James_Nov-Dec_2025_web - Flipbook - Page 17
can’t emphasize
enough how
pleased I am that
Georgia finally
passed meaningful
tort reform in 2025.
For a long part of
my early career, I was involved
in the finance and risk side of a
family-owned healthcare enterprise
based in the Southeast. At the
corporate level I handled mergers
and acquisitions, but when it came
to risk, runaway lawsuits were a
constant threat. A small but very
visible group of local attorneys and
activist judges made a habit of chasing eye-popping economic damages
for questionable reasons.
Let’s call it what it is. This was
never about justice. It was a transfer of capital— a reallocation of
resources through dubious means.
The personal-injury bar has an iron
grip on the Democratic Party, and
they fought reform at every step.
Their business model depends on
convincing a jury with little understanding of the matter at hand to
deliver massive verdicts.
That risk was a nightmare for
capital and for the many levels of
business below it. Small businesses
were hit hardest. A bar or restaurant could be held liable for an
injury that had nothing to do with
them. One lawsuit and you were
finished. Even now, some shops still
have signs in their windows reminding customers where liability lies, a
relic of the pandemic rules.
Confidence is everything in business. Sentiment drives investment,
and investment drives jobs. When
people lose confidence in fairness,
they stop building. That was the
reality Georgia faced. Now we have
a clear path toward dominance.
The Economic
South Rises
As Bloomberg wrote on August 15,
2025: “Southern cities have become
major hubs for millions of white-collar jobs in finance, law, consulting,
energy, health care and the consumer sector. Those high-salary
workers have bought homes as fast
as builders can make them, driving up property values. The South
now produces twice as many of the
country’s exports as the Midwest,
including millions of luxury cars from
BMW and Mercedes-Benz, both now
anchored in Georgia.” The old stereotype is gone. The modern South is
running the country’s economy, and
Georgia sits squarely at the center.
Georgia has long called itself
the Empire State of the South. That
used to mean cotton, railroads and
banking. Today it means the modern economy. Atlanta is the South’s
only true global city (save for Miami,
which is in its own category). The
question now is whether Georgia
is building durable wealth or just
selling itself as a low-cost, high-incentive jurisdiction.
Here is a clear-eyed report card
for Georgia’s overall business climate in 2025.
Logistics &
Infrastructure: A
The Port of Savannah remains one
of the fastest-growing in North
America, moving nearly six million containers a year. It’s pulling
freight away from the West Coast
and fueling inland expansion
through new port projects. Hartsfield-Jackson remains the busiest
airport in the world, connecting
Georgia to every major market.
Add strong rail and highway
networks, and you have the best
logistics platform in the country.
Still, the next leap forward will
come from vision, not maintenance.
Should we connect the Port of Savannah to the capital by high-speed
rail? If we did, our economy would
boom— linking Augusta, Athens
and Macon into a single corridor
of shared growth and activity. It
would turn logistical strength into
true statewide integration and open
broader living spaces.
Which brings me to the other issue within transport: traffic.
Atlanta’s gridlock is legendary, and
regional leaders still lack the courage to fix it. Without new ideas in
transit, growth could stall.
Manufacturing
& Industry: AGeorgia’s industrial story is a success. Hyundai, Kia, and Rivian have
invested billions in EV production.
Battery plants are rising across
N OV EM B E R /D EC E M BER 2025
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