Mississippi – like other states – is struggling with revenue loss following the recession. However, to cast the current budget challenges as a spending problem fails to accurately portray Mississippi’s experience over the last decade. In Mississippi, state and local spending as a percentage of the economy are at the same level today as it was in 2002.
Click to enlarge
Mississippi State and Local Spending as a Percentage of Gross State Product, 2002-2011
While Mississippi is facing deficits this year due to the end of federal stimulus funding, it is nowhere near the multi-billion dollar deficits of the states featured in the 60 minutes piece. Still, the state faces challenges that demand a balanced approach–one that includes revenue solutions for the state’s revenue problems instead of a cuts-only approach that hurts working families.
Source:
State of Mississippi Budget 2002 through 2011 and Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook
