Blanco Spain trip

[neworleanshoo]

can you say "vacation?"

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl091707khblancospain.e1802be3.html

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is heading to Spain for a four-day economic development trip, her office announced Sunday.

State Economic Development Secretary Michael Olivier is set to join Blanco for a round of meetings and seminars in Madrid. The trip is set to run from Monday through Thursday, with a goal of attracting greater investment to Louisiana, according to a statement released by Blanco's office.

Blanco said Spain already has "heavy involvement" in Latin America and that she planned to call on companies interested in possibly investing in Louisiana.

She didn't specify what type of companies or investors the team would court, though a spokeswoman, Marie Centanni, said it is "part of the continued economic development mission to bring investments and high-quality jobs to Louisiana."

 

[SaintsFan11]

I doubt this is a vacation, but if it is it will be a more productive vacation than Mike Foster's frequent vacations to Cameron Parish.

Meeting with people to encourage economic development is a much better vacation for the people of Louisiana than a vacation which entails controlling the waterfowl population in Louisiana's coastal marshes.

 

[neworleanshoo]

I doubt this is a vacation, but if it is it will be a more productive vacation than Mike Foster's frequent vacations to Cameron Parish.

Meeting with people to encourage economic development is a much better vacation for the people of Louisiana than a vacation which entails controlling the waterfowl population in Louisiana's coastal marshes.

touche

but i would bet that the resulting "economic development" coming from this little jaunt to Spain will just about equal the impact that Governor Foster had on controlling the waterfowl population.

plus or minus zero.

 

[SaintsFan11]

Well, there has certainly been evidence of Blanco's efforts, if not results, to encourage economic development in her trips around the world. We've been in the running for a lot of stuff that we haven't historically been in the running for.

Still, if you want to make the argument that she has been ineffective at getting any real investment in Louisiana so she should stay home, that's OK with me. I just don't share your cynical opinion that she's taking international vacations on the taxpayers dime.

 

[MLU]

Kinda like her vacations to the Middle East, Cuba and Japan?

 

[SaintsFan11]

Didn't she get an agreement for a new oil refinery from her Middle East vacation?

 

[champ76]

Didn't she get an agreement for a new oil refinery from her Middle East vacation?

I think it was an agreement to study the possibility of placing a new refinery in LA. For what that's worth.

 

[SaintsFan11]

You're right. They signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" that Louisiana was under consideration. Louisiana is the only state with such a memorandum, whatever that is worth.

Still, it's not insignificant that she went over there to solicit the refinery, and that at least makes her trip a working vacation...