Jobs and the Economy

We need an American economy that works for everyone

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Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Ty Pinkins grew up knowing the value of hard work. His family depended on farming to make a living. Throughout his teenage years, Ty chopped cotton to help his parents pay the bills.

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Mississippi is an agricultural state, and Ty understands that family farms are the backbone of the Mississippi economy–and of the communities they are part of. Farming is strong in Mississippi because of family farmers, not because of big corporate monopolies that have been buying out family farms for decades, and taking the profits out of state. 

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Family farms don’t want a handout, they just want a fair chance to succeed, to make a profit, and leave something behind for their children and grandchildren. 

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As your next Senator, I will make sure that farm bills actually benefit small family farmers. Because for far too long, large corporate monopolies have been rewarded by federal policy, which at the same time hurt family farms that don’t have the financial resources to hire powerful lobbyists to argue for them in Washington. I am not a lobbyist–I am an advocate for Mississippi farmers and their workers. And I will fight for family farms to have a seat at the table. 

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Mississippi has some of the most fertile farmland in the country. Our rich soil can grow basically anything. That’s why I will fight to protect our environment, so that we can ensure that this land is just as productive to the next generation of Mississippi farmers. 

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Our family farmers should be rewarded for their hard work. That’s why I will oppose bad trade deals that put Mississippi farmers in a difficult economic situation. And I will fight for trade deals that put Mississippi farmers first. 

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Our family farmers built this state’s reputation as a strong agricultural state producing crops such as corn, cotton, soybean, rice and others. I know how important family farmers are, and that’s why I will always have their backs. 

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Like all Mississippians, I am tired of our state being last or next-to-last: in income levels, in health and lifespan, in education, in career opportunities. Two things that are strongly in our favor is that our state ranks high in affordability. And Mississippians are capable of, and quite willing to engage in, hard work. 

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We can–and will–build upon that. We need to encourage businesses and industries to invest in our state, because their investment will go much farther here than it would elsewhere–and they will find a population that will be eager to take on training to make that investment a success, if it gives them a real opportunity to better themselves, and provide their families a path to a better, more prosperous and more secure future.

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As your next Senator from Mississippi, I will fight to bring well-paying jobs to our state, particularly those suffering economic hardships. I intend to do that by:

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• Encouraging businesses to invest in our communities and bring jobs.

• Supporting Federal legislation that benefits Mississippians by lowering our unemployment rate by bringing meaningful, well-paying jobs to our state.

• Introducing and supporting legislation to boost education, particularly in front line skills and trades necessary to compete in a 21st Century, global economy. Part of this would involve creating opportunities for high school students (15 and 16 year olds, primarily) to gain practical work experience at a young age. One idea that we have is a Year 10 Apprenticeship Program (YTAP), in which we help local communities partner with businesses to employ youth in the summer following their 10th Grade year in an apprenticeship program where they gain skills, and more importantly receive feedback regarding their strengths and weaknesses.