Did Rep. Bobby Moak have an advance copy of Phil Bryant's 2015 State of the State? Of course not, but it sure seemed that way.

Gov. Phil Bryant gave his 2015 State of the State address Wednesday night, but on Tuesday, House Democratic Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) issued a press release calling the shots on what Bryant would say:

"It will be more empty promises to fund education, some tripe about silver shovel awards in hard-to-find magazines, a little hot air about inflated job numbers and made-up business rankings," Moak said.

So Moak predicted 5 things Bryant would say on Tuesday, a full 24 hours before the State of the State.  For those keeping score at home, those five things were:

1. Empty promises to fund education,
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef responded Tuesday afternoon by playing the outrage card, and issued the following response:

"While, unfortunately, it is typical to see empty rhetoric from the minority Democrat party whining and attacking our governor, it is quite humorous to see them criticize a speech that is 24 hours away from being made."

And then Phil Bryant gave his speech Wednesday.

This line came not 90 seconds in:

"According to Area Development magazine, Mississippi ranks in the top ten states in the nation for economic development."

Right out of the gate, Moak hit two with one line! Made-up business rankings AND a hard-to-find magazine in one sentence!

That line was then followed up closely by:

"For the third year in a row, we have been awarded a Silver Shovel...."

Boom! Moak's got three!

So here's where we are now, barely two minutes into the speech:

1. Empty promises to fund education
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

Then Bryant moved on to jobs, and strained the limits of credulity with the following:

"According to our State Economist, Mississippi added 8,800 more jobs in 2014 than in 2013. Projected real personal income growth in Mississippi during 2015 is expected to be 3.9 percent. We also know that personal income buys even more in Mississippi than it would in other states because of our low cost of living. The Tax Foundation has found income in Mississippi goes 16 percent further than the national average. So for every $100 in income, a Mississippian would make $116 compared to other states. So many new employees who move to Mississippi get a raise. If they move here from Washington, D.C., they could get around a 40 percent raise. Obviously, we would need to retrain most of them."

First off, ain't nobody moving here right now, Governor. Our very meager population growth is attributable to births outpacing deaths, not folks chomping at the bit to move to Mississippi.  In fact, take a look at the maps over at New Geography.  The only folks moving into Mississippi in any number are running south from Memphis.

Second, it's cute how you claim 8,800 new jobs in Mississippi last year while ignoring that we've lost 41,000 since you came on the scene as Lt. Governor in 2007.  But I'm getting away from the point.  Moak now has his fourth prediction, inflated jobs numbers, come true.

Let's move on to empty promises to fund education, the first prediction Moak made and the last one still alive. Gov. Bryant, take it away:

Now let's spend a moment on the reality of education funding. The Education Week Research Center ranks Mississippi as 19th in the nation for state expenditures on K-12 education as a percentage of state taxable resources. No less authority than the U.S. Department of Education lists our state as number twelve in the nation for school expenditures as a percentage of the state's gross domestic product.

Sorry, I'm going to interrupt right here to point something out. If Person A takes home $2,400.00 a month, and spends $1,000 a month on housing, Person A spends 41.6% of his income on housing.  If Person B makes $7,000 a month, and spends $2,000 a month on housing, Person B spends 28.5% of her income on housing.  Does that mean Person B cares more about housing than Person A?  Of course not. So Gov. Bryant, quit trying to tell us that those stats mean anything. Even with my Mississippi public school education, I can see through that.

But back to Bryant's speech:

My Executive Budget Recommendation increases MAEP funding by $53 million over the current year. Under my recommendation MAEP funding will reach nearly $2.2 billion or a 2.5 percent annual increase. Funding for K-12 overall will reach $2.5 billion. It includes $41 million for the second year of a $100 million teacher pay raise and $15 million for more reading coaches to assist in the literacy program within the Third Grade Gate. I believe most of us want to fund reforms in education that work and make certain the money goes to the classroom.

