It is easy, often tempting, to ignore the machinations of our state government. Too often, we view the politicians who run our state as a scene from Macbeth: “It is a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Much of the time, there is no real cost for the average Mississippian who turns a blind eye and deaf ear to our leaders in Jackson, whose actions generally tend to be little more than preening, pandering politics aimed at a core constituency of insiders.
This year, however, there is a real debate over an issue that cannot be ignored and should command the attention of all Mississippians. This is not a debate about whether the state should allow churches to arm deacons. Rather, it is a serious debate over the state’s collapsing economy and what should be done about it.
Predictably, House Speaker Phillip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant are relying heavily on ideology as they consider what must be done.
This week, Gov. Bryant approved the third cut to state agencies in less than a year as spending continues to outpace revenue.
No longer able to simply ignore such cuts — folks generally perk up when services they rely are jeopardized — these leaders have formed joint committees to study the problem.
Although nominally a bi-partisan effort, it is clear that the focus of these committees — essentially they have been inquisition-style attacks on perceived, but unproven, “waste” by state agencies — strongly suggest that there is but one narrative that will be accepted.
“We don’t have a revenue problem,” the Gunn-Reeves-Bryant axis insists. “We have a spending problem.” Any argument to contrary, they reject out of hand. Despite all the high-toned rhetoric, these are not honest efforts to find a solution.
Spending has increased over the past four years, it is true. But there have been few real efforts to understand why. Of course, it suits the ideology of our politicians to leave that question unexamined.
Yet, it is a poor accountant who considers only one side of the ledger. We should not be deceived.
As the budget sessions continue, the Reeves-Gunn-Bryant machine tipped its hand this week, stating that the state must consider a revision of its tax code. Their solution (really an anti-solution) is what they call a “flatter, fairer” tax system.
It is flat, all right, but hardly fair.
The idea of a “flat” income tax has been floundering around for decades now. It bubbles up among populist politicians, but generally dies an inglorious death when the real consequences of that sort of taxation are understood.
Under a flat tax, the poorer you are, the greater you taxes will be when you view it logically. A 10-percent tax on a wealthy person does not produce the same hardship as it does to a poor person. As any good, God-fearin’ Christian will tell you, “to whom much is given, much is required”
Even under our present revenue structure, the poorer you are, the greater your burden when you go beyond a simplistic approach to the numbers and consider the real impact those numbers represent.
Our state’s revenue relies heavily on sale tax — 36 percent — while income tax is second at 30 percent. Corporate taxes, meanwhile, produce just a fraction of the state’s income — a paltry 12.5 percent. So, uh, where is the real inequity in our tax system?
The “trickle down” fallacy that says corporations must not be required to bear their fair share of the tax burden is an affront to every hard-working Mississippian. We are, essentially, being held hostage by the powerful corporate lobby and their government enablers.
Low taxes are not the most important factor companies consider when they make plans to relocate. Of far more importance is infrastructure, education and quality-of-life factors. Mississippi is failing in all of those categories and will continue to fail unless the people demand a break from government by ideology.
Unless there is an outcry from Mississippians throughout the state, the present approach will carry the day when the Legislature meets in January.
We no longer have the luxury of ignoring the antics of our state government.
The economic fate of our state relies largely on how engaged the people become.
Pay attention. We all have real skin in this political game.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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