In his Leflore County stop on a statewide tour, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant touted the state’s achievements in economic development.
The governor, speaking to a crowd of about 100 at the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce Monday, said the state is focused on attracting advanced manufacturing operations and that he believed the Delta could attract parts suppliers to feed the South’s growing automotive industry.
“Our targeted industry for the Delta is manufacturing, especially automotive,” Bryant said. “It seems to move the economy forward. It has a greater multiplier effect than many other industries.”
The first-term Republican spoke in Greenwood as part of his Mississippi Works Tour, an effort to promote economic development efforts in the state, including his newly launched Mississippi Works initiative, an online job board for skilled workers.
During his 45-minute presentation, Bryant turned repeatedly to football analogies — a nod to the on-field successes of Mississippi State and Ole Miss over the weekend, which he said had put the state in a positive light nationally and has done more to promote the state than “$100 million in advertising.”
Bryant devoted the majority of his presentation to touting what he described as the overlooked indicators of the state’s strong growth — including a number of high rankings from industry publications for the state’s low tax burden, low cost of living, light regulation and friendly business climate.
At the same time, Bryant said that structural changes in the economy over the last few years — particularly automation of manufacturing — meant that many jobs lost during the recession wouldn’t be returning.
“Some of the jobs that existed in 2007 or 2008 don’t exist here anymore because the economy has changed,” said Bryant.
The governor pointed to a number of industries that have moved to Mississippi in recent years — including the Toyota Motor Co. assembly plant in Blue Springs and the planned Yokohama Tire Corp. plant in West Point — as indicators that the state is moving in the right direction on job growth.
At the same time, Bryant defended the often-generous incentive and tax-break packages Mississippi has offered corporations.
Referring to the packages as “corporate welfare,” Bryant said Mississippi is often forced to battle other states — particularly in the South — to attract employers, and the stiff competition means the state has to offer comparable handouts to companies.
“This competitive environment is good for us because we can compete,” Bryant said.
During his presentation, Bryant took several jabs at the press, criticizing media coverage of the state as overly harsh and ignoring many of the state’s achievements. “It’s as if there’s some kind of benefit or bonus if you can point out the bad about Mississippi,” Bryant said.
He also pointed to the state’s education system as “critical” for workforce development in the state. Bryant praised the job- training programs at the state’s community colleges and touted some of the research being conducted at the state’s universities.
He pointed to a number of education reforms as steering the state in the right direction, including a bill that he helped craft that will prevent students from advancing to fourth grade if they aren’t reading on grade level, a requirement that Bryant said will likely be unpopular but necessary.
“I know all the excuses. I’ve been working on this for years,” Bryant said. “This will work, and we will have an educated workforce.”
Asked afterward about the pending legal battle over the state’s public school funding formula, Bryant said he expected the lawsuit filed by 21 school districts to be dismissed soon.
He also said that both the lawsuit and a ballot initiative, which both seek to force the Legislature to fully fund the state’s public schools, are the “wrong way to do it.”
Instead, the governor criticized the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula, claiming that it puts as many funds “into administration as in the classroom.” He said that the Legislature should consider overhauling the formula to fund “those things that are working” — including the third-grade literacy requirement, charter schools and merit pay for teachers.
Bryant said he would be backing proposals for improved pre-kindergarten education programs in the state during the coming 2015 legislative session.
“So many children get to school unprepared to learn,” Bryant said.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
