Bill Crawford–You can’t ‘fix’ an economy

[Resent id=12652758 2011-09-16 15:04:39 from mississippipep] | Hattiesburg American | www.hattiesburgamerican.com: www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20110914/OPINI…20324

Kwazy wabble, fixes are for things. An economy is not a thing to be fixed like a leaky faucet or tax loophole.

For example, over the past eight years Haley Barbour, Leland Speed, Gray Swoope and other members of the state’s economic development team have not been trying to fix Mississippi’s economy. Rather, they have worked to build, grow and champion Mississippi’s economy.

They attracted advanced manufacturing, defense-related, and energy industries. They built the Mississippi Blues Trail, attracted the Grammy Museum, and expanded tourism opportunities. They helped existing business and industry expand and reach new markets. They championed Momentum Mississippi and business innovation.

Just this month, in cooperation with the Mississippi Arts Commission, they kicked off the Mississippi Creative Economy initiative to help communities and entrepreneurs start and grow businesses based on Mississippi history, art, literature, and music.

"We have an extremely viable creative economy," Barbour told kick-off attendees. "61,000 people in Mississippi work in jobs or professions that are considered part of the creative economy. We have a history that’s out of this world. Artists, musicians, civil rights. People want to come and see what happened here and while they are here, it is our opportunity to show them something, sell them something, sing them something."

#Mississippi #Haley #Barbour #Leland #Speed #Gray #Swoope #Economic #Development #Tourism #job #growth #MAC

Public chimes in on state retirement system

[Resent id=12622320 2011-09-16 15:02:34 from mississippipep] – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:: www.wlbt.com/story/15464637/public-chimes-in-on-st…ystem

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -
It was a scene inside the State Capitol Wednesday afternoon, where for the first time, the public got a chance to have their voices heard. Most of them concerned about what will happen to the state’s public employees’ retirement system known as PERS, which is know being examined by a commission.

"I would like to see PERS stay intact as it is for current and future employees and I believe it is a promise we should keep," said state retiree Ann Thames.

"To change it would also be detrimental to the employees and retirees of the state of Mississippi," said Canton Public Schools Superintendent Dwight Luckett.

Concerns of sustainability for the system prompted Governor Haley Barbour to create the 12 member commission back in August; made up of business leaders, elected officials and financial experts led by Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel.

"Most of what this commission has been doing is reading, reading, reading," Schloegel told the crowd.

The concern isn’t for the short term, but rather the future. Governor Barbour says the system is only funded at about 60 percent of where it should be and pays out more benefits than it’s structurally set up for.

The commission will examine the system’s structure as well as the legality of modifying it. Through the public hearing, the hope is to get feedback and ease concerns from those who rely on the system.

"If we’re not cognizant of the things that have changed around us and do not react to those, we can get ourselves in trouble down the line," said Schloegel.

The commission itself won’t be making changes to the system, only recommendations which would require legislative action. The commission could also recommend to change nothing at all. With information now gathered from the public, Schloegel says the commission will consider everything heard before making any recommendations.

#Mississippi #PERS #state #employees #retirement #spending #budget #Governor #Haley #Barbour #Mayor #George #Schloegel #Superintendent #Dwight #Luckett

Three tiered turnover first since ’76

NEMS360.com – : www.nems360.com/view/full_story/15479671/article-T…olumn

JACKSON – In January 1976, Jimmy Carter was winning the Iowa caucuses to set the stage for his surprise run to the presidency.

Mississippi, meanwhile, was swearing in a new governor, lieutenant governor and speaker. It’s the last time the three most powerful positions in state government changed hands simultaneously – until January 2012.

Gov. Haley Barbour, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and House Speaker Billy McCoy are all leaving their current positions, an unusual triple turnover. But the potential replacements – including Bryant as a possible governor – aren’t necessarily strangers to the scene.
“For most people involved, it’s not their first time around the track, just like it was not in ’76,” said Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, who entered the House in January 1980, but remembers the events of January 1976.”There may be a few rough edges to begin with, but I don’t think experience will be a problem.
“If there is a problem, it will be policy and the execution of that policy. But let’s hope for good things.”

