Jackson Jambalaya

You would think this is an election year.

I hope is passes. I can use the money for my own family.

It should really help your family. Comes to $2.88 per week. Enjoy! #pandering_politician

While this is technically true, “In the last three years, two out of every three state employees received a pay increase,” Lt. Gov. Reeves said, it is a very misleading statement. When you are underpaid by over eight THOUSAND dollars, and they give you a LONG overdue raise of only five HUNDRED, it is a raise, but it's STILL way WAY to small. Every dollar that the Lt. Governor takes away from 'government' is another dollar that WON'T be put into a workers pocket to be spent in the local economy.

State workers do important, necessary work and this legislature is BREAKING our institutions. A HUGE portion of the State's institutional knowledge is about to be lost in the next 5 years, as around thirty percent of the non-teacher employees reach retirement age. The workers are so underpaid that the starting positions cannot keep, (or in many situations even initially GET) qualified people to take all the positions that the various departments need, and that's when the budget is big enough to actually FILL the dozens of positions that are left unfilled. If you think long lines at the DMV, or health department or (fill in the government agency you deal with here) are bad now, just wait till they have to cut staff AGAIN and the people that KNOW how to expedite and run things have retired. Nothing works better than a business process that needs 10 people to work smoothly to be done by 7 underpaid inexperienced staff instead.

The Little Man is mighty transparent.

Where's the Beef?

As far as income tax cuts go this Reeves proposal is tepid, at best.

The devil is in the details. Lawyers and politicians are the best at screwing people.

And the worst of the worst situations regards pay for corrections officers (or whatever the job title is). We have been mumbling, complaining and ignoring this fact for thirty years. What the hell makes us think Marshall Fisher will be able to do anything about it?

I'm sorry 9:37 but your term "institutions" confirms many have a problem with.

Federal and state workers know that, unlike the private sector, they have job security and a retirement. They are a part of, and protected by, "institutions".

Government expands, never reduces in size. While you may be one of the conscientious workers who gives 100%, most of us see government a very large out of control employment agency.

Awesome! I plan on using my $150 toward the inevitable increase in my property taxes next year when the school district receives less money from the state. Thanks Tate!

State workers, if you are so underpaid just change jobs. Work at another place that will pay you what you are worth.State agencies, reduce the number of people on the payroll and pay the ones left twice as much for greatly more work. Real simple.

For conservatives concerned about the growth and size of government, the $150 a year per person who makes over $5000 isn't really a big deal. But keeping all that money out of the government is a conservative victory itself.

Sounds like Reeves is making some bureaucrats mad. Good. Let's send him some help by electing people who are serious about cutting government.

The idea of helping business at the expense of the middle class ( a category into which state employees fall) is what has decimated the middle class in this country.

Please show evidence, any evidence that what hasn't happened is employees being paid less for longer hours and new jobs created being low pay and a cut of benefits and not paying into pension funds.

I'm in the upper 2% though in the lower levels and I deny myself no creature comforts. What I see among my peers far too often is no appreciation that it is the privilege of being American and having competent employees that helped us earn our wealth. And, I'm afraid I see far too much ostentation, frivolousness, and vanity.

I'm willing to pay my fair share and I know I'm not so I donate and tip generously and give large bonuses. But, I see penny pinching in those areas and too few young people volunteering these days!

I also see businesses having the taxpayers " invest" with no return. Worse our legislatures have paid businesses and corporations to do project start ups and R&D that my father thought was his risk to take and his responsibility.

Our greatest generation knew there were things more important than themselves that matter.

Right on 10:48. The idea that just because the state is collecting more money from the taxpayers, that they should therefore spend more money needs to change. I don't care if it is only a dollar a week. If the government is taking in more than it needs, then quit taking it from those that are paying the taxes.

And for those 'poor little state workers' they should find out what it is like for the private sector taxpayers that are paying their salary. Most of us haven't had a pay increase for the past five years either (thank you Obama economy). And we are having to pay much more for our privately funded health insurance, and don't have the ability to pay into a retirement account. Paid vacations? Sick leave? Get serious - not in small business private concerns.

