OUR OPINION: Maintenance, bridges call for additional revenue
The 2016 legislative session arguably was not the best venue for pushing any kind of tax increase, no matter the urgency for revenue. Tax cuts were at the front of most legislators’ minds, especially Republicans who hold majorities in the Senate and House.
Deteriorating highways and unsafe bridges, however, aren’t political issues. They are matters of public safety and economic development.
Officials in Mississippi, within both parties, sometimes thump their chest about self-reliance, ignoring that half of the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s budget (about $500 million annually) comes from federal resources. That flow is not guaranteed.
Money doesn’t fall like manna from Washington or any other source. Revenue for programs is the result of intentional acts of self-reliance from taxation. While seldom popular, they are always necessary for the most important programs like highways and bridges.
Daily Journal Editorial
5/30/16
Magnolia Tribune