Republican Bryant and Democratic Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree are vying to replace Barbour, who is term limited. Treasurer Tate Reeves won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in August and faces no major party opposition in November.

Assorted House members are positioning themselves to replace Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, who after two terms as the chamber’s presiding officer is not seeking re-election.

In 1976, District Attorney Cliff Finch of Batesville was the surprise winner of the gubernatorial seat, replacing Bill Waller, while Evelyn Gandy of Hattiesburg captured the lieutenant governor’s post that was vacant because incumbent William Winter opted to run for governor. C.B.”Buddie” Newman of Valley Park was elected speaker for the first of three terms.

Ed Perry of Oxford, who served in the House from 1968 until January 2000, said of the new faces,”I don’t think we thought about it much one way or the other back then … Everything was so much different then. There was not the partisan differences we had today. People did not have to answer to party leadership.”

Winter agreed, saying,”The big difference is that we did not have the political parties that exist now. It was almost a matter of individual leadership rather than choosing sides on the basis of party.”

#Mississippi #Haley #Barbour #Phil #Bryant #Billy #McCoy #Governor #Speaker #Lt. #Governor #Democrats #Republican #Legislature #politics #campaigns #elections #Tommy #Reynolds #Johnny #Dupree #Cliff #Finch

Mississippi PERS study group gathering public comments

NEMS360.com -: nems360.com/view/full_story/15428505/article-Missi…_left

JACKSON — A group studying the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System will meet next week to listen to public comments.

The meeting is 2-5 p.m. Sept. 14 in Room 216 of the state Capitol in downtown Jackson.

People who want to speak may reserve time by emailing retirementstudy(at)governor.state.ms.us or calling 601- 576-2037. The deadline to do so is 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour last month appointed the 12-member commission to study the investments, management and other financial aspects of the PERS.

#Mississippi #PERS #retirement #state #employees #Haley #Barbour

Reeves touts MPACT

- WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:: www.wlbt.com/story/15414467/reeves-touts-mpact

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -
Governor Haley Barbour has declared September "College Savings Month".

Wednesday, State Treasurer Tate Reeves marked the occasion by kicking off the enrollment period for the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College tuition program or MPACT.

Reeves was surrounded by hundreds of Madison Station Elementary School students to announce that September 1st through December 31st, Mississippi families can lock-in today’s tuition rates for tomorrow’s college students.

Reeves said, "It’s a factor that tuition has risen in our state and virtually every other state over the last 10 to 20 years and so affordability and accessibility of a college degree is becoming an issue for many of these kids and their parents and their grandparents, so what we try to do is stress to them the importance of education, but also the importance of starting to save early."

MPACT earnings are tax exempt and contributions are fully deductible from state income tax. It is guaranteed by the state to cover the cost of college tuition and mandatory fees at Mississippi’s public colleges. The benefits can also be used for private or out-of-state schools.

#Mississippi #Tate #Reeves #Treasurer #Education #Higher #Learning #tuition #MPACT #Haley #Barbour

Salter–Democrats play a dangerous political game with labor unions

» Columns » Leader Call: leadercall.com/columns/x803546472/Democrats-play-a…nions

In August, Barbour created a 12-member Public Employees’ Retirement System Study Commission to analyze the program’s structure and recommend changes. The 12-member commission will provide a comprehensive report to Barbour and the Legislature by Nov. 15.
“The current funding path for Mississippi’s pension system relies too heavily on increased contributions from taxpayers,” Barbour said.”Large benefit increases adopted in the 1990s and early 2000s, coupled with the impact of the economic downturn, have created a financially unsustainable system. The commission will take a hard look at the tough decisions that need to be implemented to ensure the long-term solvency of the system.”

That announcement stirred concern among PERS’ recipients. State retirement benefits have long been the”third rail” of state politics much as Social Security and Medicare has been the”third rail” of national politics. But as has been see at the national level, state governments are increasingly being forced to examine their retirement systems

But Democrats who seek to make such reviews a litmus test of support for state public unions likely do so at their own political peril. The Mississippi Association of Educators and the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees are the two unions most vulnerable to anti-public employee sentiments.