You notice what Bryant didn't say? He didn't say that his recommendation is to adequately fund education. He just said he's going to recommend an increase, but not even to the level we've already decided is merely adequate (MAEP). So he made it sound like he's going to fund education fully, even when he admittedly isn't.  And if you look at the speech, he's wasn't even that enthused about it.  He was more excited about signing a tax cut (any tax cut!) and how he put "In God We Trust" on the state seal.

And there it is, Moak hit every single prediction:

1. Empty promises to fund education
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

Wonder how Nosef feels about his quote now?  A bit silly, perhaps?

House Democratic Caucus calls for reform of sole-source contract process, requests list of all contracts currently in effect

From the Mississippi House Democratic Caucus:

Jackson, MS – The Mississippi House Democratic Caucus has requested legislation to address the award of single or sole source contracts by government agencies at the state and local level. The legislation comes on the heels of the announcement of an ongoing investigation of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the indictment of its director. Under current law, state and local agencies may award contracts without a bid process effectively limiting the public from reviewing or otherwise participating in the bid process.

Mississippi House Democratic Caucus Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) said, “We are calling on our colleagues across the aisle to join us in helping change the way contracts are awarded at all levels of Mississippi government. We have requested legislation proposing that all government sole-source contracts, of any character and at any level of Mississippi government, be immediately declared illegal within the state.”

In addition to proposing legislation, the Democratic Caucus intends to seek a comprehensive list of all sole-source contracts currently in effect including the names of the vendors, contractors, sub-contractors, and costs associated with each contract.

Moak added, “While we appreciate the Governor’s decision to form a committee to study this issue, we believe action must be taken in the short term to prevent further abuse. Because we know that the current system is a breeding ground for fraud and abuse, we are asking that our legislation be acted during the opening days of the upcoming session. Now is the time for a full sweep of government contracts and thorough examination of the way tax dollars are being spent by our agencies.”

BREAKING - House Democrats get their Medicaid expansion vote

The House Democrats, who had been fighting all year for the opportunity to have a vote on Medicaid expansion, finally got one.  On a 65-51 vote, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted to not expand Medicaid or to examine the Democratic compromise plan, which would have used federal money to purchase private insurance.  (Thus avoiding the expansion of the Department of Medicaid altogether.)

After the vote, Democrats did as they've promised all along, and the appropriations bill passed 115-1.  The action now shifts to the Senate tomorrow, where efforts are underway to place a repealer into the Medicaid reauthorization bill that passed the House today.

Congratulations to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) on a masterful job of putting everyone on the record on Medicaid expansion!

Politico: "Mississippi's Medicaid Plan May Fail"

In today's edition of Politico, Kyle Cheney, writes about the ongoing battle struggle floundering of responsibility from Governor Bryant over the seemingly obvious decision to expand Medicaid.

There are a couple of good quotes here, some that have become old-hat in these parts, including that of House Minority Leader, Rep Bobby Moak:

The federal government will pay for expansion for the first three years, then gradually scale back to paying 90 percent of the cost.

“I feel confident that the members of the House will make a decision that’s best for their district,” Moak said.

As well as industry leaders that see the need:

Mississippi has the most to gain from Medicaid expansion. Conversely, we also have the most to lose,” said Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Care Access Program. “We’re at the bottom of all the health indicator lists. If we do not expand Medicaid, we will solidify our place at the bottom for at least a generation to come.”

 Hospitals and nursing homes, too, are fretting.

“We continue encouraging Mississippi legislators to come to an agreement quickly to fund the existing Medicaid program beyond June 30, so it does not cause any disruption in services to our nursing home residents,” said Vanessa Phipps Henderson, executive director of the Mississippi Health Care Association.

National eyes are on our state to do the right thing for its people, especially since so many partisan Republicans have already seen the writing on the wall. 

How far will Governor Bryant go to avoid giving Democrats a political victory?

And does he know that his actions could lead to his state's long term defeat?

BREAKING: Medicaid cuts to begin January 1, 2014?

