Thursday, August 8, 2013

Was Mississippi's Fiscal Shape Better in the 90s?

Lt. Governor Tate Reeves attended a breakfast with Rankin County politicos this past Saturday and was invited to speak to the dozens of attendees, including the author of this article.

In his brief remarks, Reeves noted that Mississippi is in the "best fiscal shape we've been in since the mid-90s following the boom of the casino industry."  Let that sink in for a moment; the mid-90s.

Many readers of this blog know that Reeves was Treasurer of the state of Mississippi from 2004-2012.  Isn't it odd that he would not highlight his tenure as Treasurer as the years when we were in the best fiscal shape?

At last week's Neshoba County Fair, current state Treasurer Lynn Fitch allegedly began gathering support for a challenge to Reeves in the 2015 Republican primary.  It is no secret that there is no love lost between these two ambitious Republicans.  It started early in 2012 when Reeves and Fitch had a back and forth on who's to blame for the mismanagement of the MPACT program which resulted in an unfortunate enrollment freeze.  The most recent feud centered around Fitch being upset that Reeves killed her financial literacy bill in this year's legislative session.  With eight years of experience as Treasurer behind him, why Reeves killed a financial literacy bill is a question only he can answer.

It is puzzling that when the Lt. Governor had an opportunity to show his strength on the fiscal status of our state that he overlooked his own record in office and referred to a period of time roughly eight years before his name first appeared on a ballot.

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