www.thecentersquare.com – Douglas Carswell | Mississippi Center for Public Policy. – 2023-06-23 16:13:00
The average person in Mississippi is 25% richer today than they were in 2017. In just five years, the per capita income in our state went from $36,902 to $46,248.
Before you ask, those dollar amounts are in constant 2022 dollars. In other words, even allowing for inflation, Mississippians are a quarter richer now than they were only five years ago.
Does it surprise you that Mississippi is actually doing well? For as long as anyone can remember, Mississippi has been browbeaten into believing that we are bottom of the class, with the lowest income and slowest growth.
It is time we stopped thinking of our state as last. As someone new to this state, I can see it’s an outdated image. As someone that has looked at the numbers, I know it just isn’t so.
Between 1959 and 2022, Mississippi was the second fastest-growing state in America, with average annual growth of 2.61% per year.
Pretty impressive, no? It would have been a lot more impressive if it was not for the period between 1980 and 2010. Having achieved some remarkably fast growth relative to other US states in the 1960s and 1970s, Mississippi slowed down dramatically in the 80s, 90s and the noughties.
Mississippi had three decades of sluggish growth from about 1980 to 2010 because our state had bad public policies.
For much of the period from 1980 to 2010, Mississippi was a one-party (Democrat) fiefdom. The size of government grew. More and more people were hired to work at public expense, crowding out the private sector. With too much government and too many people living at public expense, taxes rose relative to those in other states. More bureaucrats meant more bureaucracy. After decades of more government, you needed permits and approval for far too many things in our state.
With Mississippi not prospering, her leaders turned to Washington for help. Politics in the state focused on how to secure handouts from the feds. If grants from the federal government made a state rich, Mississippi would be the richest state in America. They don’t — and Mississippi stayed in the economic slow lane.
The real news is that after decades of these bad public policies, Mississippi is starting to grow rapidly again. Why? Because bad public policy is being replaced by good public policy.
In the past few years, Mississippi has significantly cut the tax burden, notably slashing the state income tax to a flat 4%. Since 2018, the size of the public payroll has been significantly reduced.
In 2021, there was an important move made to deregulate the labor market, with a universal occupational licensing law. This has put pressure on licensing boards to remove some of the most arduous red tape.
As a direct consequence of this not only is per-capita income in our state rising, but we are growing faster relative to other states. Having been one of the slower-growing states since the 1980s, between 2020 and 2022, Mississippi was the 15th fastest-growing state in America.
Just imagine what our state might achieve if we were to build on these public policy improvements and completely eliminate the income tax?
What if we repealed some of the so-called certificate of need laws that inflate the cost of health care in our state, and made Mississippi a less costly place for employers to hire?
Far from being bottom of the class, Mississippi school standards have in fact improved. The use of phonics and testing has had a significant impact on children’s literacy. What if we built on that achievement by giving mom and dad control over their child’s share of education tax dollars to spend at a school of their choice?
Mississippi needs leaders prepared to build on the impressive reforms of the past few years, and which are already having a significant impact in improving our state. We need leaders who believe that with good public policy, Mississippi can be the equal of any state. It is good policy, not federal handouts that will decide if we prosper.
Douglas Carswell is the President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Esther Wickham | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-07-31 19:00:00
The Department of Justice issued a nine-page memo warning recipients of federal funding that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs may constitute unlawful discrimination under federal anti-discrimination laws. The memo stresses that such programs must not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, or other protected characteristics. Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized the DOJ’s commitment to preventing illegal discrimination and avoiding ideological agendas. Experts highlight challenges for colleges in admissions management due to these restrictions. The memo advises entities to ensure inclusive access, prohibit demographic criteria, eliminate quotas, and establish anti-retaliation procedures to comply with laws and avoid funding loss.
(The Center Square) — The Department of Justice recently released a memo to recipients of federal funding, warning them that programs involving diversity, equity and inclusion are unlawful discrimination.
