Democrats Can Turn Florida, West Virginia and Appalachia Into Purple, If Not Blue, States

by Bobby Reyes

Minneapolis, Minnesota. St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River | Photo by Brian Zinnel via Wikimedia Commons

Part XXXIX of the “United States 2024 Elections” Series

Last Sunday’s column article was about socioeconomic empowerment, especially for minorities. It also said that “even Caucasian workers, who are often out of work, in the rural areas, especially in the Appalachian Region,” could have socioeconomic successes, too.

This columnist has written ideas about blueprints for developing the socioeconomic potentials of some of the poorest states. He began addressing this to Joe Biden after he became the presumptive president-elect in December 2020.

Then, the column turned to the Southeast region and all the way to the Appalachian Mountains, especially in states like West Virginia, which have tributary rivers flowing into the Mississippi (Old Man) River.

It is sad to note that the top ten poorest states are colored “Red” ones and are controlled now by MAGA-Republican officials. Even during the four-year term of Donald J. Trump, no visionary message or speech was made to help eradicate or even minimize poverty and other economic miseries in the said GOP’s bastions of power.

The vision also included Florida as the personification of the socioeconomically fully developed “State of the Future.” This would elevate the Sunshine State to compete with the Golden State as the country’s biggest state economy.

On January 9, 2022, this columnist discussed “The ‘Minnesotanization’ of West Virginia (and the other States) Is The Future.

Five months and 18 days later, this column discussed a series of how to make “Florida the State of the Future;,” which began on June 27, 2022.

President Joe Biden may issue several executive orders in his remaining months in office. He can call for the finalization of feasibility studies and environmental impact reports. All of the concerned states have “Economic Development Bureaus” (EDBs) or agencies. As this columnist has said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could collaborate with the said EDBs and other state and federal agencies with business plans and pre-feasibility studies on the visionary plans, programs, and projects presented.

Then, President Kamala Harris can request President Emeritus Joe Biden to oversee the said projects conceived as part of a suggested “Biden Back-to-Basics (B2B) Doctrine.” Perhaps it may be called starting on her first day of office at the White House the “Harris-Biden B2B Doctrine.

Speaking of “The ‘Minnesotanization’ of West Virginia (and the other States) Is The Future,” what better fortune can the project have than a new Vice President, Tim Walz, who is also a former governor of the North Star State? He is the ideal person to be named as the ex-officio chairman of the 10-K lakes program in West Virginia and at the Appalachia Mountains. Right?

Some of this columnist’s Filipino journalism professors in a Benedictine-run college in the City of Manila often paraphrased an adage. Remember the saying that a person (like a writer) is often better off to be lucky than good?

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