[StBernard] Most Improved

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

Over the past few years you've heard me say time and time again that we're
not going to do things the Washington Way, we're going to do things the
Louisiana Way.  And that's exactly what we've done.  We've balanced our
budget every year without raising taxes.  We cut spending and made
government more efficient and more effective.  And instead of doubling down
on the failed policies of the past, we've enacted reforms that give patients
more health care choices and empowered our parents with more choice in their
child's education.

Already we're beginning to see those reforms payoff.  In addition to adding
nearly 40,000 private sector jobs in the last year, Louisiana received more
good news this week with the release of new rankings from Pollina Corporate
Real Estate.  Pollina looks at a number of economic indicators when it ranks
top pro-business states, and since 2008 no state has shown more improvement
than Louisiana.  In 2008, Louisiana ranked 40th in the country.  Today we've
moved all the way up to number 16.

Without question, we've still got room to grow, but our efforts to cut
burdensome business taxes, overhaul our ethics laws, and reign in government
spending are paying dividends.  Already our state has achieved its highest
ever ranking from Area Development, Business Facilities, CNBC, Forbes, Site
Selection and Chief Executive - but we're not stopping here.  We're going to
continue to encourage economic growth by making our tax code fairer,
flatter, and simpler so that businesses inside and outside Louisiana choose
our state for investment and expansion.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal