The South's Economy Is Falling Behind: "All of a Sudden the Money Stops Flowing"

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The South’s economy has again slid behind other U.S. regions

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The South’s Economy Is Falling Behind: ‘All of a Sudden the Money Stops Flowing’

Policies that once drove the region’s growth have proven inadequate in an economy shaped by the forces of globalization

By Sharon Nunn | Photographs by Seth Herald for The Wall Street Journal
Updated June 9, 2019 5:58 p.m. ET

NATCHEZ, Miss.—The American South spent much of the past century trying to overcome its position as the country’s poorest and least-developed region, with considerable success: By the 2009 recession it had nearly caught up economically with its northern and western neighbors.

That trend has now reversed. Since 2009, the South’s convergence has turned to divergence, as the region recorded the country’s slowest growth in output and wages, the lowest labor-force participation rate and the highest unemployment rate.

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Sharon Nunn Retweeted

The South had nearly caught up economically with its northern neighbors by the 2009, but the policies that drove the acceleration—low wages & low taxes—have since fueled a reversal. ⁦@sharonmnunn⁩ explains in her 🔥⚡️💥 ⁦@WSJ⁩ swan song:

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[SCantiGOP]

1. SC is about as red as you can get

A recent index had its economy as the 34th best in the country, but the state was 6th in imports, driven by the Port of Charleston and the state’s #1 ranking in Foereign Direct Inveatment per capita.
Let the tariffs and Trump’s other misguided economic policies cut off the interaction between the Southern manufacturing base and its foreign partners, and the region will return to the miserable conditions of the 1950s.
When will these assholes quit voting against their own self-interest? Are they still that angry at LBJ for the ‘64 Civil Rights Act?

[PJMcK]

2. 34th best?!

Isn’t that also the 16th worst?

[SCantiGOP]

4. Yep

And since the state ranks 25th in population, being 34th in economic activity is not a good indicator.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. The South's low tax, low-wage policies worked for a century, but not anymore.

David Fahrenthold Retweeted

The South's low tax, low-wage policies worked for a century, but not anymore. The region is falling behind again in an economy now built on globalization and tech knowledge. Deeply reported story by @sharonmnunn https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-souths-economy-is-falling-behind-all-of-a-sudden-the-money-stops-flowing-11560101610 …

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[SCantiGOP]

5. For years, that is how the South marketed itself to new companies

With the demise of the domestic textile industry, Southern states had to attract new investment or they would have had the effect of a regional Depression.
Into the 70s they touted their low union rates and low wages. By the end of the 70s, most people realized that saying you could hire people for $5 an hour didn't mean much when Mexico would pay $2 a day and China the equivalent of 50 cents a day.