The nine-page memo clarifies that federal anti-discrimination laws apply to programs that involve discriminatory practices, including DEI policies. Organizations that receive federal funding are subject to federal anti-discrimination laws and must ensure that their programs do not discriminate against race, gender, religion and more, the memo added.
“This Department of Justice will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in illegal discrimination,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This guidance will ensure we are serving the American people and not ideological agendas.”
Robert Kelchen, a professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, in an email to Inside Higher Ed, said the enrollment process is already challenging for colleges and universities.
“The only truly safe ways to admit students right now are to admit everyone or only use standardized test scores,” Kelchen wrote. “Being an enrollment management leader has always been tough, but now it’s even more challenging to meet revenue targets and satisfy stakeholders who have politically incompatible goals.”
The new guidance memo emphasizes the major legal risks associated with programs that take part in discrimination.
“The very foundation of our anti-discrimination laws rests on the principle that every American deserves equal opportunity, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.
To help entities avoid violations and the revocation of federal grant funding, the memo concludes on page 8 with recommendations on best practices:
“Ensure Inclusive Access, Focus on Skills and Qualifications, Prohibit Demographic-Driven Criteria, Document Legitimate Rationales, Scrutinize Neutral Criteria for Proxy Effects, Eliminate Diversity Quotas, Avoid Exclusionary Training Programs, Include Nondiscrimination Clauses in Contracts to Third Parties and Monitor Compliance, Establish Clear Anti-Retaliation Procedures and Create Safe Reporting Mechanisms.”
“Entities are urged to review all programs, policies, and partnerships to ensure compliance with federal law, and discontinue any practices that discriminate on the basis of a protected status,” the memo concludes. “By prioritizing nondiscrimination, entities can mitigate the legal, financial and reputational risks associated with unlawful DEI practices and fulfill their civil rights obligations.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
This article reports on the Department of Justice’s memo declaring certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices as unlawful discrimination under federal law. The tone and framing align closely with a viewpoint critical of DEI initiatives, emphasizing legal risks and quoting officials who describe these policies as “illegal discrimination” and opposing “ideological agendas.” While it includes a brief perspective from an academic highlighting challenges in enrollment, the overall framing supports the DOJ’s stance without presenting counterarguments or viewpoints favorable to DEI programs. This suggests a center-right bias favoring stricter interpretations of anti-discrimination law and skepticism toward DEI policies.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-07-31 14:01:00
The Gulf of Mexico’s 2025 “dead zone”—an oxygen-depleted area caused by nutrient runoff—measured 4,402 square miles, about one-third smaller than last year and the 15th smallest on record. This represents a 30% drop from 2024’s 6,703 square miles but remains more than double the federal target of 1,930 square miles. Dead zones result from excess nitrogen and phosphorus fueling algae blooms that consume oxygen as they decay, harming marine life. Despite improvements, nutrient loading from the Mississippi River has not declined significantly since 2001. NOAA and EPA-led efforts continue to monitor and reduce hypoxia using advanced technologies and collaboration.
(The Center Square) − The Gulf of America’s “dead zone” has shrunk significantly this summer, with scientists measuring a hypoxic area of just over 4,400 square miles — roughly a third smaller than last year and far less than the long-term average, federal officials announced Wednesday.
The dead zone, a stretch of oxygen-depleted water that forms annually off the Louisiana and Texas coasts, is caused primarily by excess nutrients washing into the Gulf from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin.
This year’s zone, measured during a July 20–25 survey aboard the research vessel Pelican, was 4,402 square miles — 21% smaller than NOAA’s early-season estimate and the 15th smallest on record, according to NOAA-supported scientists from LSU and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.
“This year’s significant reduction in the Gulf of America’s ‘dead zone’ is an encouraging sign for the future of this area,” said Laura Grimm, acting NOAA administrator. “It highlights the dedication and impactful work of NOAA-supported scientists and partners, and serves as a testament to the effectiveness of collaborative efforts in supporting our U.S. fishermen, coastal communities, and vital marine ecosystems.”
