Mississippi's Economy

I was struck last month by this article in the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger: What's the state we're in? 01/25/04. It reports on a variety of Mississippi's economic statistics, based on a report of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC). For instance:

In terms of income tax revenues, the SLC state averages [for Mississippi among 16 Southern states] per capita and per $1,000 of personal income were the lowest in the nation. ...

The state's dependence on the 7 percent sales tax as the basis of half the state's total revenue makes Mississippi government particularly vulnerable to economic recessions.

According to Bush economics, these low taxes should make Mississippi an economic powerhouse. Particularly since the overall tax burden in Mississippi is heavily regressive, i.e., the wealthiest pay comparatively less. But it seems there are other factors that are also important.

The SLC's economist Sujit CanagaRetna had a good news/bad news evaluation of Mississippi recent past:

"Mississippi has come through the last few years - which were really grim in virtually all state governments and particularly in some Southern states - pretty well," said CanagaRetna. "Mississippi had growth, but not the incredible growth that states like Georgia and North Carolina experienced in the late 1990s. So when the economy stalled, the fall for Mississippi wasn't as great and the job losses per capita not as severe as in some other states in the region."

That guy must have trained as a diplomat. Talk about putting the best face on things!