Louisiana - Resource Rich and Dirt Poor

Louisiana is one of the wealthiest states in the United States in resources. But has the lowest per capita income of every state except Mississippi. This almost entirely due to resources extracted from Louisiana to be benefit of the federal government and commercial entities based mainly in the Northeast while Louisiana is left to contend with cost to mitigate damage to it's fragile environment and it's population.

Yearly, billions of dollars in oil royalties go to the federal government from oil extracted more than three miles off of the Louisiana coast, yet very little is recouped for damage to the environment from this mining activity. An excellent article How BP, Big Oil and the Feds Screw Louisiana to Bring You Cheap Gas explains this unfair situation, although it leans too heavily on BP and Big Oil as culprits. Despite common belief, the industry is heavily regulated by the federal government, especially in "federal waters" and is as responsible as any other entity to allow BP to skirt in place safety requirements. James Carville has also penned an op-ed that that argues the issue that Louisiana has long been carrying the risk but not benefiting from off shore drilling at Louisiana demands justice, not charity .

It is time for this state to stand up to the federal government and nullify Truman's grab of Louisiana's resources and demand it's rights to royalties beyond the three mile limit. If Louisiana could somehow obtain it's rightful full ownership of royalties then perhaps other coastal states would see the economic advantage to allow for drilling off their coast despite the BP debacle.