The measured area is equivalent to roughly 2.8 million acres of bottom habitat temporarily made unavailable to marine life such as fish and shrimp due to low oxygen levels.
That marks a 30% drop from 2024, when the zone spanned a massive 6,703 square miles — more than 1.3 times the long-term average and nearly 3.5 times larger than the target goal of 1,930 square miles set by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force.
Despite this year’s improvement, the five-year running average remains high at 4,755 square miles—still more than double the federal benchmark.
Dead zones emerge when excess nutrients — mostly nitrogen and phosphorus from upstream agriculture and wastewater — fuel algae blooms. As algae die and sink, their decomposition consumes oxygen in bottom waters. Without sufficient oxygen, marine species must flee or perish.
In 2024, the area west of the Mississippi River experienced heavy hypoxia with extremely low oxygen readings and little water mixing, according to NOAA.
“The stratification of warmer surface water over cooler, saltier bottom water was strong enough to prevent oxygen replenishment,” researchers wrote in a followup report.
Some bottom waters saw oxygen drop across the lower five meters of the water column.
Even with relatively low chlorophyll readings — indicating modest live algae near the surface — researchers noted high concentrations of degraded algae and organic detritus near the seafloor, still enough to drive significant bacterial oxygen consumption.
The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force, a coalition of federal and state agencies, has worked for over two decades to reduce nutrient pollution flowing into the Gulf. The EPA established a dedicated Gulf Hypoxia Program in 2022 to accelerate these efforts.
“The Gulf of America is a national treasure that supports energy dominance, commercial fishing, American industry, and the recreation economy,” said Peggy Browne, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Water. “I look forward to co-leading the work of the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force to assess evolving science and address nutrient loads from all sources.”
So far, nitrogen loading from the Mississippi River has not declined since the 2001 adoption of the Hypoxia Action Plan, scientists noted. NOAA’s June 2025 forecast, which had predicted a dead zone of 5,574 square miles, was based on U.S. Geological Survey nutrient data from spring river flows and fell within model uncertainty ranges.
NOAA’s Coastal Hypoxia Research, Ocean Technology Transition, and Uncrewed Systems programs are working to improve monitoring and prediction tools. This year, several autonomous surface vehicles were deployed alongside ship-based crews to compare mapping methods.
Researchers said ASVs may provide a more cost-effective way to track dead zones in the future. NOAA also partners with the Northern Gulf Institute and Gulf of Mexico Alliance to expand observational capabilities and state-level technical support.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a factual and neutral report on the status of the Gulf of America’s “dead zone,” focusing on scientific measurements, the causes behind the phenomenon, and ongoing governmental and scientific efforts to monitor and reduce nutrient pollution. The language is straightforward and informative, quoting multiple officials and scientists from federal agencies like NOAA and EPA without editorializing or suggesting a particular political viewpoint. It reports on the issue’s environmental, economic, and ecological aspects without promoting a specific ideological stance, thus maintaining an objective tone and eschewing partisan framing.
Since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, California’s debt payments for COVID-era unemployment benefits have soared to nearly $600 million annually, with total borrowed funds reaching $20 billion due to $55 billion in fraudulent claims. California remains the only state yet to repay its federal loans, causing automatic payroll tax hikes on businesses, potentially reaching over 11% by 2027, significantly raising costs per employee. The state’s unemployment rate is among the highest nationwide, and despite a $321 billion budget, unemployment insurance funding was cut. Experts warn these tax increases and minimum wage hikes could reduce entry-level jobs, harming youth employment and economic growth.
(The Center Square) – Since California Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, state debt payments on unemployment benefits have gone from zero to nearly $600 million this year, and could soon result in annual payroll tax increases of nearly $500 per employee, according to an analysis by The Center Square.
These payments to the federal government will soon reach $1 billion per year to pay back $20 billion California borrowed to help cover what the state says was $55 billion in “ineligible” or fraudulent COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits claims, state records show.