From a press release by the House Democratic Caucus:

May 13, 2013

Jackson, MS- Statement from House Democratic Caucus Leader Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto):

“On Monday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released proposed regulations for the implementation of reductions in Medicaid disproportionate share payments to hospitals pursuant to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.  These cuts begin January 1, 2014.  The release can be found at Medicaid.gov.  The agency has previously announced cuts to Medicare payments under the program beginning October 1, 2013.   

Both the Governor and the Division of Medicaid have consistently speculated that the cuts will not occur. With the release today, they have been proven wrong. Should the Mississippi Medicaid program not be expanded to offset these cuts, our hospitals will be irreparably harmed. We again call on the Governor to call a special session to deal with this issue as soon as possible.”

###

Dr. Phil & "Playing Politics"

Yesterday, Mississippi House Democrats warded off an attempt to deny the state a shot at Medicaid expansion. In a move to kill the expansion option, a bill was introduced to extend the current Medicaid plan beyond its current deadline.

Emily Wagster Pettus (Associated Press) reports that Minority Leader Moak and others saw through the plan:

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Bobby Moak of Bogue Chitto, urged party members to vote against the Medicaid reauthorization bill Thursday because it could not be changed to add Medicaid expansion. He said a Senate bill could be amended later. There's a technical reason the House bill couldn't be amended: It doesn't contain the right sections of state law, and House rules prohibit adding sections that aren't in the original draft.

According to Rep. Moak, Medicaid expansion could add up to 9,000 new jobs for the state, and would provide health care for thousands of Mississippians with little to no help.  Yet Governor Bryant insists that the Democrats are the ones playing politics with Mississippians' health.

More from AP:

 "I am certainly prepared to run Medicaid by executive order to prevent nursing home patients and aged, blind and disabled adults from losing services," Bryant said in a news release Thursday. "I believe the Democratic leadership's threatening the care of vulnerable citizens to advance a political agenda is shameful."

But as we know, "Dr. Phil" believes that anyone who needs health care already has it.

So which one is it? Do Mississippians need access to these services or not?

House Dems on Medicaid expansion: Saying "no" is not good enough

In a press release issued Saturday, House Democratic Caucus Leader Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) made the following statement:

Mississippi House Democratic Caucus Press

Contact:          Rep. Bobby Moak

                        (601) 359-2860

Impact of Affordable Care Act on Medicaid eligibility for Mississippi children

June 30, 2012

Jackson, MS- Moments after the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, Mississippi Republicans promised to block any effort to extend Medicaid coverage to Mississippi children.

“Saying ‘no’ is simply not good enough,” said House Democratic Caucus Leader Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto).  “When our young people can’t access doctors it limits their educational opportunities and prevents them from achieving the level of success they deserve.”

Moak added, “The new Medicaid options available to children under the Affordable Care Act will come at zero cost to Mississippi taxpayers for the next three years.  Refusing these additional medical options for our most vulnerable citizens would be a horrible black eye for our state.”    

Moak added, “In light of yesterday’s ruling, the legislature should act quickly to make sure that all qualified Mississippi children receive the same Medicaid options that are now available throughout the country.  We cannot allow Republican leadership to wage a partisan war against Washington on the backs of Mississippi kids.”

“To play childhood education against adequate healthcare is not leadership, it’s political theatre. We are charged as elected officials with making the best decisions for all our citizens and we owe them the sweat equity to work through challenging problems that confront our state,” Moak said.