If you don't think you are getting paid enough working for the government - get out. Find out what real life is like.

If the state agencies could get out from under the ridiculous personnel rules set up for the purpose of protecting state jobs, then they could downsize to the right number of employees, get rid of the deadbeats, and pay the others more. But just as in the teaching scenario, the good employees are taught to keep their mouths shut and protect the whole rather than expose the fact that a significant percentage of the workers aren't producing.

Election year - ok, so what. This is the year that we have finally turned the corner on government reFor me - I want to thank Reeves - and Bryant - for speaking up and acknowledging that if the state is taking in too much it doesn't have to all be spent. It can be returned from where it came.

pander - an act by a politician to create an illusion of his/her actions that lead the ill-informed (i.e. idiots) to believe that he/she has really accomplished something when in fact very little is truly accomplished. For examples, see SuperTalk.

So - because the state can't give tax cuts that equal thousands of dollars per person per year, the attempt to cut even a small amount is seen as bad? What would those of you prefer that throw the stones at tater for proposing these cuts? (note, there is more than just the income tax cut included in his proposal, but of course the stone throwers on JJ always only look at what affects themselves directly). That we don't start by cutting what can be done - and what can be passed - now? That would let the legislature spend these 'pennies' that otherwise could be kept in your pockets.

And - while you do the math of only the pennies per person per week - remember how many taxpayers there might be in your family (spouse, kids. parents). Makes it turn into a few more 'pennies' per family.

For my money - that you tater.

No real tax break. Sounds great in a 30 second political ad...

ole JT at supertalk was beating the inspection sticker drum for santa cruz at DPS earlier. He sounds and is so stupid. He claims a five dollar sticker is keeping the roads safe and where oh where would we get the revenue to replace the money lost. First time he has been for a tax for tax sake but I know santa cruz's son runs the inspection sticker division so he needs to keep it for his sons sake. His paid officier to ever run the inspection sticker office and its a really really tough job driving stickers to repair shops.

11:50 if you havent had a pay raise,vacation or sick leave you just need to close your business and get a job that provides those perks. Just as you said about state workers if you dont like it leave.

For those of you that escrow your real estate taxes, you have may have not been notified yet, that your mortgage payments will increase shortly to compensate the state for teacher pay raises. I don't recall that fact being disclosed during the legislative process. Personally I'm sick and tired of Tater's and the Speakers bullshit. They are both in tight, and no doubt will be re-elected, but I'm not naïve enough to buy into all of their crap.

The $50 a year the average family will receive will feed them for an entire year. Here is how to do it. Go to McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, or Sonic and get a $1 burger from the value menu. For 1 person cut it in 2 pieces and eat 1/2 for lunch and 1/2 for dinner. For a family of 2, cut in 4 pieces and eat 1/4 for lunch and dinner. If there are children in the family they eat lunch at school so that dont count. Our calculations are based on 50 weeks since churches have free meals for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the 4th of July.

So the argument that state workers shouldn't get a raise is because the government is bloated and ineffective?

Maybe the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is true. If you pay a secretary $20k less than what he or she might make in the private sector, maybe it's because you've hired a secretary that is worth $20k less.

"As far as income tax cuts go this Reeves proposal is tepid, at best."

Depends on your perspective. The lowest-paid of the working poor are getting a whopping 100% reduction in their state income tax burden. What dire circumstances exist that should make the legislature deny that group that tax cut? Whose taxes should re reduce instead? Why do you libs weem to hate poor people?

" if you havent had a pay raise,vacation or sick leave you just need to close your business and get a job that provides those perks."

1:17 - You just aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur, are you? You make sacrifices when you start up so you can reap the benefits later.

Don't worry - most 4-year-olds don't grasp the concept of "delayed gratification" either.

Mortgage payment increase to pay for teacher pay raises? How you figure that 1:39?