The Mississippi Legislature has historically been slow to tamper with PERS benefits or employee participation in the system. Barbour’s commission aside, that’s still likely to be true. Why? Because changing the system for public employees shines light on changing the system for legislators, too.

That’s true unless public unions turn the debate — as it was in Wisconsin — into a highly partisan”us against them” political standoff. Unlike those in Wisconsin, Mississippi public workers have never had collective bargaining rights in a right-to-work state. State Republicans leaders likely pray the Cole continues the partisan rhetoric regarding public workers and organized labor.

#Mississippi #PERS #Haley #Barbour #politics #Ricky #Cole #MAE #MASE #state #employees #spending #budget #Democrats #Republicans #pensions #retirement

Mayor Shloegel fires back at Hampton on PERS Study Group

Retirement system study for solvency | The Clarion-Ledger | www.clarionledger.com: www.clarionledger.com/article/20110904/OPINION02/1…ion|s

As chairman of the newly formed Public Employees Retirement System Study Commission, I feel compelled to respond to column by Editorial Director David Hampton ("Politics of PERS could be problem for GOP," Aug. 21).

Mr. Hampton suggests Gov. Barbour’s creation of the PERS Study Commission was a political miscalculation. Such a suggestion could lead readers to believe Gov. Barbour is simply a man of politics, not policy. Additionally, readers might infer from Mr. Hampton’s words that Gov. Barbour’s devoted service to Mississippi has been guided by something other than the doctrine of "good policy equals good politics."

Gov. Barbour recognizes a glaring need to act if we are to avoid a future disaster with PERS. That is hardly playing politics. Instead, it is a leader protecting the pensions of our state’s dedicated workforce and the hard-earned money of our state’s taxpayers.

Indeed, the challenge of a state retirement system that enjoys continued sustainability and future solvency is a daunting one, but rather than ignoring a looming calamity, the governor, as he has done so many times prior, made a bold decision to swiftly confront this charge.

In his column, Mr. Hampton asks why create such a commission now. The answer is simple: Because no one else wanted to carry this cross at a time when courageous leadership and foresight was essential to solving this issue before it becomes too late.

The Legislature defeated a Barbour-sponsored resolution to establish a PERS study committee. The PERS Board of Trustees voted against commissioning an independent study of the pension plan, and instead considered a funding plan that would have increased taxpayer payments to the system by 50 percent over just four years.

Some reforms of PERS have been made in the last eight years, and it is important to know there is no immediate crisis, nor reason to fear benefits will go unpaid anytime soon.

While most pressure has subsided recently, the fund remains significantly underfunded at about 64 percent of the standard set by the national oversight organization.

As a mayor, I know firsthand the impact retirement income has on families and communities. I also understand, all too well, the effects an unchecked retirement system can have on a city’s budget.

As chair of the PERS Study Commission, my local perspective will help our group make sound recommendations considering all factors.

We are a diverse group of private and public sector employees; we have no preconceived notions about PERS, save for one: The system must have long-range viability to ensure that a retiree receives his or her monthly retirement check for the period promised.

On or before Nov. 15, our commission will present a transparent assessment of the financial condition of PERS and a comprehensive set of recommendations on ways to strengthen it.

While I believe this work is of the highest importance, it is not our responsibility nor within our power to implement changes to the state’s retirement plan. That is a job for the 2012 Legislature, the new governor and the PERS Board of Trustees.

It is our responsibility to give accurate information about the PERS system to the new governor and Legislature. More importantly, we are tasked with sharing this information with current and future employees who are or will be beneficiaries of our state retirement system and to the taxpayers of Mississippi who pay most of the cost of the system.

I trust that our incoming leaders will follow Gov. Barbour’s trailblazing leadership and give honest study to our findings to ensure Mississippi’s current and future state employees, taxpayers and retirees are well protected.

