My grandfather was a share-cropper in Tippah County, a widower trying to raise six daughters in the height of The Great Depression. He didn’t make waves. He kept his mouth shut and just did the best he could.
Ever so often, the land-owner would show up in his fancy car and tell my grandfather how fortunate he was to be allowed to work the land-owner’s fields. Each December, his fat wife would deliver a Christmas ham and was sure to stick around long enough to see my grandfather and his ragged little girls gush with gratitude over her kindness, never mind that my grandfather made just enough to stay alive while the land-owner got rich in the process.
That was 80 years ago, but things haven’t changed all that much in Mississippi.
The people who run the state still say we should be satisfied with our lowly condition, although they are far more clever in how they present it to us.
Wednesday, the Mississippi House passed a bill backed by House Speaker Phillip Gunn that will eliminate state income tax, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the state’s revenue. HB 1629 would phase out the income tax over a 15-year period, but those cuts would only be made in years when the state’s income is 3 percent or more above the previous year. Proponents say that “trigger” makes the measure revenue-neutral, although there is some serious doubt about that claim.
Columbus Rep. Jeff Smith, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, moved the proposal onto the House floor for debate and a vote, admitting during the debate that he had not consulted any economists about the impact of taking $1.7 billion in state income tax revenue out of the state’s budget.
The bill passed 83-32, with all 65 Republicans voting for the bill, along with 18 of 50 Democrats. The bill now moves onto the Senate.
It’s an odd turn of events that should arouse our suspicions – up until recently these same leaders have been saying the state simply doesn’t have the money necessary to make a real difference in the lives of average Mississippians, addressing things like expanding Medicaid for the working poor who cannot afford health insurance or funding our public schools or fixing our deteriorating roads and bridges or keeping our rural hospitals open.
There just wasn’t enough money, they told us, frowning sadly as they said it, as if they shared our disappointment.
Yet, lo and behold, we now have enough money for tax cuts ranging from $78 million (Gov. Bryant’s plan) to Lt. Gov. Tate’ Reeves ( $380 million) to Gunn’s $1.7 billion tax cut.
Now, it would be a rude to call these esteemed leaders exactly what they are, but it’s pretty clear they were either lying then or they are lying to us now: You can’t plead poverty one moment and, in the next breath, say you have more money than you need.
The legislators might as well put up a big sign that reads, “Liquidation Sale: All State-Funded Programs Must Go!”
It is now abundantly evident our legislators, especially the Republicans who hold power at every level of state government, have other unstated reasons for not expanding Medicaid, fully funding education or improving infrastructure. Maybe ideology is more important than people. And, of course, nobody ever got thrown out of office for suggesting a tax cut. Tempting us with a few hundred dollars in exchange for gutting state programs is very much Mississippi’s version of a Trojan Horse. These characters are convinced the people are just that gullible.
Aside from election-year posturing, maybe our leaders honestly believe that average Mississippians should be content with our station, grateful for it, even, and expect us to mortgage our future for the pocket change they throw out the window as they speed past on the way to closing another sweet-heart deal with the next big-money corporation from out of state.
Kansas pulled the same stunt on its people a few years ago, promising that eliminating state income taxes would have industry swarming into the state and revitalizing the state economy. That strategy has been an epic failure. Kansas finds itself in a $650 million deficit and struggling to provide even basic services. Some rich Kansans got a bit richer, though, which appears to be quite enough for Gunn and the land-owner elite who call all the shots in Mississippi.
Here, then, is the deal before us: Take a few hundred bucks, shut your mouth and be content with poor schools, poor roads, poor health care and little real hope that things will ever be much better.
It is important to realize that the status quo has worked just fine for the land-owner. Eliminating state income taxes will only increase his wealth. He already has good health insurance. His kids go to private schools. The roads in his upscale neighborhood are very good. Big corporations and their PACs keep his campaign war chest full. Hey, if it works for him, it works. Period.
The rest of us are only share-croppers, after all. We get Christmas hams and pocket change and we should be grateful for it. And we certainly should not bite the hand that exploits us.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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