###

2012 Legislative Session: How do you measure success?

In an article titled "Key leaders in the four-month 2012 Legislative Session," the Clarion Ledger listed notable Republicans and Democrats and their 2012 accomplishments.  It's a telling piece that provides some insight into the differences between the agendas of the state's largest parties and how these parties measure "success."  Here are some highlights:

Republicans

• Gov. Phil Bryant: "revising workers' compensation law to protect employers"
• Speaker Philip Gunn: "Supported passage of conservative legislative priorities, like the Sunshine Act to limit the [A]ttorney [G]eneral's power in hiring outside counsel, led House to pass illegal immigration enforcement bill and several anti-abortion measures"
• Rep. Andy Gipson (R-Braxton): "Championed anti-abortion legislation, such as the [new] law requiring abortion physicians obtain hospital admitting privileges, passed bills enforcing illegal immigration and outlawing abortion where a fetal heartbeat is detectable"

Democrats

• Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto): "Worked to unite House Democrats in opposition to" charter school bill and workers' compensation bill.
• Rep. Steve Holland (D-Plantersville): "Worked to restore level funding for Medicaid and public health, including securing $2.5 million for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS federal matching dollars"
• Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson): "Worked to restore level funding for public education and successfully proposed removing immigration provision requiring schools to check status of students"

If we were to extrapolate party platform planks based on the 2012 session, it might go something like this: 

Workers' compensation

• Republicans support a workers' compensation program that protects employers by limiting payments to injured Mississippi workers. 
• Democrats support a workers' compensation program that pays injured Mississippi workers fairly.

Attorney General

• Republicans disagree with the constitutional provisions outlining the office of the attorney general and believe that this officer should be more restricted than any other statewide office and only act where all agencies and the legislature agree 
• Democrats agree with the constitution and believe it is important for Mississippi to have a chief lawyer

Illegal immigration

• Republicans do not believe that there can be too many laws referencing illegal immigration
• Democrats passed a law that placed restrictions on employers who create an incentive to break the law and do not support unfunded mandates that create unwarranted problems for law enforcement and municipalities in the name of fighting illegal immigration

Budget

• At the beginning of the session, Republicans, through Governor Bryant's budget recommendation, proposed $70 million cuts to public education and significant cuts to public health.
• Democrats offered an alternative budget that provided level funding for education and public health and were largely successful in making these changes during the budgeting process. 

Rep. Moak continues to question Rep. Denny on Denny map

Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) continues to question Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson) about the process of drawing the maps....

Moak presses Denny on what kind of input the members of the House had.  Denny compares it to "taking an order" at a restaurant.  Moak says Denny lost the burger and fries on his order.  Denny then admits to basically ignoring Moak's requests.

Moak then turns to the number of majority minority districts.  Moak asks Denny if it was true that the plan last year had one more majority minority district than Denny's plan.  Denny says that was conjecture.

Denny admits he has not had any contact with the Justice Department whatsoever.


Denny says he did not go back and review the minutes of meetings of the redistricting committee last year.

Denny keeps referring to "consensus 2" as the map that was drawn last year.  Moak asks him to clarify.  Denny says that was the map that passed the House.

Moak then turns to the "gentleman's agreement."  Denny says that he has talked to the members of the Joint Committee, but not about the House or Senate maps.  The Senate has not seen Denny's map, and Denny has not seen the Senate map.  Denny says he's not too concerned with what the Senate is doing.

Moak then asks why the plan was so late.  Denny says it was not late, that the plan was under review by experts.  Moak then asks if Denny is familiar with the statutory 15 day requirement.  Denny responds by saying "I'm familiar with our statutes.  I can best answer that by saying that I have superb counsel."  Pressed further, Denny says the plans were drawn 15 days prior to sine die.  (This is even though he made changes to the districts after 15 days prior to sine die.)

Denny then admits that he brought in House members to change the maps after the 15 day deadline. (Denny is running back and forth and talking to his lawyer the whole time this is going on.)

Denny then says that the computer would have captured the changes made after Friday.

Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) questions Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson) about his map

Moak asks Denny what public hearings he's held regarding his map.  There was none.  Denny said he relied on the public hearings conducted in preparation of last year's House redistricting map.

