Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
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May 22
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal says the cigarette tax and road plans can move forward separately:
Reducing Mississippi’s smoking rates while improving the state’s roads and bridges sounds like a proposal that’s too good to be true.
That’s because, for the most part, it is.
But that’s not stopping a Mississippi family physician’s ongoing quest to implement a cigarette tax under the guise that the additional revenue go toward the state’s infrastructure.
The mission itself represents an admirable approach and outside-the-box thinking that could kill two birds with one stone, something we should be seeing more of from our elected representatives who seem more focused on simply kicking the can down the road.
Mississippi Medical Association President Dr. William Grantham has been traveling the state proposing a $1.50 hike in the cigarette tax, which would mean smokers would pay $2.18 in tax on every pack. The additional revenue would generate an estimated $166 million, which Grantham and the medial association believe could shore up the state’s crumbling infrastructure system.
Grantham admits that, for him, the initiative is more focused on public health. “Where the revenue goes is less relevant than it needs to get done,” Grantham told the Daily Journal’s Michaela Gibson Morris during an interview.
Higher taxes encourage existing smokers to quit and could be effective in diminishing youth smoking. From the medical perspective, fewer smokers decrease the rates of cancer, lung disease, heart attacks and strokes.
Mississippi smokers currently pay 68 cents in taxes per pack; the national average is $1.70 per pack. With bipartisan support, the state senate passed a cigarette tax increase during the 2018 session, but it did not clear the state house. If that increase would have passed, Mississippi would have become one of the highest taxed states in the nation and the highest in the region.
The physician group hopes pairing the cigarette tax with infrastructure revenue might gain traction if the governor calls a special session.
We’re not as confident as the group that the initiative will gain traction, but we applaud the effort and commend these health officials for proposing a solution to two significant issues our state is facing.
This type of thinking is exactly what we should be seeing more of from our leaders in Jackson. For the last several years, long-term infrastructure funding plans have made little traction thanks to political bickering. After the fingers are pointed all around, Mississippians are left with no viable solutions to consider.
A handful of Northeast Mississippi legislators seemed interested in considering a cigarette tax as a public health measure but not as a long-term viable option for infrastructure.
If that’s the case, separate the two and move forward. Take up the cigarette tax next session as a public health item and bring an innovative infrastructure proposal to the table sooner rather than later.
Online: http://www.djournal.com
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May 20
The Sun Herald says the state’s coast needs to get to work to take advantage of sports betting this fall:
Sports betting will be a game changer.
This will be the largest expansion of gambling in Mississippi since casinos were legalized in the early 1990s. Mississippi is poised to be the only state in the Southeast to offer this latest evolution in gambling when football season gets underway this fall.
The influx of tourists ready to put their hard-earned cash on the favorite college or pro team will be enormous.
Mississippi has often benefited from being at the forefront of the gambling revolution in the United States. It was one of the first states on board with casinos.
And, its gambling laws and gaming commission have served the state well.
And we’re confident it will bring superior regulation and guidance as casinos enter a new era.
The Legislature, with considerable foresight, has positioned the state to take full advantage of this opportunity.
This will not be an attraction for the gamblers who frequent our casinos. It will add to that player base with gamblers who would never drive or fly to Mississippi to pull a slot handle, roll the dice or watch the wheel spin.
But for the chance to bet on Ole Miss vs. LSU? Michigan vs. Ohio State? Auburn vs. Alabama?
Wow. What time does the shuttle leave?
This will be an exciting time and we don’t have a lot of time to get ready. You know what they say, no one forgets a first impression.
Many of these new gamblers will be seeing Mississippi for the first time.
We’re confident the casinos will be ready. They have provided the best hospitality and great customer service for years. They have this.
However, first the visitors must get to the casinos.
And some of our main roads look pretty shabby. The state, cities and counties should work together to make every road leading from neighboring states to the Coast casinos a scenic byway.
Imagine if you first impression is a trash strewn highway. Hardly what we’d call welcoming.
The good news is we have plenty of time to spruce this place up. But we should start immediately. This should be a great boost for tourism - when the first new visitors spread the word. It’s up to us to make sure they are spreading the right words.
Online: http://www.sunherald.com
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May 19
The Oxford Eagle says compromise is needed in the discussion on gun control:
It happened again.
Another school shooting. In the aftermath, Americans again ask: Can this be stopped? If so, how?
It always becomes a political issue, fought between those who don’t want to buck the National Rifle Association and those who have been trying to do that very thing for years.
Most Americans just want the senseless killing to stop. And they want to respect the U.S. Constitution.
That’s why we need to find meaningful dialogue away from Washington’s polarized politics that make talking about this in a smart way so difficult.
We’re not willing to accept that mass school shootings like what happened in Texas on Friday and in Florida in February must become a normal part of our lives in America.
Certainly, there are no easy solutions, nor is there one answer that will satisfy each side in the argument.
That’s why the world’s most intelligent and developed country has yet to solve this problem.
We enjoy our freedoms in America, including the freedom to have schools that are not run like high-security airports and freedom to own firearms.
But even if the solutions are not obvious that does not mean they are not attainable. We are not willing to accept that this must be our new normal.
With a bit of compromise, this is a problem that can, and must, be solved.
Online: https://www.oxfordeagle.com
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