The Mississippi legislature is half-way through the 2022 legislative session which has proven to be a unique year in our state. We have emerged from the COVID “pandemic” and find ourselves with a surplus of over $1 billion in tax revenue sitting in the state treasury.

The big question, “What do we do with this extra money?”

When the legislature arrived at the capitol in January we were told by the state economist that there was no foreseeable end to this extra money, that the state could expect to collect more and more money every year. Some of us believe that is a foolish and dangerous statement. We know a large portion of this extra money is because of inflation, as prices continue to rise at unprecedented rates, the state collects more money. An example of that is would be if you spend a $100 on groceries the state collects $7, but if due to inflation those same groceries cost $150 the state collects $10.50. We all know inflation has to stop eventually or you will start buying less groceries. Either outcome means the state will collect less.

We also know that much of the buying that has taken place in the past year is due to the federal government printing money at an alarming rate and sending “free” money to citizens. This has already stopped to a large degree and will eventually prove itself to be unsustainable.

All of this means the extra billion dollars the state has collected is one-time money.

When deciding what to do with this money, there are four options that the legislature could choose.

1. Give the money back to the people
2. Cut taxes
3. Pay down the debt
4. Expand Government

Option 1 – Give the money back to the people