𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗫 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗟 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗜𝗣𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬, 𝗧𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬, 𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗦

                                                         

Big River Steel, SpaceX

In places like Cameron County, Texas, and Mississippi County, Arkansas, massive economic investments from companies like SpaceX and Big River Steel have transformed local economies on paper. Billions of dollars have poured into these historically impoverished regions, creating high-paying jobs, driving infrastructure development, and drawing national headlines. Yet behind the progress lies a harder truth, poverty remains stubbornly high, and many longtime residents feel left behind.

In Brownsville, SpaceX has brought thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity. Its Starbase facility has turned the area into a hotspot for tourism and space innovation. High-income households are on the rise, and local businesses have seen increased spending, with SpaceX alone spending over $90 million on goods and services in the area since early 2023.

But the benefits are not reaching everyone. Nearly one in four Brownsville residents still lives in poverty. Housing prices have surged, making it harder for lower-income families to stay in their communities. Beach access, once a given for locals, is now restricted during rocket launches. Environmental concerns and fears over the impact on sacred sites have also grown. Many of the new jobs require skills that the existing workforce doesn’t yet have.

A similar story is playing out in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Once devastated by the loss of low-skill manufacturing jobs, the county has seen a dramatic turnaround, led by economic developer Joe Max Higgins. His strategy brought in more than $6 billion in investments and 6,000 high-paying, high-skill jobs. Steel mills and high-tech factories now dominate the skyline.

Yet more than 20% of the county’s residents still live in poverty. Rent prices have soared, and many of the workers fueling the industrial boom live outside the county, contributing little to the local economy. While the unemployment rate has dropped, many local residents still struggle to access the new economy. Training programs have helped, but not fast enough to meet the qualifications demanded by the advanced industries moving in.

Efforts like incentive programs to get workers to live where they work, and donations to schools and services, show some companies are aware of the issue. But local leaders and economists warn that without deeper investments in people—affordable housing, accessible education, healthcare, and infrastructure—the benefits of these booms will remain uneven.

The stories of Brownsville, Cameron County and Mississippi County, Arkansas are a cautionary tale: economic development does not automatically mean shared prosperity. When new wealth bypasses the communities it was meant to uplift, it deepens the very inequalities it promised to erase. Gentrification replaces community roots, and hope becomes frustration.

The lesson for any city courting big investment is clear. Bringing in industry is only half the job. The harder half is making sure everyone has a chance to share in the future being built.

"For ye have the poor always."  Saint Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 11, King James Version