1:17 - I wasn't complaining. I'm happy with my business, despite the lack of a pay raise. Costs/inflation hasn't particularly been going up, so I haven't had the need for a pay raise. Same situation applies to the state workers.

All is due to the 'great economy' that we are supposed to be experiencing, but most folks don't see/feel it. But the folks it really hurts are those coming out of school and wanting to get into the workforce. I'm lucky - already there and feel like I will stay there. But they aren't finding a job. Until the economy really does turn around, I'm not too worried about the few state workers that haven't gotten a pay raise. (Truth is, many have - its just that there hasn't been an 'across the board' raise. Something that I happen to support. Tired of seeing the 'everybody is equal' approach to government employment.)

@9:37AM

"Nothing works better than a business process that needs 10 people to work smoothly to be done by 7 underpaid inexperienced staff instead."

Here's the thing you don't understand, since you've obviously been in the public sector for too long: In the private world (i.e. money making) the job that you complain needs 10 people but only has 7 underpaid, inexperienced workers ACTUALLY probably only requires 2 to be profitable. I worked in state gov't for a few years (in probably the most underpaid/understaffed agency).... 2 out of every 5 people that worked there did all the work. Not because of funding issues, but because for some reason they thought it took teams of 5 and 6 people to do the same amount of work that teams of 2 do in the private sector on a regular basis.

I absolutely agree about being underpaid (especially for the absolutely essential positions), because I've been there, done that, but fact of the matter is there are so many departments across all agencies that are virtually irrelevant and unnecessary that it makes it seem like they are severely understaffed.

Having "meetings about meetings" is a waste of time and taxpayer money.

It's easy to cry "Spend!" when you're playing with someone else's money. Reeves has presented a package that reduces taxes on both individuals and businesses. Who could be against it? Two groups: Democrats and bureaucrats, to the extent they are not one and the same.

When you cut taxes,
Investment and savings grow,
And government shrinks.

Shut down state government and see how long it would take to be missed? Weeks months or never.

#panderin_tater

Not all state workers have job security. In 2014, the Dept. of Education laid off 30 workers with no prior notice and the Dept. of Transportation laid off 44 workers. None of these people, unlike some in the private sector, got any type of severance (doing so would violate the state constitution regarding bonuses). Also, state agencies have downsized workforces because of budget cuts. According to information from PERS, on June 30, 2009 state agencies employed 34,465 and on June 30, 2014, state agencies employed 32,288 - a decline of 2,177. Public schools reduced employees by 3,110 during this same period.

Although spending for social programs such as Medicaid continues to grow, spending for general government expenses, which includes salaries, is virtually flat. According to Mississippi’s Comprehensive Annual Financial report, from 2008 to 2013, general government expenses have increased 1.6% in total during that time and spending on all levels of education has declined 6%.

Mr. Reeves says that two out of three state workers have gotten pay raises in the last three years. But he includes attorneys (prosecutors) judges and teachers in that statistic. Even with the $2,500 teacher raise, teachers in Mississippi make $4,000 less than teachers in the surrounding four states according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The only raise for state agency workers in the last three years from the Legislature were for those making under $30,000 who had not gotten any raise in the last four years. Any other raise in the last EIGHT years for state agency workers has come by promotions or transfers to other agencies.

The current Legislature has given businesses $350 million in tax breaks since 2012 according to the Legislative Budget Office and the AP. Now, Mr. Reeves wants to phase out over ten years another $220 million per year while offering taxpayers a $150 per year tax break. Keep in mind that many of the legislators are business owners and these business tax breaks put money in their pocket. Meanwhile, the average state employee salary in Mississippi is $34,655 with 61% of workers earning less than that. The average state worker in the four adjoining states earns $43,339. Yet, the Legislature and Mr. Reeves think state workers are paid just fine.

