The People of Mississippi find themselves in a world and job situation that is rapidly changing with the advent of Artificial Intelligence. Gipson’s economic plan is focused on recruiting and retaining Real Jobs for Real People – jobs that cannot or are unlikely to be replaced by AI including food production, value-added processing, construction and trade vocations, energy, commerce and logistics, healthcare, education and more. Regardless of what AI holds for the future, this Plan ensures our People will continue to have access to real and meaningful work. Gipson’s Real Jobs Plan will:

a.    Restore and re-emphasize vocational and technical as well as advanced trade and skills training in all local school districts, with continued emphasis to build on these skills through our local Mississippi community colleges;

b.    Adopt a Strategic Ports and Commerce Logistics Plan to enhance and improve transportation and logistics, creating more jobs around Mississippi’s many ports and harbors;

c.    Prioritize and initiate a 10-Year Major Highway Construction, Widening and Improvement Plan, with a dedicated new Commerce Road and Bridge Improvement Fund designed to assist MDOT, counties and municipalities to construct and improve roads and bridges and enhance the flow of commerce in Mississippi. This initiative will be funded with dedicated new use tax revenues diverted from the general fund, coupled with a sales tax percentage diversion to counties;

d.    Reactivate Mississippi’s Energy Industry, by drilling for oil and gas and recharging our numerous dormant oil wells through Enhanced Oil Recovery. Across several Mississippi counties it is estimated some 10 million barrels of oil remain untapped, and the energy and energy service industry will be a major job creator for Mississippians, plus a source of new revenues for counties; and

e.    Innovate and renew Mississippi’s Wood Industry. Gipson will partner with our institutions of higher learning and land grant universities to develop, find and commercialize new and innovative uses for Mississippi’s abundant wood and timber resources. In a digital world where paper is in less demand, we must find a way to keep Mississippi’s second largest industry active and commercially viable and recruit new and additional wood mills for these new purposes. f.     Mississippi’s water resources are indispensable. Gipson will develop a Strategic Water Plan and work with our community colleges and universities to create new degrees and specialties in water management, aquifer recharge and other new technologies so Mississippians can continue to benefit from abundant water supplies for generations to come.