Attorney Generalissimo James Hood issued the following press release.
Governor Obfuscates with Call for "Gimme some of that mental health REFORM"
Last Saturday, the Governor sent out an op-ed with omissions which could only be considered as "alternative facts." I am defending the state from suits regarding mental health and feel compelled to set the record straight on the real facts and answer why there seems to be a need for alternative ones.
First, the facts, the Governor said Tennessee has only 2,000 mental health workers, compared to Mississippi, which has 7,000. The truth is Tennessee has 3,810 state mental health employees. Moreover, Tennessee employs thousands more through hundreds of private contracts. He failed to mention that the duties, carried out by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health under one umbrella, are divided in Tennessee into two departments: the Tennessee Department of Mental Health (1,875 employees) and Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (1,935 employees). Since Mississippi has 14 community mental health centers across the state funded by counties and by grants, and Tennessee has locally funded programs, these apples-to-oranges comparisons of employees could go on and on.
A better comparison between the states would be the most recent analysis of state-by-state per capita mental-health spending, which showed Tennessee paid $87.48 per capita for mental-health services. Mississippi spent $55.95 per capita. Tennessee is also discussing Medicaid expansion, while our state is not. The Mental Health America report cited by the Governor points out that access to mental health care in Mississippi is low due to our failure to expand Medicaid. Last legislative session I called on the Governor and legislative leadership to provide DMH with an additional $12 million to keep us from getting sued, but they instead refused to provide the additional $12 million and cut the DMH budget by $8 million. We were promptly sued.
In his op-ed, the Governor calls for "Gimme some of that reform" and put him in charge. He is already in charge. He appoints all nine members of the DMH board and 11 members of the Department of Health board. Since 2004, Republican governors have been in charge. The professionals they have appointed to these boards are telling the Governor and legislative leaders the truth, that these agencies have already been decimated by budget cuts.
Why would the Governor publish an op-ed with such gaping omissions? The goal is to hire directors of these agencies who are afraid to tell the people the truth - that their agencies do not have the funds to fulfill their duties under state and federal law. The working people who pay the vast majority of Mississippi taxes deserve to know the truth. A second motive is to fire all the state workers so that the Governor can give the money to his corporate friends to privatize the services. The third motive of this trifecta, in the push for privatizing all of government from education to retirement by the Republican leadership, is to appease their corporate masters and receive corporate campaign contributions in return. One need only look at the headlines from the private prison scandals to see the risk in privatizing some government services.
In order to accomplish this trifecta, they must fool the people who have no knowledge of government and believe it is over-bloated. The internet blogs and talk radio have allowed "alternative facts" to go unchecked. This alternative reality world is dangerous to democracy, our state and our world.
As always, it's about the money and who gets it. The Republicans in control of it all - Governor Phil Bryant, Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves and Speaker Phillip Gunn - have chosen to give away our state treasury in huge corporate tax cuts to huge out-of-state corporations, then try to choke what little is left out of state government to give to their corporate benefactors in state contracts. It is all about the money - campaign contributions. How else could a lieutenant governor in little Mississippi have $4.3 million in his campaign account?
If the working people and those who own businesses in this state don't call their legislators and ignore these alternative facts, our economic downturn will continue at an even more rapid pace. We have a duty to protect the least among us: those suffering from mental illness. Ask your legislator what Jesus would do.
20 comments:
"It is all about the money - campaign contributions. How else could a lieutenant governor in little Mississippi have $4.3 million in his campaign account?"
There is so much irony and political gymnastics packed into those two sentences. Is this not the same Attorney General that has set up plaintiff attorneys, like Richard Scruggs, with millions in legal fees by farming out the duties of his own Government Office of Attorney General? Does he not take campaign contributions and gifts from the plaintiff attorneys that have raped and pillaged the state in plaintiff friendly jurisdictions? Have these lawsuit filed by his buddies at his request not served to scare away business from calling Mississippi home, thus reducing tax revenues that support government and government duties, like public safety, infrastructure and education?