Moak then asks Denny if we are under a court order to produce a map to the 3 judge panel from last year's redistricting case.  Denny says he thinks that any map passed by the Legislature would not go to the 3 judge panel, but instead to the Department of Justice.  Moak then asks Denny when the map was presented to the Legislature.  Denny says the plan "had been made and presented to experts for review."  Moak presses him, and Denny asks for clarification.  Denny finally admits that the plan was first presented to the Legislature as a whole today.  (This is important because of the statute that says the plan must be drawn 15 days prior to sine die, and also because the Justice Department is likely to put extra scrutiny on a map that doesn't get much deliberation.) Denny says that 110 members of the House gave input in the drawing of this map.  Then says probably over 110 members.

Moak ties Denny down to saying that the plan was presented to the committee at 8:30 a.m. last Friday morning.  Moak then gets Denny to admit that there were changes made to the map after it was presented to the committee on Friday.

Denny says the experts were the same ones who reviewed the maps in 2002, but has no idea what their names are.  He struggles for a minute or two, and then reads the names: Dr. Richard Engstrom, Dr. Jerry Webster, and Mr. Clark Benson.

Moak then asks if there was anyone who was not a state employee, retained counsel (Tommy Cardin of Butler Snow), or the experts named above who was involved in drawing the maps.  Denny says no, other than House members.

Despite national outcry, no changes likely to Mississippi's pardon process

When he ruled Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill 2195 not germane to the legislation, Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) became the latest in a long line of Republicans who have have denied modification to Mississippi's pardon process, a process that drew nationwide scrutiny following then Governor Haley Barbour's pardon of hundreds of Mississippi felons in January.

Among the bills that were killed during the 2012 session were House Bill 27, a measure that would require the parole board to provide a non-binding recommendation on pending pardon requests; House Bill 29, a measure that would prevent murderers from serving as trustys; House Bill 36, a measure that would require pardon applicants to give notice to local law enforcement officials so that a public hearing could be arranged; and House Bill 182, a measure that would make certain offenders ineligible for additional earned time.

It will be interesting to see if Governor Barbour's pardons coupled with his party's unwillingness to work with Democrats to develop any meaningful reform will create problems for legislators in districts where some of the more notable crimes occurred. 

Randy Walker, a victim of one of the recipients of a Barbour pardon had this to say last week, "The elected officials sit in their air-conditioned offices and collect a check we provide.  They're not listening to the voice of Mississippi."  Expect to hear more statements like this one when legislators are back on the ballot.

Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) tries to kill public hearing requirement on pardons

Just now, Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) has just entered a point of order on the Baria-Moak amendment that would require a public hearing before a pardon could be granted.  The amendment has been set aside for the moment.  If Speaker Gunn's lawyers grant Rep. Upshaw's point of order, the amendment will be dead.

Considering that the Republican leadership has killed every single last piece of legislation that would prevent something like Barbour's Pardongate from happening again, I doubt the amendment will make it far.

Democrats release budget plan, give map for level funding for education, healthcare, and libraries

From a Mississippi Democratic Legislative Caucus press release:

Jackson, MS – House and Senate Democrats held a press conference at 11:30 a.m. today to announce their budget plan for the 2013 fiscal year.  Democrats proposed level funding for the following key budget areas: 1) education, 2) healthcare, and 3) local libraries.  The Republican budget plan, introduced by Governor Phil Bryant on January 31, 2012, proposes significant cuts to each of these areas.  “Our budget plan would provide level funding for education, community mental health and local libraries without raising taxes and without exhausting our savings,” said House Democratic Caucus Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto).  

Education

The Republican budget would cut education by more than $100 million including:

o   nearly $73 million in cuts to elementary education,

o   over $12 million in cuts to community colleges, and

o   over $18 million in cuts to four year colleges.

“With our improving economy, we have enough money to maintain level funding,” said Sen. Hob Bryan (D-Amory).  “There is not a single Republican who won election by campaigning on spending less on education but that is exactly what their budget proposes.”

Healthcare

The Republican budget would cut healthcare by nearly $30 million including:

o   nearly $12 million in cuts to the University Medical Center,

o   nearly $14 million in cuts to the Department of Mental Health,

o   nearly $3 million in cuts to Public Health, and

o   over $1 million in cuts to Rehabilitation Services.