California is the only state that has not paid back its loans to the federal government to fund COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits now that New York agreedin May to pay off its remaining debt.
Even though it was the state that made the fraudulent benefits payments, the cost of the fraudulent payments is mostly passed on to businesses, who face automatic federal payroll UI tax increases until the federal loan is paid off.
Unless the loan is paid off, California businesses will see their payroll taxes rise to over 11%, with the effective federal payroll UI tax rising from 0.6% before the pandemic to 6%, and state UI taxes expected to soon rise from 3.5% to over 5% due to the phase-out of a policy that temporarily suppressed the state UI tax rate.
This means that while the annual federal payroll UI tax was just $42 per worker before COVID-19, this year the automatic surcharge will increase the federal UI total to $126.
These payments will steadily rise to the full 6% effective federal UI payroll tax rate on the first $7,000 paid to employees. That means businesses could pay $420 per worker – 10 times the pre-pandemic amount. Based on current trends and additional automatic increases, the full 6% rate will hit businesses as early as tax year 2027, costing businesses an additional $4 billion to $5 billion per year.
“We still haven’t seen any real accountability with respect to the fraudulent claims paid out by the [California Employment Development Department] and yet the state’s UI debt surges while struggling small businesses are forced to make the minimum payment on the state’s maxed-out credit card,” Tim Taylor, California policy director for the National Federation of Independent Business, told The Center Square. “Households can’t survive that way and neither can states.”
Because California’s unemployment insurance benefits program is expected to run $2 billion annual deficits for the foreseeable future, and interest costs – paid by the state – are continuing to rise, it’s possible even this dramatic increase in federal payroll taxes may not be enough to pay down the loan, especially if a recession hits or unemployment remains high.
The interest on the loan costs the state $593 million in the ongoing 2025-2026 fiscal year, and is expected to soon rise to $1 billion per year as the debt continues to grow amid normal but higher than post-Great Recession interest rates, and further borrowing is required to cover the UI deficits.
While California Gov. Gavin Newsom has touted the strength of the Golden State’s economy, California’s 5.4% unemployment rate is now tied with Nevada’s for the highest in the nation, putting growing pressure on the state’s UI system.
Despite poor employment figures, Newsom’s 2025-2026 record $321 billion budget nonetheless earmarked nearly half a billion dollars less for expected UI benefits than the prior year, reinforcing warnings that the state’s required “balanced” budget may be based on unrealistic accounting.
In theory, the UI system is supposed to generate surpluses in good years that produce a reserve to be drawn upon during recessions, with the loans from the federal government used as only a measure of last resort. As such, the cost of the interest on the federal loans is deducted from the state’s general fund, not directly from the UI tax on employers, which is supposed to be used to pay down the loan.
However, California’s debt to the federal government is so large that repayment may not be possible without changes to the UI system, as noted by the the EDD, which administers the state’s UI trust fund.
“Over the years, the average weekly wage has increased and unemployed individuals in California can collect more in unemployment benefits, but the revenue from employers remains capped – creating the imbalance we are experiencing today,” EDD spokesperson Greg Lawson told The Center Square. “Legislation would be required to change it.”
The state’s $55 billion in fraudulent COVID-era unemployment benefits – more than the annual budget for NASA, the federal space agency – was incurred by Newsom’s then-California Labor Secretary Julie Su’s decision to automatically approve benefits applications without sufficient verification.
An investigation by CalMatters found widespread fraud ranged from Nigerian scammers using large numbers of email accounts to simulate various personas, to prison inmates and organized criminals. COVID-era claimants could receive state-funded benefits of $450 per week for up to 26 weeks, with another 53 week extension, and other supplemental payments of up to $600 per week funded by the federal government.
