| Dear Friend,
Welcome back to my Week in Review newsletter. Please remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube for regular updates on how I am serving the people of South Carolina! Unleashing Opportunity For All This week, I’m shining the spotlight on Opportunity Zones! I joined business and community leaders at Morrison Yard, a $300 million residential, office, and mixed-use project located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone in Charleston, South Carolina. The project invests in low-income communities and is projected to generate a cumulative economic impact in excess of $1.4 billion by 2030 with an estimated 84% of this impact captured within Charleston.
I led efforts to develop the Opportunity Zone program back in 2017, and one of the greatest moments of my life was when it was signed it into law with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There are many reasons to celebrate Opportunity Zones, but to me, one of its biggest positives is their power to uplift communities and individuals out of poverty and onto the pathway to a better life.
I grew up in poverty, and I know what it feels like to feel stuck in a cycle of hopelessness with no clear pathway to the American dream. I’ve watched kids turn to drugs and take to the streets. I’ve watched too many distressed neighborhoods, entrenched in a system of failure, spiral into further economic decline as developers fled, lacking the incentive to stick things out. I’ve watched the government try to solve the problem and make everything worse.
I believe that for these underserved communities, the only way up is to tap into the incredible God-given potential within them - not through government programs, but through private-sector partnerships. We can uplift people out of poverty through giving them a job, not by incentivizing welfare communities that suppress incentives to work, create, and develop.
That’s why I champion Opportunity Zones. They are the vehicle for job creation, development, and revitalization that so many communities desperately need. They work within the neighborhood, for the good of the neighborhood. By incentivizing the private sector to invest in forgotten areas, Opportunity Zones breathe new life into local businesses and folks within the community. From Charleston’s Morrison Yard, to the other nearly 4,000 Opportunity Zones, I’ll always work to give individuals and communities across our nation the second chance they need to live out their American dream.
Sincerely, | 