Barrett calls for return to economic basics 10/30/2008 12:07 AM
By ROB NOVIT Senior writer
If the nation and state are going to pull out of the current climate of economic doldrums, said U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., "we have to get back to basics."
That was the Third District congressman's comment as he took a tour of the Kimberly-Clark plant in Beech Island, specifically its new facilites completed earlier this year.
"We're been trying to get out there to see the new division," said Barrett. "It's a tremendous corporate partner, not only to Aiken County, but to South Carolina. In times like these, the company is expanding and adding new jobs. They're to be congratulated and to show our appreciation, I want to find what we can do to help with their growth."
Kimberly-Clark has about 1,300 employees at Beech Island, as well as temporary and contract workers. The plant opened in 1968 and its consumer brands include Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depends. The expansion added new facilities to support a state-of-the-art tissue machine and associated packaging lines."
"All our expansion assets are up and running," said mill manager Bob Cross. "As another significant investment, we've recruited maintenance and operations people to support the start-up. Everything is going above the plan that we forecast in our personal care and family care products."
The Beech Island plant remains a viable investment for the corporation, said Cross, credited its success in part to its outstanding workforce over the past four decades.
"Kimberly-Clark does it right," said Barrett. "While economic development is in the governor's realm, we try to get involved as much as possible. The competition is stiff out there. If we're going to turn this country around, we need to do it one community at a time."
The congressman said he strongly supports energy independence through such problem-solving initiatives as the Palmetto Project. South Carolina and Aiken County have the potential to lead the way with nuclear technology and other energy research, he said.
The economic crisis must be dealt with on several fronts, Barrett said, including dealing with runaway entitlements Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. He acknowledged, however, that Congress must stop raiding Social Security.
"But we have to give younger workers the opportunity to opt out of Social Security and create more options for themselves," said Barrett. "We do need to protect new and older retirees too and uphold those commitments."
While he agrees to reservations about completely unfettered business practices, Barrett doesn't advocate more rules and regulations. "We need to bring the guidelines into the 21st century and ensure that this (crisis) doesn't happen again," he said. "Whoever the new president is, we need to ensure that large and small businesses have the ability to compete with less regulation and less taxation."
Contact Rob Novit at
rnovit@aikenstandard.com.
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