Su was appointed as U.S. Deputy Labor Secretary under the Biden administration in 2021, and served as acting U.S. Labor Secretary from 2023 until January 2025 due to her stalled nomination in the Senate. While serving as acting U.S. Labor Secretary, Su attempted to use her position to waive California’s $20 billion benefits debt to the federal government but that ultimately failed.
Last December – a month before the start of the state’s budget process – the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a report on the status of the state’s UI program, noting its insolvency and recommending reforms.
“The state’s only path to repaying the loan is through the federal surcharge that will continue to ramp up until the loan is repaid,” wrote the LAO. “The state’s loan is so significant that it is likely to remain outstanding, and the federal surcharge in place, for at least another decade.”
The base federal UI tax is 6% on the first $7,000 of wages paid per employee, with a 5.4% credit issued when the state has no UI debt, resulting in a typical 0.6% base tax, or $42 per year per employee making $7,000 or more. This credit automatically decreases 0.3% percentage points — after two years of unpaid federal debt — each year until the debt is repaid, meaning employers can end up paying the full 6% tax that is ten times higher than the base rate.
In 2025, the surcharge is 1.2%, or an additional $84 per worker on top of the $42 base rate, resulting in $126 in federal UI taxes per worker.
This is in addition to the average of 3.5% employers pay in state UI taxes. This 3.5% rate is set to soon rise, as pandemic-era layoffs and resulting benefits were not counted against employers, who otherwise would (and soon will) be paying LAO-estimated rates above 5%.
Given that the state’s UI debt to the federal government would surge in the event of another recession or sustained unemployment, federal UI taxes are likely to continue to grow to the full 6%. Combined with an average full state rate of 5%, expected to be charged “in coming years under state law,” this increase would raise employers’ UI payroll taxes to 11% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s payroll, or more than double the 4.1% rate in the early 2020s – an increase from about $287 to $770 per employee per year.
This dramatic increase could make the job market for entry-level workers even more precarious, Taylor noted.
Under the Affordable Care Act, employers face high penalties for not providing health insurance benefits for employees working 30 hours a week or more, leading many employers to shift full-time employees to part-time schedules.
With the substantial payroll tax increase on the first $7,000 of employees’ wages, businesses leaders say companies would be disincentivized from hiring entry-level employees for more limited, part-time positions, such as summer jobs for teenagers and college students. They warn this change, in addition to the existing Affordable Care Act incentive against more full-time employment, and major hikes to the minimum wage, would have cascading negative consequences for America’s youth and their future careers.
“Coupled with increases in the minimum wage, these policies will hurt the youth of our country because they will not be able to get on the first rung of the economic ladder,” Taylor said.
This theory is supported by researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Texas A&M, whose July working paper was circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Their analysis found that California’s fast-food minimum wage hike to $20 per hour cost the state approximately 18,000 fast-food jobs that would have otherwise existed based on comparisons to national fast food employment trends.
As reported by The Center Square, California lost a net 80,000 jobs in 2024.
Data also shows the state lost a total of 173,000 private-sector jobs between January 2023 and January 2025. During this time, government and government-funded employment grew by 181,000 jobs, many of which are exempt from paying state and federal UI payroll taxes – putting even more pressure on the private sector.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Right-Leaning
This article presents information in a manner that emphasizes fiscal irresponsibility and economic challenges associated with policies enacted under California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. The tone is critical of state government actions, focusing heavily on the negative consequences such as rising taxes on businesses, large debts, and fraud during the COVID-era unemployment benefits program. The use of terms like “fraudulent benefits payments,” references to “struggling small businesses,” and warnings about disincentives for hiring entry-level workers frame the narrative from a perspective often sympathetic to business interests and critical of government financial management. While the article cites official data and reports, it selectively highlights issues that align with concerns commonly raised by conservative and business-oriented commentators. It does not appear to present an alternative perspective in favor of the current administration’s policies, which contributes to a right-leaning bias. The coverage focuses less on social or economic benefits of the unemployment programs or government interventions and more on the fiscal consequences, suggesting an ideological stance rather than neutral reporting.
