Are We Happy Yet?

The announcement that Air Products is pulling the plug on its multibillion dollar Louisiana Clean Energy Complex should be a sobering moment for everyone who has spent years insisting Louisiana has "too much industry."

Instead, many of the project's loudest opponents are celebrating.

Are we happy yet?

This wasn't just another industrial project. It represented billions of dollars in private investment, thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent positions, and another signal that Louisiana remained competitive for major manufacturing investments. Instead, Air Products concluded the economics no longer made sense and is walking away after determining the project would not meet its required financial returns. The company is taking a multibillion dollar write-down in the process.

The irony is hard to miss.

For years, activists argued that stopping projects like this would somehow improve Louisiana's future. They fought permits. They organized protests. They filed lawsuits. They portrayed investment as something to fear rather than something to welcome.

Now they have exactly what they wanted.

The investment is gone.

The jobs are gone.

The tax revenue is gone.

The opportunities for contractors, suppliers, restaurants, hotels, and small businesses that would have benefited from years of construction are gone.

This swill unfortunately serve as a warning. Companies looking to invest have choices. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and dozens of other states would gladly welcome projects that Louisiana spends years debating. Every time we create uncertainty, every time projects become political footballs, investors notice.

Louisiana cannot build prosperity by becoming known as the state where major projects go to die.

Economic growth requires taking calculated risks, embracing innovation, and recognizing that no project will satisfy every critic. If our default answer becomes "no," companies will eventually stop asking.

So, to those celebrating today's announcement, congratulations.

You won.

The only question left is whether Louisiana did.