Analysis | Why Alabama and Mississippi have suddenly gone in opposite directions (Jackson: lawyers, universities)

[viverlibre]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...rce=reddit.com

As someone who lives/works in the Jxn metro, but visits Alabama a half dozen times or more per year for work and personal visits, it is obvious that Alabama is headed in the right direction while Mississippi continues to get deeper in the hole.

The power in MS lies in the legislature and the Lt. Governor is the leader of that body. Now that Delbert, MS's most popular politician, holds the office of Lt. Governor hopefully he can effectuate change.

[sammyreynolds1977]

I think Delbert is a good man but there are some people in the legislator I don't trust.

[viverlibre]

Originally Posted by sammyreynolds1977

I think Delbert is a good man but there are some people in the legislator I don't trust.

Haha, I personally know a couple and they are not smart...

[southernnaturelover]

One thing is for sure, the commenters on that article sure don't hold back their hatred for Southerners.

[viverlibre]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

One thing is for sure, the commenters on that article sure don't hold back their hatred for Southerners.

Oh yeah, don't read the comments!

As someone who has spent a good bit of time with a good mixture of people from all around the country, there is a common perception that people from the south (and MS particularly) are no shoes wearing, tobacco chewing, dumb, racist, rednecks. Now, this perception is easily overcome, but initially, it is there.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by viverlibre

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...rce=reddit.com

As someone who lives/works in the Jxn metro, but visits Alabama a half dozen times or more per year for work and personal visits, it is obvious that Alabama is headed in the right direction while Mississippi continues to get deeper in the hole.

The power in MS lies in the legislature and the Lt. Governor is the leader of that body. Now that Delbert, MS's most popular politician, holds the office of Lt. Governor hopefully he can effectuate change.

You missed the most important part of that article, which was the end. Mississippi is actually doing very well considering all the factors. The Bryant/Reeves regime has been very good for job creation in Mississippi.

Thank goodness for tort reform. And thank goodness Hood was not elected. Every state surrounding MS was hoping for a Hood win, meaning that no business would ever locate to Mississippi during that regime.

None of this is to take away from Alabama, who is definitely doing well. But it's mainly due to Huntsville, which is a new economy-type city/region. The rest of the state is stagnating like anywhere else. Airbus has created a little buzz in Mobile. Birmingham is still Birmingham, there will be things going on there just due to size, but please do not talk to me about the rebirth simply because they cleaned up the downtown. That doesn't move the economic needle.

[bfmx1]

Alabama has better bones with at least 3 large well-known universities (much larger than MS State / Ole Miss/ Sthrn Miss) and has a "been there done that" attitude because Alabama used to more on the forefront and Birmingham was a significant economic center in the country. Today, that infrastructure and memory still exists. Mobile has tons of potential, Huntsville speaks for itself, Tuscaloosa is no town to discount, and Birmingham is MUCH more desirable to live in than Jackson (personal opinion). Mississippi has never "been there" is what I'm saying.

However, I would be careful when you say Alabama is doing good. That's comparative to what? That article only compares very specific time period growth which can mean lots of different things. Also, it doesn't mention the quality of jobs or employment.

Alabama is still experiencing bounce-back years from the recession, so much of the apparent growth is just getting back to par. Still better than whatever Mississippi is doing.

But comparing Alabama's "progress" to other states is not accurate because most states bounced back much faster and saw their growth several years ago while Alabama is just now seeing the effect.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

Alabama has better bones with at least 3 large well-known universities (much larger than MS State / Ole Miss/ Sthrn Miss) and has a "been there done that" attitude because Alabama used to more on the forefront and Birmingham was a significant economic center in the country. Today, that infrastructure and memory still exists. Mobile has tons of potential, Huntsville speaks for itself, Tuscaloosa is no town to discount, and Birmingham is MUCH more desirable to live in than Jackson (personal opinion). Mississippi has never "been there" is what I'm saying.

Birmingham is the only real city in Alabama that has "been there, done that". Now, it's all about Huntsville.

Mississippi has certainly "been there, done that" too. It was just pre-Civil War, haha. Natchez, Vicksburg, etc....those were the place to be back in those days (well, if you were white and rich). Not so much for the rest of us. But seriously, since that point, the state has made nearly every bad decision you could make. Putting MSU in Starkville rather than Meridian, investing in agriculture only, allowing lawyers to screw up everything, etc.

Having lived in all these places, it's funny to me to watch the comparisons. Even funnier is state comparisons based on arbitrary lines. And none of these comparisons means anything when compared to a real economy like Atlanta or Nashville.

I have to laugh even more at the comments of that article when they think growth is somehow tied to the party that is in power as far as governance. Economic growth is almost totally independent of that. The politics are a RESULT. New York City (or whatever urban Murica megalopolis) is certainly blue now, but they never started that way. Usually a town turns liberal due to a certain amount of decadence and success, then the blue takes over because you can now afford to worry about meaningless 'problems' rather than SURVIVAL.

Mississippi has a serious case of low self-esteem. Fixing that would be the first step IMO. It needs 'something' to happen. No idea what it might be.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Usually a town turns liberal due to a certain amount of decadence and success, then the blue takes over because you can now afford to worry about meaningless 'problems' rather than SURVIVAL.

Mississippi has a serious case of low self-esteem.

Wow, that's an interesting theory that I haven't really thought about. I love it actually. Why do cities turn blue after x amount of success/growth?

I guess I would have said it's because, when a metro sees success, many people move to there to find work, primarily lower income earners and/or minorities who generally vote for the party that promises them the most.

Maybe a combo of the two but this should be a new thread to discuss why cities turn blue.


Anyway, you're right, Birmingham is the only real city in Alabama and it's "been there done that" stage was far deeper than anything in Mississippi. The backbone of a city is its industry/companies that provide jobs. Birmingham's corporate landscape is MUCH deeper than Jackson's giving it a huge advantage to "making it" or thriving in the next several decades.

Jackson is basically a large Gadsden.

Im not sure what kinda "Win" MS could hope for honestly.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

Jackson is basically a large Gadsden.

I mean I wouldn't go THAT far. It's still the business and governmental center of the state. I look at it as a cross between Montgomery and Birmingham. The metro population is near 600K. It's not as terrible as it's made out to be. All of this dramatic "MUCH better" type talk you are doing is simply the fact that Birmingham is a metro area double the size of Jackson, so better things are to be expected. Jackson has a lot of employers, and actually has great bones itself. Potential just needs to be realized.

As far as wins, MS has had the same type success as AL just on a lower scale. Nissan in Canton, Continental Tire in Bolton, Toyota in Blue Springs, GTR's progress, the Coast has blown up with a multitude of things, etc. What we don't have is a new economy city like Huntsville. Honestly, we can only hope that companies like CSpire spur that type of good, high-IQ growth in the Jackson Metro area.