If there is any consensus from the right and left on what will have to be done post-COVID-19, it pertains to the United States’ relationship with China in minimizing domestic manufacturing reliance on the Asian superpower.
Should the federal government pursue policies requiring or incentivizing production back stateside, former State Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), a candidate for the GOP nod for Second Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives’ seat up in November, says Alabama is positioned to be the beneficiary.
Moore told Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” on WVNN radio that the components to resume manufacturing were in place in the Second Congressional District, given the infrastructure left behind by textile manufacturing that departed 20-30 years ago as the economy became more globalized.
“Alabama, for one, we’ve got land, labor and climate that’s conducive to economic growth,” Moore said. “We’ve got available land. We’ve got a climate that allows us to produce and ship year-round. Obviously, we need to look at some infrastructure needs going forward. And we’ve got a labor force down here. The auto industry has figured that out. I think there are ways we can market that to the national and international level.”
“I think Enterprise, Dothan, Slocumb, Hartford — those local towns that lost textile production, Andalusia,” he continued. “You name one, there was a mill in that town that lost jobs. I think there’s an opportunity there to bring that back. There are some vacant builds, obviously, that we can try to market, cut some rates, get some industry in here. But looking down the road, I think so — I think there is an opportunity for this area, the Second Congressional District, to benefit from increased production and bringing some of that stuff back home.”
“It makes us safer,” Moore added. “It’s a national security issue, at some point.”
Moore faces Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman in a since-delayed July 14 Republican primary runoff.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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