It would be easy enough to shrug your shoulders over the plight of Jackson. We’ve got our own troubles, so what’s happening 130 miles down the road is somebody else’s problem.

Or is it?

A recent Wall Street Journal story painted the grim realities of Mississippi’s economic prospects, especially while the rest of the South flourishes. The numbers paint the picture. Our state is in jeopardy of being left behind.

Mississippi’s civilian labor-force participation rate —the nation’s lowest, at 53.9% in October, compared with 62.7% overall in the U.S. — as well as substantial brain drain are hurting the state’s chances of joining in the region’s bonanza.

While the population of Southern states increased by 1.4 million between the summer of 2022 and the summer of 2023, just 750 people moved to Mississippi during that period. Mississippi’s workforce has declined by 1.4% over the past decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tennessee’s workforce, by comparison, has grown by 11% over that period.

Our state has devoted much attention and considerable funding for workforce development, but the most reliable type of workforce development is higher education. There is cause for worry there.  Only about half of the graduates from Mississippi’s public universities work in the state three years after graduation. Many leave for growing metropolitan areas in other parts of the South.

And that’s where the city of Jackson factors into the equation.

White flight from Jackson to suburban areas north of Jackson and Hinds County have reduced the city’s population from 173,500 in 2010 to 146,000 today. Property values have crashed as the city labors to fund essential services and make repairs on deteriorating infrastructure.

In February 2021, over 40,000 Jackson residents lost access to clean running water for at least a month, following a historic winter storm that damaged an out-of-date and under-resourced infrastructure system. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the city would need $2 billion to repair and upgrade the water-sewer system — an amount impossible to afford alone for a city with a $300 million annual budget and an ever-growing share of low-income, mostly Black, residents.

When the mayor asked the legislature for $47 million of the ARPA money provided to the state for statewide projects, the legislature provided just $4.6 million of the $356 million being doled out during that round of statewide capital projects — a mere 1.3%.

This is a clear indicator of just how bad relations between the legislature, dominated by white Republicans, and the city of Jackson, dominated by Black Democrats, have become.

Ultimately, it was the federal government that threw Jackson a lifeline, approving $600 million to directly address the water crisis.

The inability of the legislature to work with the city to rebuild infrastructure and make Jackson an attractive place to live and work has consequences that echo from one end of the state to the other.

Tennessee has six cities with a population of 100,00 or more. Alabama has five cities with more than 100,000 residents. Louisiana has four.

But Mississippi has just one city with that kind of population.

Why does that matter?

Because young professionals congregate in urban areas where entertainment options are plentiful. A revitalized Jackson could be an appealing alternative to cities in other states.

It goes beyond brain drain, though.

Cities are the economic powerhouse of every state.

In 2020, metropolitan areas were the main economic drivers (meaning they represented more than 50% of state GDP) for all but four states in the nation. So, in red and blue states alike, metro areas are major sources of jobs, revenue, and opportunity. In 10 states, metro areas produced nearly 95% or more of their state’s economic output. Even traditionally “rural”  states such as Alaska, Iowa and South Dakota were predominantly powered by their metro areas.

Jackson, by comparison, now contributes 24% of the state’s economic output. Unless some drastic, long-range measures are taken, the city’s contribution will likely shrink even more. Jackson is the single most important tool in Mississippi’s economic toolbox.

As it is said, it’s a poor carpenter who doesn’t take care of his tools. No one benefits.

Urban and rural prosperity are linked. Cities and metro areas generate statewide revenues that support rural needs and provide small town entrepreneurs with access to customers, financial capital, and other services.

It’s time our legislature and Jackson leadership work together to make Jackson the economic driver it should be. For the legislature, that means investing in the city. For city leaders, it means being accountable. A shared vision for what Jackson should and can yet be matters, from South Panola to Pascagoula and all points in between.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.