Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
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Jan. 10
The Commercial Dispatch of Columbus on Gov. Phil Bryant’s state of the state address:
As is commonly done Gov. Phil Bryant used Tuesday’s state of the state address to emphasize the positives while making only opaque references to the issues that continue to trouble or present and cloud our future.
That is the nature of state of the state addresses, which generally serve as pep rallies before legislators dive into their legislative sessions.
In Tuesday’s speech, Bryant touted the state’s low unemployment rate and the abundance of jobs in making his case that Mississippi is “good” on the way to becoming “great.”
Whether you agree with the governor’s assessment or not, even the unemployment rate (at 4.8 percent, the lowest rate in the state in four decades) and the availability of jobs (40,000 job listings on the state’s Mississippi Works website), do not accurately reflect the big picture.
In truth, we are losing - and have been losing - our greatest asset.
Just a week ago, the state’s Institutions of Higher Learning, released the results of a 2016 study that provides important context to the jobs picture in Mississippi.
According to a study commissioned by the IHL, 40 percent of graduates from Mississippi’s eight public universities leave the state within five years of graduation.
That exodus climbs even higher among graduates with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) degrees. According to the report, 56 percent of those who earned STEM degrees in 2013 were working in other states a year after graduating.
This is a devastating statistic.
The state has lost population for three straight years. And many of those who are leaving are those we can least afford to lose - bright, ambitious young people with the kinds of ideas that could truly shape a better future for our state. It’s called a “brain drain” and has long been an affliction for our state.
When we consider how those generations of outstanding young people might have shaped our state over the years, and in the years to come, we feel a sense of lost opportunity that limits our potential.
Without visionaries, there can be no vision. Without leaders, there can be no progress. Without talent, potential is limited.
There is some talk of providing tax or student-loan credits for talented college graduates who will agree to stay in state, but unless and until there are real opportunities for these young Mississippians, there is little hope those grads will remain.
Mississippians have always had a strong work ethic, but when most of the available jobs feature low pay (our state continues to lead the nation in per capita minimum-wage workers), Mississippians will continue to look elsewhere for jobs that allow them to build a real future for themselves and their families. A tax credit isn’t much of an inducement if you can’t find a job in your field.
For too long, the state’s inability to create a climate where our best young people can flourish continues to mean our best young people must leave to find those opportunities.
Mississippians are doing great things.
Mostly, in other states.
Online: http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/
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Jan. 9
The Greenwood Commonwealth on depopulation in Mississippi:
There are two ways to respond to recent reports that Mississippi is losing population and that the exodus of recent college graduates is especially pronounced.
One is to acknowledge the data and try to figure out how to respond to it so as to reverse the trends.
The other is to stick your head in the sand and say it’s really not as bad as it looks.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has opted so far for the second approach.
Speaking to a press gathering Monday, the Republican considered that party’s leading contender for the governorship in a couple of years said he believes that concerns about Mississippi’s population loss have been overstated. Furthermore, he said, the brain drain is probably no worse than it ever has been, but that the numbers are inflated by how many students at Mississippi’s public universities come from out of state these days.
We’re not sure where Reeves spends most of his time, but it’s clearly not in the Delta. If he were to do just a little research, he would understand that the decades-long depopulation of the region is one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest, the Delta faces. It hurts every sector of the economy, hurts the schools, hurts the ability of local governments to provide services.
And the Delta is not the only place in Mississippi struggling to keep and attract people, especially young, upwardly mobile adults. The U.S. Census Bureau says that Mississippi as a whole has lost population for three years in a row and is one of only a handful of states not growing this decade.
There are several ideas that have been suggested to reverse this disturbing trend in Mississippi.
One that would have an immediate impact is expanding Medicaid. Those states, such as Mississippi, that did not expand Medicaid are growing more slowly, if at all, than those that did. Reeves, Gov. Phil Bryant and others who rejected Washington’s generous offer are costing this state an estimated $2 billion a year in federal money - and the health-care jobs that infusion would preserve or create.
Another would be raising the fuel tax to pay for the repair and renovation of the state’s infrastructure, which would not just stimulate immediate growth in the construction industry but would provide the better roads and bridges that both businesses and residents desire.
A novel idea, this one from a Jackson ad agency executive, would give a tax credit to college grads who stay in the state for at least five years. That proposal needs further study to be sure it would actually produce more revenue for the state than it would cost, but at least it’s an attempt at a solution.
We need Reeves and the rest of our state’s leadership to encourage such problem-solving, but first they need to acknowledge the problem exists.
Online: http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
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Jan. 8
The Oxford Eagle on Ole Miss football’s national championship aspirations:
Several years ago, Ole Miss fans hoped this would be about the time the Rebels played for a football national championship.
It didn’t seem that far-fetched with Ole Miss beating Alabama two consecutive seasons and recruiting big-time players. Why, just two seasons ago the Rebels were ranked in the preseason top 15.
But it has been downhill since then for Ole Miss football, with NCAA probation and some reality checks that perhaps the Rebels are not yet ready for prime time in the national championship game.
That doesn’t mean Ole Miss can’t get there, eventually. Georgia, which lost to Alabama in Monday night’s game, has not been able to get over the hump for decades after winning a national championship in 1980.
Finally, almost everything aligned for the Bulldogs. Thus, it can happen to a program that hasn’t been able to get over the proverbial hump. That’s not saying the Ole Miss program is to the level of Georgia’s. Not yet.
Georgia had been close as a contender for many years, consisting winning eight games a year and being in the discussion.
Right now, the discussion about Ole Miss is how quickly the Rebel program can return to consistent competitiveness in the rugged SEC after a two-year bowl ban.
For the moment, Rebel fans will have to dream about what could be.
Online: http://www.oxfordeagle.com/
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