Republicans in Mississippi have been saying for decades that high corporate taxes and unnecessary and burdensome regulations are keeping jobs out of our state.  We already have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the nation, tort reform, and some of the laxest regulations, and yet we are not the nation’s job growth leader. We still have some of the highest unemployment in the country. To fix this, we need to bring 21st century jobs to North Mississippi. It’s time for a new congressman with new ideas.

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In 2016, we saw a perfect example of why we need to invest in new technology jobs. That year, the Mississippi Department of Transportation awarded a million dollar contract to an information technology company from Illinois. There was not a single company in the state of Mississippi that could provide the technology that our state needed.

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I’m not surprised by this. For the past 14 years, I have attended the annual graduation ceremony at Ole Miss.  Every year, I see too many of our best and brightest students walk across the stage, pick up their diplomas, and then keep walking into well-paying jobs in other states. We need to provide the jobs that keep our educated workers in the state where they can help build our economy.

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I am thinking about the future of jobs in MS, because the future is now.

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My Republican opponent’s only idea about job creation is to parrot the GOP’s stance on corporate taxes and regulations. Worse yet, he will rubber stamp the President’s budget. That budget eliminates the Delta Regional Commission and the Appalachian Regional Commission. These federal agencies support business incubators, job training, and workforce development. They are crucial to attracting new business investments in MS, especially those that offer high paying jobs. The economic devastation that will be caused by cuts to these agencies alone cannot be overstated.

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Instead of eliminating these agencies, I want to enhance them so they can make additional investments in job training for 21st century jobs. We need to invest in workforce training for familiar jobs like electricians and plumbers, but we also need training for new jobs like robotics technicians or database managers.  As your congressman, I will support legislation and funding that invests in this kind of job training and entrepreneurship.

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Renewable energy, aerospace industry, internet applications, and medical care are the jobs of the future. As someone who has spent 27 years working in science and technology, I am going to go to Washington with a vision of bringing these 21st century jobs to North Mississippi. I want to see Mississippi companies replacing old roofs with solar shingles. I want to see more companies like Orbital ATK moving to Mississippi to build equipment to take us to Mars. I want to train workers to write innovative computer code to accomplish tasks on your smartphones. I want to build the biomedical workforce needed for new hospitals in north Mississippi. All this can be done. We just need someone with vision in Washington to bring it about. I have that vision.

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