Kick'em When They're Down

Once again, the country's wealthiest lobbying group the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is picking on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region.  For the last several years they have been putting out a report based on a survey of corporate lawyers (um, biased?  Aren't these the folks hired to defend companies accused of wrongdoing?) who ranked the states legal climates.

And according to their reports, just a couple of months after Hurricane Katrina hit, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama dropped to the bottom of their 2006 list – and have stayed there.  According to Joanne Doroshow, Executive Director of CJ&D,

"For three years now, the U.S. Chamber has inexplicably decided to target the struggling Gulf Coast region for criticism as it tries to recover from one of the worst disasters in our nation's history, which killed thousands, displaced millions, and left hundreds of thousands without jobs or income.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce should be helping this battered area instead of launching attacks on it.  These states are working hard to recover and bring businesses back, with some significant success according to recent employment figures."