George Schloegel

Mayor of Gulfport

Gulfport

#Mississippi #Mayor #George #Schloegel #Gulfport #PERS #retirement #Haley #Barbour #Legislature #state #employees #government #spending #taxes #retirement

Barbour warns of GOP apathy

- www.sunherald.com: www.sunherald.com/2011/09/03/3398604_p2/group-want….html

In a letter to state Republican leaders, outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour urged them to focus on helping fund and win state House and Senate seats and warned against failure to turn out the GOP vote for governor.
“If we motivate and organize our base this fall, we will have much to celebrate,” Barbour wrote.”However, I want to remind everyone of 1999 when we were overconfident and in places like DeSoto County our turnout dropped by more than 50 percent from four years before. I am concerned that in Republican stronghold counties … we run the same risk as in 1999. Many of the local races were already decided in the primary and in South Mississippi many people assume that Phil Bryant has already won … make no mistake the National Democrats are highly motivated to win back the governorship and I expect they will send money and people to affect the race.”

#Mississippi #GOP #Republicans #Phil #Bryant #Democrats #Elections #Haley #Barbour #Desoto #County #voter #turnout

Minor–Mississippi makes a mess of self-government

Desoto Times Tribune > Opinion > Editorials > : www.desototimes.com/articles/2011/09/02/opinion/ed…9.txt

Earlier this year, the Legislature muffed its job of redistricting itself under the 2010 Census and Gov. Haley Barbour, who has a state constitutional mandate to call lawmakers back to work exclusively on reapportionment, shows no sign of doing so.

Right now, it looks as though a mal-apportioned Legislature will meet under the dome January 3, 2012, waiting weeks, or months, for a federal court panel to draw a new map lawmakers should have done. It’s just another example that Mississippi is incapable of self-government.

Trouble is, the likely incoming governor, Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, evidently is happy with a federal court doing the job, since he pulled the plug on adoption of a redistricting measure in April that had been approved by the joint legislative reapportionment committee and headed for final passage. It’s unclear if outgoing Gov. Barbour backed Bryant in steering redistricting into the hands of the feds, but it is known he personally took part in secret backdoor negotiations.

Though neither said so, the Bryant-Barbour duo was believed to favor any redistricting outcome if would lead to the ouster of their household devil, Democratic Speaker Billy McCoy. Low and behold, several weeks after the 2011 Legislature had gone home, McCoy surprised everybody by voluntarily stepping down from his Northeast Mississippi legislative seat, automatically giving up the speakership.

#Mississippi #Redistricting #Phil #Bryant #Haley #Barbour #legislature #Billy #McCoy #politics #Census

Race baiters are at it again at the Special Session of the Legislature

Elizabeth Crisp » Special session A closer look:: : blogs.clarionledger.com/ecrisp/2011/09/02/special-…-look

To break it all down, it’s quite clear the Legislature is not working together as they have in the past.

I don’t think it’s anything about these projects specifically. The issues that are being brought up stem from the history of these types of bills and just a political struggle between the House and Gov. Barbour (and thus the Senate). There also are elements of the political struggle within the House and the upcoming speaker’s race.

A lot of people are hoping that the number of jobs created and the fact that it’s a football weekend (this is Mississippi, after all) will urge lawmakers to wrap everything up today.

Everything at this point has resulted in one major difference between the two versions of the bill: The House wants to include $2 million in the bill to study disparities in minority contracts in the state. The study already is mandated by a law passed a decade ago, but it has never been funded.

Senate lawmakers say they don’t want to fund it with bond money (which has to be paid back over 20 years). House lawmakers say it has never been funded, so why should they trust that it will be in January.

Much of the discussion today has been about race. We have heard several references to personal struggles, slavery, the Delta, etc.

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus say they are concerned about minorities, including women, not having an opportunity to benefit from these types of taxpayer-funded incentives.

Senate Finance Chair Dean Kirby said during his committee’s most recent meeting that Gov. Haley Barbour will veto the bill if it includes $2 million for the study.

Barbour is working out of his Capitol office today — another rarity.

His staff has been very visible here today, as well.

#Mississippi #House #Senate #Legislature #Haley #Barbour #Dean #Kirby #race #minority #contracts #state #bonds