Electric, Western Electric (AT&T) and many other indirect companies like Goulds Battery. These high-paying (local standards) jobs pulled many residents out of poverty and expanded the Black middle class to new heights. The 205,000 (1980) residents of Shreveport enjoyed an enhanced standard of living that included low crime and educational advancements. So why wasn’t this boom sustainable and what can be done to ensure this resetting will be sustainable?
Many of the children of the boom workforce went on to college after high school but did not see opportunities to fit their degrees in the local economy and tended to move to other more progressive/diversified areas. That peak population in 1980 fell from the 67th largest city in the US to the 141st largest city today and is currently 10.6% smaller than it was in 1980. This might have been the result of embracing a basketful of oil and gas eggs instead of diversifying as the nation’s technology changed, but that was not the only reason. Corporations that wanted to maximize their profits and reduce their labor cost moved production overseas during this period as well.
What must we do to continue to grow and advance this reset started by the SLB announcement? This announcement comes at a time when inflation is waning and the threat of a recession has almost disappeared, so why is Amazon still straddling the fence? And is Amazon one of the four successes North Louisiana Economic Partnership President and CEO Justyn DIxon credits Gov. John Bel Edwards in helping NLEP with or is it opening the fifth before Gov. Edwards leaves office. Where is our research university (PHD program) that will continue to advance the technology companies that are viewing SBC as a place to do business? What changes are we making in our Pre-K through 12 curriculum that will not only produce a state-of-the-art non-college workforce, but will be a feeder for the college degree programs that will be necessary to advance our technology companies? What about the homegrown opportunities in Industrial Hemp and Solar Technology?
This announcement creates the opportunity for the City of Shreveport to honestly celebrate our two-hundred-year anniversary just twelve short years from now. Will we be viewed as one or the premier technology centers with SLB, Radiance Technology, Praeses, Raytheon and more joining us in our celebration? Will we be a city that had revisited its Master Plan and was able to pull together and accomplish many of its principles: Connecting people and places; Fairness and opportunity for everyone (neighborhoods of choice); Good stewardship of our natural and cultural heritage; A green and healthy community; High standards of quality in development and design; A business-friendly environment; and A community of learner? Growing up the elders would say, the longest journey begins with a single step forward. This announcement is a single, but giant step forward.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Resetting the Shreveport, Bossier Economy
