Jackson Free Press

One of the key elements missing in discussions of Gov. Phil Bryant's recent budget cuts, the second wave of cuts in the State's current fiscal year, is the 40-plus tax cuts since he became governor.

Bryant brags on tax cuts regularly and believes they lead to economic-development projects that bring more jobs to Mississippians.

Last week, the governor announced his second round of budget cuts to fiscal-year 2017's budget, totaling $55 million. He pulled $4 million from the state's rainy day fund in addition to an approximate 1.5-percent cut for all state agencies, save student financial aid, MAEP, veterans' affairs and certain sectors of the state's public-safety department.

For now, most agencies are probably able to sustain staffing levels and continue at their usual pace, but for next year's budget, this is unlikely, especially because the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act will start to hit the state's budget in July. Both Senate and House Appropriations Committees have been meeting with state agencies this week and last week so that state agencies can make their cases for appropriations at or above last year's levels. Budget recommendations from the governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee show that lawmakers are expecting to cut most state agency budgets even further in the 2017 legislative session.

An Associated Press analysis found that 43 bills decreased tax revenue between 2012 and 2015, and estimates from the Department of Revenue show that the State lost as much as $287 million due to those cuts. The Taxpayer Pay Raise act will divert an additional $415 million in the next decade, adding to the pile of diverted revenue from earlier tax cuts.

Top Republicans expectantly refuse to acknowledge that tax cuts have anything to do with slow revenue in the state. Gov. Bryant blamed revenue collections not meeting the State's estimates. Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves told the Stennis Capitol Press Forum that revenue projections made in 2015 were wrong and still affect projections today.

The reality is that agencies wouldn't have to deal with the cuts they are dealing with today if even a quarter of those tax cuts from 2012-2015 weren't implemented. The future looks grim, however, with looming cuts ahead, and it's time for the state's top leaders to acknowledge that at least right now, tax cuts have not helped the state's economy enough to make up for the cost of revenue loss.

The mission of "efficiency" and "deciding what government should pay for" must not be at the expense of Mississippians, especially those who need government agencies for employment or assistance so they can become tax-paying citizens.