The South's Economy Is Falling Behind: 'All of a Sudden the Money Stops Flowing'

[DFW]

3. They should have learned from Nokia and its Romanian adventure

Nokia had a huge factory near where I live in the German city of Bochum. But then they decided to take advantage of the lower wages and taxes in Romania (by then also European Union), shut down the German factory, fired 4000 workers, and moved the whole operation to Romania. OOPS. They then got their phones built by people with Romanian education and Romanian work ethic. Fully ONE THIRD of the phones produced in their new Romanian facility did not function. So they closed that operation, too, and moved to China.

BMW has a huge manufacturing facility in South Carolina. Mercedes has a huge operation in Alabama. If either of those operations should turn into something either company feels is not worth maintaining (or whose local German manager's family might have a woman in need of an abortion, for example), both states would be looking at staggering losses. I guess if some megachurch pastor takes the Governor for a spin in his private jet, all will be forgiven...........