Daniel Erspamer, Chief Executive Officer at Louisiana's Pelican Institute think tank, talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the current legislative session, the possibility of a gas tax increase and what he sees as an onerous regulatory system, which discourages businesses from coming to the state.

Erspamer tells KEEL listeners that the legislative discussion - initiated by Governor John Bel Edwards - inhibits commercial expansion. He cites New York as an example of a state which increased - nearly doubling - its minimum wage, and "for the first time in decades there are fewer restaurant jobs than there were the year before."

Erspamer also addresses Louisiana's lagging behind in a booming national economy. "The numbers are stark and getting worse," he says. "Not only do we have five thousand fewer people working, we have thirty thousand who have left the workforce, altogether."

Hear Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty weekday mornings from 6 til 9 on 101.7 / 710 KEEL, or by downloading the free KEEL app, presented by Office Furniture Source.

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