BrianGarst.com

A plant for Korean automaker Kia is revitalizing a once dying town in Georgia.

A town that seemed on the road to becoming a ghost town has taken a turn toward prosperity despite the recession, thanks to an automaker.

Korean car manufacturer Kia plans to open a sprawling automobile factory in tiny West Point, Georgia, by the end of the year. The boon has already spurred economic growth — and just plain excitement — among residents, said Mayor Drew Ferguson.

“We jokingly call it Kia-ville,” said Ferguson, a 42-year-old dentist helping to oversee expansion of West Point, population 3,500. The announcement is drawing workers and businesses to the community about 80 miles south of Atlanta.

“The revitalization of the community is touching every aspect,” Ferguson said. “We have infrastructure projects, new subdivisions going up, hotel professional services that are all needed to support the massive manufacturing.”

Overall, West Point stands to gain 20,000 jobs as a result of the factory during the next five years, Ferguson said.

Somehow, this ‘foreign’ automaker managed to create all these American jobs, and they even did it without any bailouts from the federal government.  I have a question for all those who claimed that we couldn’t survive “the death of the American automotive industry.” For the Americans that either build or buy Kia cars, what difference does it make that the company is foreign owned?

Can we stop letting xenophobia drive economic policy now?

bailouts