Missed Targets
Kentucky is located in a prime geological position from a distribution standpoint. Our beloved Bluegrass State is inland, helping us avoid many weather related issues. We boast solid rail systems, waterway transportation, and well-connected interstates. Our land is priced competitively with surrounding states. Kentucky also has a large base of blue-collar workers eager for jobs that suit their lifestyle.
That brief list of advantages would be front and center in any pitch I’d present to businesses seeking the freedoms they can’t find in more liberal minded states. Businesses and citizens alike are fleeing besieged states for greener pastures. That fact isn't up for debate. What is up for debate is this: why isn't Kentucky first at the plate, swinging for the fences to attract like minded corporations?
Firearms related companies, specifically, have left blue states on the wholesale. At last count, 21 significant gun-related businesses had fled to states offering better reception, more favorable tax rates, laws more aligned with the Constitution, and lower costs of living. That little snippet sounds like home, doesn’t it?
So why isn’t our leadership actively courting these businesses?
To many in the North, Kentucky is seen as the first of the “rebellious” Southern states. Why run from that mentality? Embrace it. Make Kentucky the destination for manufacturers who support freedom loving Americans. Everything lines up, except for the unfortunate fact that nearly all surrounding states have attracted these relocating companies, while we’ve been left behind.
And we’re not talking about small change. Beretta, not even the biggest fish to land, invested $45 million in Tennessee. Smith & Wesson, Magpul, Kimber, and many others uprooted century old foundations to move South. We missed out, and continue to miss out.
This wasn’t an oversight or a fluke. This was, and still is, a lack of effort.
Billions of dollars in potential revenue have slipped through our fingers. Companies of this caliber bring hundreds of legitimate jobs. Jobs bring disposable income. That income feeds into retailers, restaurants, and other local businesses. We’ve squandered golden opportunities to position Kentucky as the gateway to freedom.
States like South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, and Kansas have all seen a new influx of firearm-related industries, some bringing as many as 1,000 employees. Here in the homeland, we’ll welcome any employer benefiting our land, but we missed a key opportunity to marry Kentucky’s proud history as a freedom-loving state with the very businesses that make that freedom possible.
We didn’t just shoot and miss, we never even reached for our weapon.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here