“The Republican healthcare plan is nothing short of reckless.  These deep cuts place the public at risk by jeopardizing our community mental health centers and cutting healthcare centers that have already been hobbled by previous budget shortfalls,” said Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson).

Local Libraries

 The Republican budget would cut our local libraries by 15% or nearly $2 million. These cuts would place numerous important programs at risk, including:

o   children’s reading programs which serve more than 400,000 Mississippi children,

o   computer programs that serve more individuals performing job searches or completing employment applications, and

o   some WIN Job Centers.

“Local libraries perform several crucial functions for our communities including introducing children to reading and helping connect people to jobs.  These cuts would place many of our libraries at risk of closing their doors,” said Rep. Earle Banks (D-Jackson). 

House members score big victory for Mississippi workers

I'm happy to report that it wasn't all poll taxes and medieval torture devices over at the Mississippi legislature this week.  Earlier today, a bi-partisan House coalition managed to beat back a measure that would completely destabilize the workers compensation program in Mississippi.  Here's the release from the House Democratic Caucus:

Jackson, MS - This morning, a bi-partisan coalition was successful in stopping a measure that would have stripped Mississippi workers of many of the protections they currently enjoy under Mississippi's workers' compensation program.  The bill, House Bill 555 sponsored by Rep. Mark Formby (R-Picayune), would remove the presumption that a person found dead on the job was injured at work, take away a worker's right to select their own physician, and remove several of the current presumptions that protect Mississippi workers injured on the job. 

House Democratic Caucus Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) said, "This is a tremendous victory for Mississippi workers but our work isn't finished.  Mississippians deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity when the are injured on the job and we are prepared to fight any measure that would threaten our workers."

The full text of Rep. Bobby Moak's Response to the State of the State

Below is the full text of Bobby Moak's Response to the State of the State address:

***

I’m Bobby Moak and I’m honored to represent southwest Mississippi in the House of Representatives and humbled to serve my colleagues as Leader of the House Democratic Caucus.

Days into this new session, the previous administration unveiled a nightmare for victims of violent crime across Mississippi. Without listening to families of murder victims and other Mississippians, Governor Barbour released convicted murderers onto our streets and cleared the way for sex offenders to move into our neighborhoods without notice.

While this act has brought us face to face with some of our worst fears, it has also given us an opportunity to think critically about the way we work with victims and their families to ensure justice and create a safer Mississippi.

This issue has been a priority for Democrats in the legislature. For the past three years, we have offered legislation that would require governors to listen to victims’ families, law enforcement and prosecutors before issuing a pardon. We are happy to welcome our Republican colleagues into this conversation, and welcome their help to pass legislation that will respect the work of our judicial system and protect Mississippians.

Likewise, we have asked our Republican colleagues to join us in supporting local law enforcement on the issue of illegal immigration. The Republican version of such reform places burdens on cities, counties and local taxpayers. We cannot allow local entities to bear the brunt of new immigration measures when the problem is caused by companies that hire undocumented workers. If there is to be immigration reform, we should make sure those who create the problem are accountable.

Additionally, Republicans need to join the Attorney General in protecting Mississippi from corporations that steal from us. Currently, Republican legislation would make it practically impossible for the Attorney General to go after corporations that steal our taxpayers’ money. This legislation is the exact opposite of what Mississippians want, which is for wrongdoers to be held accountable.

We must also join together to find ways to eliminate the good old boy system in Mississippi government. Elections do matter and elected leaders should be given the tools they need to lead but the hiring of campaign workers to perform governmental functions has become too common in Mississippi. When campaign staffers infiltrate every corner of the capitol, it creates an environment of perpetual campaigning and institutionalizes gridlock. Mississippi taxpayers should not be made to subsidize political activity through high salaried created positions.

This past fall, Mississippians joined the rest of the country in calling for a fuller measure of accountability in their government. I can assure you that Democrats in the legislature heard that call. That is why this year we are identifying areas of tax reductions and good government reforms throughout state government.

