Mississippi editorial roundup

Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:

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March 21

The Greenwood Commonwealth on state lawmakers:

The Democrats in Mississippi’s Legislature don’t have much clout these days. With Republicans commanding supermajorities in both chambers, anything the GOP leadership wants can basically be rammed through over Democratic objections.

Given their weakened political state, about all that’s left for the Democrats to do is to speak out when they believe Republicans are heading down the wrong road, and hope that the public will listen and put pressure on GOP lawmakers to reverse course.

It’s a longshot, but it’s the only realistic one they have.

Last week, the Democratic leadership sounded the alarm about the state’s current budget bind, which has prompted Gov. Phil Bryant to make five rounds of spending cuts in less than a year and a half because revenues have been coming in below projections.

The Republicans have largely attributed these adjustments to two causes: Mississippi being slow to come out of the Great Recession, and the state spending too much money when times were better.

They are definitely correct about the first one, and arguably correct about the second.

There is, however, a third factor they ignore, and of which the Democrats have tried to remind them. The GOP has gone overboard with tax cuts in recent years, mostly benefitting corporations and the welltodo. They had done so on the promise that this fiscal policy would be rewarded with economic growth that would produce more income for the state treasury than what the tax cuts were costing.

So far, that promise - the socalled “trickle down” theory of economics - hasn’t materialized, nor has there been any objective data offered by Republicans to suggest it will. All of these tax cuts are being passed on faith of future returns, but, as other states following similar paths have previously shown, such faith often goes unrewarded.

The Democrats have called for a moratorium on new tax cuts and a postponement on the July 1 implementation of major reductions that were enacted last year.

The GOP leadership is not likely to listen. It is committed to playing this hand out, no matter the present ramifications for the state budget nor how much essential government services, such as education, public health and roads and bridges, are neglected.

Republicans in the Legislature are gambling that the current pinch is a shortterm problem. They are probably wrong. They can’t say, though, they haven’t been warned

Online:

https://www.gwcommonwealth.com

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March 22

The Sun Herald on area spring break events:

Astronomically speaking, spring began earlier this week with Monday’s vernal equinox. For most kids, spring won’t officially be sprung until most K-12 schools go on break on Good Friday in mid-April.

But the event calendar tells us spring actually will unfold over the next four weekends.

This weekend will give us a preview of even busier weeks to come as Barbecue Under the Oaks gets cooking at Centennial Plaza in Gulfport. It’s a fundraiser for the Gulf Coast Symphony and a great way to acquaint yourself with some of the best barbecue anywhere. Ocean Springs will have its Spring Arts Festival: Herb, Garden & Art on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be a Stella Yelling Contest in Bay St. Louis and a chance to Discover D’Iberville. Visitors will find plays, music and artwork across the Coast. Find your favorite event at SunHerald.com.

The next weekend is, as they say, 100 Years in the Making. The Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration comes to the Coast at Centennial Plaza in Gulfport. The headliner will be the April 1 concert by The Band Perry, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band and Paul Thorn.

The following weekend will be Mississippi Gulf Coast Spring Break, aka Biloxi Black Beach Weekend, although there will be events up and down the Coast the weekend of April 7-9.

Organizers have the activities centered on the Coliseum and have widely publicized tips for out-of-towners to help everyone have fun and stay safe. We commend their efforts.

And the final spring break will be April 14-23, when most school children will be off. That will bring another wave of families to the Coast, which is ready with plenty for kids and their parents to do.

For the rest of us, some of these events are going to cause traffic headaches and delays, particularly along U.S. 90. That’s part of living in a tourist community.

We should remember that folks attending these events are our guests and we should treat them accordingly.

We’ll have people here from all over in the next few weeks and this is just another chance to show them our Coast hospitality.

We hope everyone has a wonderful time and leaves with the feeling that they cannot wait to return.

Enjoy.

Online:

https://www.sunherald.com

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March 17

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal on Toyota’s impact on the region and state:

For the last 10 years, Northeast Mississippi has often seen firsthand the impact to our state brought on by Toyota Mississippi and its production facility in Blue Springs.

But seeing that impact detailed in a national study brings to light just how significant of a community partner Toyota is for our region and the entire Magnolia State.

The Center for Automotive Research, a national think tank, recently completed a study that detailed Toyota’s contributions in Mississippi, the top highlights of which include $960 million invested in facilities and 6,700 jobs - direct and indirect - throughout the state, among other items.

Toyota leaders announced 10 years ago that the company would open its eighth North American assembly plant at a site in Blue Springs in Union County.

The announcement culminated years of work by regional leaders and economic development officials to form the PUL Alliance, which brought together resources in Pontotoc, Union and Lee counties to make the project a reality.

Since then, Toyota and its employees have contributed to the communities in our region significantly.

The CAR study found in 2015 that one out of every 150 workers in Mississippi was employed as a result of Toyota manufacturing, sales, logistics or support operations.

The study found direct employees - manufacturing-related and new vehicle jobs - earned $307 million in payroll and that after taxes, the disposable personal income of those employees totaled $235 million.

Toyota Mississippi has more than 1,500 employees at its production facility in Blue Springs, and it produced 182,025 new Corollas in 2016.

The contributions made from the community development standpoint also are significant, the report found. In 2016, team members logged more than 5,000 volunteer hours for local organizations and have contributed nearly $3.2 million to charitable organizations in Mississippi since 2011.

The CREATE Foundation receives a $5 million check each year from Toyota Mississippi for an endowment to support public education. Toyota has pledged $50 million to that endowment.

We recognized Toyota’s contribution to the community last month through a commemorative special section that recognized the 10-year anniversary of its Mississippi announcement.

But the impactful data found in the study deserve another salute to a company that has contributed so much to our state.

Perhaps Glenn McCullough Jr., Mississippi Development Authority executive director and former Tupelo mayor, said it best.

“These impressive figures are evidence that Toyota and Mississippi are a winning team. We salute Toyota’s leadership, which is making Northeast Mississippi a better place for generations to come.”

We thank Toyota for continuing to be a quality community partner in Northeast Mississippi and a model corporate steward.

Online:

https://djournal.com