Chapter 6: Better Towns, Better Workers, Better Industry
Even after the Civil Rights movement somewhat rehabilitated the South's image with regard to race, the region faced other impediments to economic development. In general, the region was viewed as being backward, with inadequate public facilities and institutions.
The anecdotal information in this chapter backs up what has been empirically demonstrated: that public services -- not just taxes -- affect business location decisions.
Location experts were fond of citing the case of Union City, Tennesee, which was "jilted" by a company whose executives decided to locate a $17 million plant elsewhere. When questioned about this decision, company spokesmen told a local leader, "There is nothig wrong with your city that a good city government wouldn't cure." (p. 152)
Having a reputation as a speed trap and admitting that much of your city revenue came from fining "misbehaving Negroes" was also viewed as not conducive to economic development.
In Mississippi, the MERIT program led to efforts to improve libraries, start beautification projects, and upgrade sewage facilities. The goal there, as elsewhere in the South, was to make southern communities excellent places to live.
The effort to attract industry also stimulated efforts at political reform. In 1946, a group of political reformers in Augusta, GA took control of city govt away from the entrenched machine. Similar rebellions happened in other communities, such as Hot Springs, AR.
Louisiana provided the best example of a state whose poor image apparently retarded its industrial growth. A reputation for high taxes, free spending, and a shady and ineffective government that was openly hostile to business had dogged the state since the tumultuous era of governor and then senator Huey P. Long. (p. 157)
Political reform also led states to discard county unit systems which gave rural areas more clout than their populations warranted. These changes gave greater power to more moderate urban business interests by taking power away from more reactionary rural interests.
These changes also meant that business interests tended to be better represented than those of the poor. For example, slum-clearing urban renewal was more likely to result in a new commercial district, not low-income housing. This isn't to say that social welfare was a the forefront prior to reform, just that reform didn't really benefit blacks or low-income whites as much as business interests.
In the 50s and 60s industrial promoters started shifting from recruiting strictly low-skill, low-wage industries and sought more advanced, better-paying industries. This shift renewed the interest of promoters in improving education systems. Industry executives that were going to be moving to the new location wanted good schools for their kids.
The desire for more sophisticated industries also highlighted the need for occupational training. Southern states institutionalized the existing practice of providing training for new industries. This stimulated the expansion of the vocational education system, especially post-secondary education -- junior colleges and tech schools.
In a sense, though, the training programs were just another location subsidy that improved the profitability of the new facility. Training was specific to the needs of the firm, "there was little attention to the trainee's needs..." (p. 169)
Some promoters saw a need for states to get involved in technological efforts, research and development. The development of the Research Triangle Park in NC was one of the earliest examples of this.
Cobb, J.C. (1993). The Selling of the South: The Southern Crusade for Industrial Development>, 1936-1990. (2nd Ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Posted by Chip on July 06, 2004 at 06:44 AM | TrackBack