It’s fair to say that when Glenn McCullough announced last month that he was stepping down as director of the Mississippi Development Authority, Joe Max Higgins didn’t exactly break down in tears.
That announcement evoked the polar opposite of emotion in Higgins, CEO of the Golden Triangle Development LINK, who said he would be drinking a celebratory glass of scotch when McCullough leaves his position as the state’s top economic development official at the end of the month.
“Glenn McCullough has been an unadulterated train wreck at MDA,” the never-reticent Higgins told the Columbus Rotary Club during its Tuesday luncheon.
Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to the position in 2015, McCullough’s personality fit that of the man who appointed him: a “positive talk only” approach that neglected the issues that have seen the state’s economy grow at a fraction of the pace of surrounding states and instead celebrating profusely over any minor addition.
The fact, Higgins said, is that economic growth has stagnated in the state since McCullough’s sunny arrival at the MDA.
Higgins said the numbers back him up, pointing that from the LINK’s formation in 2003 through 2014, he said, they saw an average of $445 million in investments and 479 jobs created per year. In the four years since McCullough became head of MDA, that number has dropped to $229 million and 303 jobs per year.
“For those of you that are struggling with doing math in your head, we have seen a 40 percent reduction in our announced (projects and investments) and a 40 percent reduction in our announced jobs in the four years that that administration has been here,” Higgins said.
Higgins attributes the decline to the MDA’s reluctance to work with and seek advice from economic developers throughout the state. He’s hopeful the person incoming governor Tate Reeves appoints to lead the MDA will remedy that lack of communication.
It’s easy to point fingers, certainly, but there’s no question that Mississippi’s economic development growth pales in comparison to those of our neighboring states. It is also fair to point out that Mississippi did itself no favors in creating an environment that is attractive to business and industry. Throughout the Byrant administration, all the eggs have gone into a single basket – tax cuts and incentives. Those incentives are attractive, but companies want more than that. They want good schools, good roads, good quality of life amenities that have declined almost in direct proportion to the state’s orgy of tax cuts.
It’s time to take a new look at economic development strategy. What better place to start is to talk to people like Higgins, for whom economic development is their focus every day.
It’s not a matter of demonizing McCullough as it is shaking up MDA’s modus-operandi.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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