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No. 23, February 21 - 28
<b><em>The Phantom Flip-Flopper</b></em>
On the episode following Mr. Tim Russert's testimony in the Libby trial, where Cathy Martin revealed the Bush administration's tactics to manipulate the media, Mr. David Broder of The Washington …
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Haley Barbour Comes Out Against Initiative 42, 42A
By R.L. NaveThe following is a verbatim statement from former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour:
Advocates of the proposed constitutional amendment known as Initiative 42 have twisted a passage in my 2007 State of the State address to mislead voters into believing I support their very harmful ballot measure. Not only am I against Initiative 42, I strongly urge all Mississippians to vote “against both” measures on the November ballot.
When I spoke to the Legislature in January 2007, our state had turned the corner in the Katrina recovery: The federal government had been extremely generous with disaster assistance legislation; state tax revenue had exploded as tens of thousands of homes had been rebuilt or repaired; casinos that year would have an all-time record gaming haul; all of which produced the highest state tax revenue in our 188-year history. Further, our country was in the sixth year of consistent economic growth and low unemployment.
Based on those facts I proposed record funding for our K-12 schools, a funding level that met the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), as well as increased state funding for higher education. The money was there to spend at those levels, and everyone expected state revenue to increase in the coming years.
Yet the country began a deep recession in late 2007, which lasted nationally until mid-2009.
During the Great Recession, Mississippi’s general fund revenue came in $197.1 million or 1.67% below estimates in FY 2009 and a whopping $452 million or nearly 9.5% below estimates in FY 2010.
As Governor I had to reduce spending across the board in FY 2010 by 9.4% in order to meet our requirement of having a balanced budget. Consider the consequences if Initiative 42 had been the law at that time: Instead of all departments and agencies sharing in the 9.4% cut, K-12 (which absorbs about 40% of our state’s general fund budget) would have been exempt from cuts, and every other function of government – universities and community colleges, mental health facilities, and public safety – would have had to be cut nearly double, or approximately 18%.
As this recent history shows, Initiative 42 is terrible as a practical matter because it ties the Legislature’s hands and jeopardizes funding for other critical areas of state government.
It is also awful public policy because it totally eviscerates the constitutional system of separation of powers that has been fundamental to American government since 1789.
Initiative 42 would usurp the setting of K-12 education policy and budget, taking it away from the Legislature and Governor – elected by all Mississippi voters – and give it to the judicial branch; indeed, to one chancery judge, elected by one-fourth of the voters in Hinds County.
While advocates of judicial policymaking and budget setting say that one judge’s decisions would be appealable to the State Supreme Court, how is it a good idea to allow judges – elected for their judicial temperament, legal knowledge and ability to apply law to facts – …
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Barbour Repeats Health-Care Scares
Federal health-care reform will burden Mississippi with higher Medicaid costs, Gov. Haley Barbour told business leaders at a summit yesterday. Barbour claimed that the legislation would cost the state $230 …
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Barbour Proposes 8 Percent Budget Cut in 2012
Gov. Haley Barbour outlined his 2012 budget proposal at a press conference this afternoon, calling for an average of 8 percent cuts to state agencies next year. Barbour's $5.47 billion …
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State Wasting Money on Well?
Mississippi Department of Transportation's decision to drill a $390,000 well in downtown Jackson to supply water for government buildings is a "duplication of services," city of Jackson spokesman Chris Mims …
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The State of a Stalemate
The first week of the special session called by Gov. Haley Barbour to focus on civil justice reform ("tort reform") and voter ID was, at best, cantankerous. At the end …
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Mississippi Legislators Respond to Oil Spill
Troubles keep on brewing as a stricken BP oil well continues to daily jet more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. British Petroleum's attempt to …
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Politics
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Plans 2020 Kickoff With High-Dollar Donors
Just months after winning the most closely contested U.S. Senate race in Mississippi since the 1980s, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith plans to kick off her 2020 re-election bid next month …
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The Lone Democrat
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood celebrated a large victory last Tuesday when he won his third re-election term against Republican challenger Steve Simpson, winning 60 percent of the vote. But …
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Legislators Remain Stuck on Budget
With 14 days remaining in Mississippi's 2009 fiscal year, lawmakers continue their struggle to reach a consensus on next year's budget. The special negotiating team, which consists of three House …
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Business
Enviros Warn of 'Kemper Cliff'
The Mississippi Sierra Club is warning about a controversial power project sending electricity ratepayers over the "Kemper Cliff."
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City & County
The Ward 1 Money Race
The race for the Ward 1 seat on Jackson City Council is nearing its end. Voters will go to the polls tomorrow, Dec. 2, to pick new representation. After that, …
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Talk
Of Lady Killers and 'Good Behavior'
Citizens can feel secure knowing that the men in green and white stripes working on the road crews are not rapists or murderers. Mississippi law says that violent criminals are …
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How to Beat the House
On July 15, the Mississippi Legislature finished up a 90-minute special session in record time and with plenty of smiles. Both the Senate and the House passed similar bills providing …
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Dems Bolster Power in Legislature
Photos by Adam Lynch
The Mississippi Legislature moved into Nov. 7 looking on the surface much as it did prior to the elections, party-wise. But education proponents say the new Legislature will likely be …
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Barbour Approval Rating Only 37 Percent
May 12, 2005–SurveyUSA has released its approval rating survey results conducted in all 50 states for May 10, 2005. 600 Mississippians were asked "Do you approve or disapprove of the …
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Langston Suit Moves Ahead Through Political Thicket
Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd has lifted a motion to stay a politically tinged state lawsuit against disbarred attorneys Joey Langston and Timothy Balducci and the Langston Law …
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Barbour: ‘I Expect There to Be a Debate'
At a press conference that just concluded at the University of Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour said that the debate is happening Friday night, as far as he is concerned: "It's …
