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From YouTube: Opportunity Zone Luncheon Speaker SC State Rep Tom Young
Description
Sen. Tim Scott (SC) was the keynote speaker at a luncheon to discuss Opportunity Zones in Aiken on October 10, 2019.
Aiken County has numerous areas that can benefit from opportunity zone investment, the senator discussed what that means for the economic future of these areas in our community.
A
A
Hey
it's
a
great
day
in
South
Carolina
in
it
it's
a
great
day
in
Aiken
County.
Is
it
not?
Yes,
it
is
I,
tell
ya
it's
so
good
to
be
here
and
to
see
all
these
folks
in
this
room
from
not
only
around
Aitkin
County
but
around
our
region.
A
Folks,
here
who
know
what
it
means
to
create
jobs,
to
have
private
sector
investment,
and
that's
what
we
hear
about
the
day
is
to
talk
about
how
the
private
sector
can
lift
up
the
communities
in
which
we
live,
and
it's
one
of
those
it's
because
of
the
opportunity
zone.
That's
been
championed
by
Senator
Scott,
but
just
briefly,
let
me
mention
to
you
a
couple
of
some
key
I'm,
a
numbers
guy,
and
let
me
mention
to
you
some
key
numbers:
we've
got
3.2
percent
unemployment
in
South
Carolina.
That
is
a
historically
low
number.
A
We've
got
70,000
people
that
are
jobs
that
are
looking
for
people
in
South
Carolina,
in
spite
of
the
3.2
percent
unemployment.
Let's
give
a
round
of
applause
because
of
that
in
2018,
our
Department
of
Commerce
announced
8,000.
New
economic
in
bet
are
8,000
jobs
related
to
over
100
economic
investments
in
the
state,
and
in
that
great
news
for
our
state
round
of
applause,
we
had
3.3
billion
dollars
in
capital
investment
that
were
announced
in
South,
Carolina
and
2018.
That
was
a
record
for
our
state.
A
We've
had
record
growth
through
the
port
of
Charleston,
and
many
of
our
employers
in
Aiken
County
directly
benefit
from
activity
through
the
port
of
Charleston,
and
that
is
great
for
not
only
our
employers
here
in
Aiken
County,
but
for
those
of
us
that
live
in
this
region.
This
round
of
applause,
for
that
our
state
is
home
to
three
original
equipment
manufacturers.
Those
are
BMW,
Volvo
and
mercedes-benz,
and
we
have
companies
here
in
Aiken
County
that
are
direct
suppliers
to
those
manufacturers
round
of
applause.
A
Here's
some
more
statistics
that
many
of
you
may
not
know
in
South
Carolina,
when
I
was
growing
up
when
I
was
in
high
school
Ohio
was
the
largest
tire
manufacturer
in
the
state,
I
mean
in
the
country.
How
many
people
here
from
Ohio
raise
your
hand
you
used
to
live
in
Ohio,
a
few
of
you
so
now
today
in
2019,
South
Carolina
is
the
largest
tire
manufacturer
in
the
United
States
100,000
plus.
A
37,000
tires
a
day
made
in
Aiken
County
in
not
one
but
two
Bridgestone
plants.
In
that
great
news,
it
is,
then,
we
have
at
the
Boeing
plant
in
Charleston.
They
make
12
Dreamliner's
a
month
and
that's
that's
amazing,
12
Dreamliner
planes
a
month
made
in
South
Carolina
and
then
at
the
BMW
plant
in
in
Greer.
They
make
over
400,000
BMWs
a
year,
most
of
which
is
exported
through
the
port
of
Charleston.
A
That's
good
news
for
those
of
us
in
South,
Carolina
and
because
and
because
we
now
have
that
opportunity
with
the
opportunity
zones.
We
can
lift
up
these
communities,
we
can
see
tax
benefits
for
those
of
us
that
are
willing
to
take
the
risk
and
invest
in
these
communities
through
the
opportunity
zone.
There's
not
only
federal
tax
incentives
that
are
available.
Our
tax
benefits
are
available
for
the
opportunity
zones,
but
we
now
have
state
tax
benefits,
because
South
Carolina
has
conformed
to
the
federal
law
that
was
passed
with
the
federal
opportunities
on
legislation
round
of
applause.