Russ Latino: Mississippi ‘budget woes’ overblown
There is no doubt our economy is slowing, but the bluster surrounding our state budget is disingenuous. The malaise we are experiencing is not because government is too small. The facts would suggest the opposite. Mississippi is routinely ranked as the state most dependent upon government spending. We’ve been ranked as having the fourth largest public sector in the country based on population.
On the promise of jobs, the Legislature has provided billions of dollars in taxpayer-financed gifts, loans and special tax breaks to lure companies ranging from green energy startups to multi-national manufacturers. Simultaneously, the state has built a regulatory environment that limits consumer choices and makes it harder for poor people to work with onerous licensing, fees and training requirements.
For decades now, Mississippi has tried the big-government, planned-economy approach. It has failed to produce the kind of real, sustainable growth that will move us off the bottom.
What we have not tried is the kind of genuine economic freedom that affords people the right to earn, keep and spend their own money in a system unburdened by unfair taxation, excessive spending and mounting regulations that favor the connected.
Clarion Ledger
7/9/16
Magnolia Tribune