As far as state employee raises the bottom (less than $30,000) got a $1,000.00. The people at the top of agencies get raises by working the system. Its the middle that havent gotten a raise.
I work for the state and have fired bad employees but the problem is that when I get a good one they leave for a better paying private sector job because I cannot pay them enough. It jobs at the state are the hardest to keep staffed.

I too would like to know how it's possible that my mortgage payment will increase in order to fund teacher pay increases. Not true.

To the whining employer who suggests the state reduce the number employed and split the money saved among the productive....you really have no clue how state agency funding, position allocation or funding work, do you?

You're simply among the ignorant who suppose there's a pot of money out there to spend and if you cut the payroll number in half you can raise salaries on the remaining employees.

You also seem to be among the ignorant group that dismisses the value of publicly funded employees from the get go. Nothing will change that attitude. You're angry and your entrepreneurial efforts will fail. Then you can mope around and blame it on the gubment.

Doesn't the State df Mississippi have infrastruction
that needs replacing ? How about funding for the
employee pensions ? Or, even better, how about reducing State debt to lower the cost of future borrowing ?

Good state workers are underpaid. Poor performing state workers are overpaid. Simple solution: abolition the bureaucracy known as the state personnel board and let executive directors do their jobs.

The state personnel board no longer screens potential applicants and if they claim to they are lying. It is an absolute joke.

These arguments become circular.

The useless government employees I've encounter invariably are there because of a political favor. They are too often some politician's or political contributor's underachieving relative.

The effective government employees are those who have decided that the 60-70 hours per week expected in the private sector keep them from family responsibilities.

We make choices in life. There are sacrifices in all choices.

There is no such thing as the perfectly efficient business or the perfectly functioning government so it's easy to criticize the excesses and failures of both.

I've certainly encountered more than a few underachieving relatives and horrible employees in the private sector as well. Too often, especially in large businesses, the owner doesn't always seem to know just how bad some of his or her employees are.

I appreciate 5:13 pm's post.

Spending all our time criticizing and telling anecdotal stories of some bad employee or failure in a system, any system is a waste of time.

You identify problems and then you work to find solutions. Whining about the problems ad infinitum and still thinking some grand ever evolving political philosophy offers perfection solutions is just stupid.

50+ years ago the GOP who claimed conservatism were pro-abortion and the liberal Democrats were anti-abortion. That wasn't philosophical. That was spinning philosophies and stealing convenient sentences from philosophers to appeal to the base which for the Democrats at the time included a lot of Catholics.

What bothers me is this notion that government is somehow unnecessary and that all taxes are bad and wasted. Even with all the current evidence that a lack of a functioning government is the chaos of a failed state.

Some of you are staunch supporters of the military and the police until, of course, spending money is necessary. Some of those tax cuts have affected them as well. We stupidly cut taxes across the board.

The problem is how to make government more efficient and that begins and ends with holding those we elect of OUR party accountable.

We don't do that. We are too lazy. We don't want to believe OUR party is just as careless with their fiscal responsibilities as the other party.


Now we have the worst of both worlds. Each party just continues to improve on the excesses of the other party when they were in power. And, in the absence of the focus being the strengthening of our Nation, our State, our communities , we have stupidly rely on the strengthening of our chosen party to fix everything.

Think people. Can you really not see that the boondoggles under GOP control and the system failures have been just as bad when the GOP has been in control as when the Democrats have been in control? Political spoils are political spoils and until we face that, the parties can continue to distract us by setting up at each others throats.

It's past time for pragmatism.

"Think people." LMAO The Whack Job drops 488 words for her morning dump.

Repeat after me..."Establishment Republican".

6:40,
Nailed it. Slow clap.

8:07,
I hope you do well in your junior college Intro to Government class.

10:17 am Cracks me up to see making " establishment" a bad word and being " anti-establishment" a political identification recycled.

You do know it didn't work out that well for the hippies, right?

ROFLMAO

8:07 isn't mature enough for junior college. He's still thinks name calling works and he can't tolerate reading more than a couple of paragraphs. So, that puts him functionally in elementary school.