Right now Mississippi’s state government is sitting on a mountain of money. Besides the $1.2 billion surplus, Mississippi’s state leadership has about another $1.8 billion of federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money to allocate. Add that up, and our state government is sitting on something like $3 billion. 
 
Yet only a fraction of that enormous amount is now going to be given back to taxpayers in the form of tax breaks. Most of that money mountain is going to be spent on government – perhaps inevitably expanding the size of government in the process. Conservatives should not be wildly excited about that. 
 
Ronald Reagan, the greatest conservative leader of my lifetime, observed how ‘government does not tax to get the money it needs.” Instead “government always finds a need for the money it gets”. Indeed. 
 
As Mississippi’s conservative think tank, we believe even bolder steps are needed. Over the past generation, a wave of growth and prosperity has swept the south; except for Mississippi, which has remained one of the poorest states in America.
 
Why has Mississippi not prospered like other southern states? Because welfare dependency on Washington does not work. If getting handouts from the federal government made states wealthy, our state would be one of the richest in the Union. 
 
Rather than looking to Congressional appropriations committees to give out wealth to our state, we need far-reaching reforms to make our state the kind of place where wealth is created. That means making ourselves properly competitive. Many young Mississippians are forced to move to Texas, Florida or Tennessee to find work. It is no coincidence that neither of those three states have any state income tax at all.
 
Have a great weekend!
 

 
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.