Trump 2.0 will boost Alabama’s economy

Alabama residents can expect President Trump’s surprise victory to benefit their economy in many ways.

First and foremost, it will boost the state’s manufacturing industry.

Alabama’s manufacturers are responsible for over 15 percent of the state’s total production and nearly 13 percent of its employment. During the election campaign, Trump promised to protect them by imposing new tariffs against China and other nations.

By supporting criminal import restrictions on Alabama companies’ products, these troubled countries continue to impact their overall manufacturing growth. Trump’s upcoming tariffs will put home-state businesses back on par with the rest of the world, while boosting Alabama’s gross domestic product and job creation.

Automotive manufacturing in Alabama in particular is likely to benefit from this. The Yellowhammer State is already one of the top five states in the country for automobile production, but is suffering tremendously from other countries’ anti-free trade policies that limit the pool of buyers for the state’s products. President Trump explicitly promised at his second inauguration to address this problem for Alabama’s automakers.

Trump’s second bite at the White House will not only allow Alabama businesses to compete more effectively with the global economy. This will also make it easier for them to grow here at home.

Trump’s election will almost certainly help boost Alabama’s robust defense industry.

This sector contributes over $50 billion to the state economy, over 20 percent of the total economy. From 2016 to 2020, Trump increased defense spending by $98 billion, creating thousands of new job opportunities for Alabama companies, and he is expected to do the same in his next term.

Trump will also lift effective restrictions that the administration has placed on Alabama’s aggressive push to promote economic innovation.

The Alabama Legislature recently passed the “Game Plan” to give companies the incentives they need to innovate, succeed and grow. However, these incentives have been compromised by federal policies that have hindered innovation in other ways.

Much of the problem lies in how the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission have pursued the consumer protection standard, which for years has ensured that the government only prosecutes companies that unreasonably increase prices or reduce competitiveness affect landscape. By testing this standard, the White House could literally label any company it wanted as too successful. For example, the Biden-Harris Justice Department sued Visa shortly before the election for allegedly having too large a presence in the debit card market. But experts have insisted that Visa, which faces stiff competition from other debit card companies and new entrants such as Apple and Google Pay, has not engaged in predatory business practices or violated antitrust laws. The Trump-aligned Federalist Society said that “an agency focused on incentivizing innovation” would never allow such anti-growth silliness to occur, providing further examples of how the Biden-Harris administration has demonstrably failed to understand this point.

Fortunately, Trump is an entrepreneur. He understands that in business, big doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and that going after successful companies when there’s no evidence of harm to consumers is a recipe for the very innovation Alabama is trying so hard to encourage. to suppress unnecessarily. That’s why he has pledged to ensure his government promotes innovation and business growth wherever it benefits consumers. Trump’s calls for a return to a “live and let live” business philosophy will put an end to that and allow Alabama – the eighth-best state in Area Development’s 2024 “Top States for Doing Business” report – to continue moving forward.

With the majority of Alabama voters saying the economy is their top concern this election, it’s no wonder President Trump handily won the state with nearly 65 percent of the vote. Alabama voters knew his election would be the best for their wallets, and it’s only a matter of time before they turn out to be right.

Randy Howell is an assistant professor of science at Point University.