One of the simplest ways to control spending is to shorten the session. At the beginning of the year, Democrats called for a thirty day reduction to the session as did Governor Bryant four years ago. We are yet to receive a response from Republican leadership on this request and so we renew our call for a simple measure that would save taxpayers over eight-hundred thousand dollars this year.

But good government is not simply a matter of controlling special interests and limiting political hires, it must also extend to the budgeting process. A sluggish economy and a loss of stimulus funds will make this an especially challenging process. But no matter the circumstances, budgeting must ultimately be about our values and prioritizing spending.

That is why we will work with our colleagues to lift our children out of even the lowest performing school districts to prepare them not only for attending class but getting degrees from colleges and universities. We can build academic acumen and self esteem to provide our children with resumes that make them competitive on any level and enrich not only themselves and their families but our state. We believe in our K-12 programs, community colleges and universities and this is why Democrats in the legislature will not turn our backs on our public schools.

But budgeting must also mean remaining faithful in the small things—those line items don’t grab news headlines. Republicans have recommended a 24% cut to our wildlife budget. This will be an area of disagreement.

Even in a tough economy, wildlife-related recreation is producing jobs for thousands of Mississippians. According to Mississippi State University, outdoor activities create more than 66,000 full and part-time jobs that pay more than $1.15 billion in wages and salaries per year. This study also showed that wildlife recreation contributes $2.8 billion to our state economy each year.

Every dime taken from wildlife budgets will have to be made up in fees on sportsmen. A gun and rod-n-reel tax along with reducing the number of wildlife-related jobs is bad policy.

The same goes for the sizeable cut being proposed to our Department of Marine Resources, the state agency that works hand in hand with our fishermen, shrimpers and sports anglers. These activities are responsible for a total economic impact of more than $750 million each year.

When a state makes budget reductions of this kind, those reductions are passed along to end users, in this case, our sportsmen. Instead of slashing our wildlife or marine resources budget, we need to look for ways to provide more tax incentives for our hunters and anglers so they keep choosing Mississippi.

We also must stop grandstanding about budget cuts and tax reductions in the legislature when we know that these taxes are simply being kicked down to the local level. In his speech to open this legislative session, Governor Barbour acknowledged that some of our taxation methods need to be reevaluated. We agree.

Mississippi taxpayers have been saddled with a lot of taxes passed on to our local communities. There are taxes instituted for programs that should have been completed years ago. And that’s just one example among many of taxes that we need to re-think.

If we are going to get serious about budgeting and taxes, we have to look critically at all our practices. We can’t allow a tax at the local level that would never pass at the state level. We must also look at whether large multi-national corporations are paying their fair share of Mississippi taxes.

Our shared economic difficulties have been well documented. Unemployment has afflicted every county in our state and the challenges of underemployment have left their mark on most every Mississippi family. We cannot afford to answer these challenges with cynicism and political infighting.

Democrats take the lessons of November seriously and we stand ready to work alongside our Republican colleagues for real solutions

May God continue to bless us.

***

Leader Moak to deliver Democratic Response, calls for end to spoils system

Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto), House Democratic Caucus Leader, will deliver tonight's Democratic Response to the State of the State address.  Moak's response will air immediately following Governor Bryant's State of the State address at 5:30 p.m.  You can follow broadcasts of the speeches at MPB TV, MPB Radio or at mpbonline.org.

Rep. Moak shared the following portion of tonight’s address with Cottonmouth:

"We must also join together to find ways to eliminate the good ole boy system in Mississippi government.  Elections do matter and elected leaders should be given the tools they need to lead, but the hiring of campaign workers to perform governmental functions has become too common in Mississippi.  When campaign staffers infiltrate every corner of the capitol, it creates an environment of perpetual campaigning and institutionalizes gridlock.  Mississippi taxpayers should not be made to subsidize political activity through high salaried, created positions."  

Wonder what he could be talking about?