An economy built by all, for some
Don't believe the hype about the Southern economic development model
This new Economic Policy Institute report shows that the so-called “business-friendly” environment (that is rooted in racism) in so many Southern states does not benefit workers.
From the report:
To maintain the disproportionate levels of wealth and power enjoyed by many Southern politicians, corporate interests, and many wealthy and powerful people across the nation, businesses in the South have relied on access to large pools of cheap labor.
Businesses in the South have particularly depended on the labor of Black and brown Southerners. These laborers are used in cotton and tobacco fields, to produce the food we eat, to care for our children and the elderly, to build the nation’s infrastructure, and to perform many other jobs for little or no compensation.
Aided by low wages, anti-union policies, minimal regulations, limited corporate taxes, and a weak safety net, the only beneficiaries of this economic model are — of course! — people in the corner offices.
The study is a long read, but it’s worth the time.
Those signs of segregation posted long ago, have never truly been torn down.
They audaciously remain, but can only be seen by those with honest vision.
They will only be torn down when Peace and Justice embrace.
Workers are exploited more successfully in some states or regions than others (and those patterns are more than coincidence), but it's our basic economic model nationally. Corporations are not operating to maximize social benefit in any sense other than the preservation and concentration of wealth. It will take sustained, concentrated, collective political effort to change that even a little.