Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
11:43 pm Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Put Nissan on campaign letterhead?

By Staff
July 27, 2003
In a political sense, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is right to tout the attraction of Nissan to Canton, as he did last week with the official announcement of his re-election campaign. Landing Nissan was one defining mark of his administration driving up the costs of state government was the other and our prediction is that we'll see a lot of Nissan in Musgrove's campaign in the weeks ahead.
The $1.4 billion Nissan plant opened in May and Musgrove says it has generated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs for employees from 73 of Mississippi's 82 counties. At last check, Mississippi put $363 million into the Nissan plant, which translates to about $69,000 per job expected to be created. Only a fraction of these folks are working right now, but Nissan and its suppliers are clearly staffing up and the company has been warmly embraced by Mississippians. We're only guessing here, but Nissan will likely work toward its future goals with whomever is elected governor. And, Musgrove conveniently forgets to mention another key player in the Nissan project, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.
Musgrove and his minions have also failed to mention that Mississippi has lost more than 46,000 manufacturing jobs during his term of office, and that the June employment rate was the highest in the last 15 months.
It seems to us, in all fairness, that if the incumbent wants credit for Nissan he must also accept at least part of the blame for the loss of so many other manufacturing jobs. Not to mention the upward spiral of state spending on his watch. Republican Haley Barbour has suggested that Mississippi's budget woes center not on too little revenue but on too much spending. Musgrove apparently would like for voters to think that Mississippi's chief executive operates in some sort of political vacuum, basking in the glory of what he likes and ignoring the facts he doesn't like. Accountability should run true; he can't it both ways.
Let's not kid ourselves, Mississippi voters have some very serious decisions to make, both in the Aug. 5 primaries and the Nov. 4 general election.

Also on Franklin County Times
Thorpe to play at Blue Mountain Christian
High School Sports, News, Russellville, ...
Brannon King For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE – Brennon Thorpe made his plans official to attend Blue Mountain Christian University and play baseball for the Toppers during a recent s...
Russellville High Class of 1967 gathers, reminisces
Columnists, News, Opinion, ...
HERE AND NOW
July 16, 2025
You can’t really go back to the good old days of high school, but you can pay them a visit now and then. That’s exactly what the RHS Class of 1967 has...
Former Cypress Lakes official to lead Guntersville State Park
Lifestyles, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
GUNTERSVILLE — Heath Puckett had an Auburn University degree and golf course superintendent certification in his pocket when he arrived at Cypress Lak...
European travel builds bonds across cultures
Lifestyles, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- A group of Franklin County travelers spent nine days this summer walking through catacombs, exploring castles and standing in places w...
Little Free Library welcomes readers in East Franklin
Lifestyles, News, Phil Campbell
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Eleven-year-old Aiden Hall is an avid reader, but he doesn’t just want to read books. He also wants to share them, and the way he deci...
King becomes elementary curriculum director
Lifestyles, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELVILLE — Molly King says every child can learn, though not necessarily in the same way or on the same day — a belief she plans to carry into her ...
New Junior Leaders begin their training
Franklin County, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Forty-two high school students from across Franklin County are beginning 10 months of hands-on leadership training and community ser...
Fire destroys 2-story garage, guest suite
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
R U S S E L LV I L L E – Jason Gist leaned against the wall of his home with a look of disgust while dozens of firefighters worked to extinguish a fir...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Stories
July 4, 2025Augusto Simon Diaz, 42, of Russellville, passed away July 4. Visitation and funeral were held at Spry Memorial Chapel on July 12 from 2pm ...
July 16, 2025
July 8, 2025Jamie Kerby Cummings, 41, of Russellville, passed away on July 8. Visitation took place July 13, at Spry Memorial Chapel from 1 pm to 3pm....
July 16, 2025
July 11,2025Julie “JuJu” Welch Black, 63, of Russellville, passed away on July 11.Graveside service was held at 1pm on July 13, at Belgreen Cemetery w...
July 16, 2025
July 9, 2025Scott Noel Benford, age 58, of Muscle Shoals, passed away on July 9. Visitation was held at Pinkard Funeral Home in Russellville on July 1...
July 16, 2025