Then there is the shot at Tater Tot's money. I'd have more respect for Hood if he just straight up said, I want to be governor but Tate has too much money for me to run against him and my plaintiff lawyer buddies don't have the money coming in that they used to have due to joinder decisions and tort reform.
Though I agree with Hood, he is the Attorney General. His position is to represent his client, the state of Mississippi, not push his own political agenda. He is right though. Phil and his radio network are just lying. Supertalk has become Bryant's puppet. They are worse than CNN was for Hillary.
An elected attorney general is, by definition, a politician, who therefore has his own political agenda. Many people pick which politician to vote for on the basis of their (alleged) political agenda.
Just look at how much money Hood paid Moore for working on the WorldCom settlement---WOW, they really get by with robbing the tax payer blind and then giving them a seeing eye dog. NO, a fold up cane.
Hood is again correct on this issue. I for one believe that he is much more effective as AG than Governor. I have never really liked him but believe that, for the most part, does a good job.
I use don't know who would be an effective job as Gov. or Lt. Gov. The idea of Tate as Gov. really makes me sick.
Puh-leez!!! Jim Hood is the king of cronyism, enriching his donors and raking in campaign contributions from them. Then he hides his "campaign spending" behind credit card disbursements.
Makes one wonder why Jim Hood is so hellbent on defending a train wreck agency like the Department of Mental Health? Might he be getting services in return?
1. Shirking his legal duty to defend the Governor in appeals must have freed up time for Hood to be Diana Mikula's surrogate.
2. Isn't Mental Health pushing privatization already with the Oxford House concept?
Whatever one thinks of Jim Hood, on this he is telling the truth and the Governor is not. You can try to deflect all you want but the bottom line is one of them is lying and one is not. A lie of omission is still a lie.
What this is really about is the move to weaken the job protections for government employees so that the Governor and Lt Governor can replace career employees with their relatives and supporters under the guise of reducing government by making it easier for appointed heads to hire and fire in a time of poor revenues.
A bill has already been introduced and this is part of the propagandizing by the Governor for that bill.
I would remind everyone that once upon a time, patronage in government gave us Tammany Hall cronyism , " red tape" , lawlessness with famous outlaws, an assassination of a President and ineffective, incompetent government at all levels. That's why we have civil service protection and have qualifications for positions in government now.
What is really going on is a move for one party to control the entire country just as it does in Russia and China. Imagining that what we are seeing in politics today and these contrived divisions among our citizens is about morality, principles and philosophy and not about power and greed is something you will live to regret.
DHS and Young Williams: another example.
Hood won't win and channeling Bernie Sanders don't help a lick. His tangents are laughable.
Despite the fact that Hood is a hypocrite and just as self-interested as any of those he is criticizing here, he makes some valid points.
2 things are true: (1) agencies don't operate efficiently in a lot of ways and (2) the Republicans want to turn state government into a way to dole out tax revenue to private businesses. I think the smart approach would be to conduct an extended, serious analysis of the agencies and work with them to improve their operations. Instead we got a dog and pony show last fall, a quick glance at some numbers, and the Republican agenda presses forward.
... he makes some valid points.
Which ones? Be specific. Tell us how they are "valid". Put up.
@ 10:20am - you said, "Which ones? Be specific. Tell us how they are "valid". Put up."
and Twitty Hood stated - "The Republicans in control of it all - Governor Phil Bryant, Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves and Speaker Phillip Gunn - have chosen to give away our state treasury in huge corporate tax cuts to huge out-of-state corporations, then try to choke what little is left out of state government to give to their corporate benefactors in state contracts.
and at 10:42am on February 8, 2017, House Bill 1109 was passed and is now headed to the Senate. Now you may ask what is HB 1109? It is a bill that will remove the Personal Sevice Contract Review Board from the State Personnel Board and place it under the auspices of the Department Finance and Administration, and will merge it with their procurement department over there.
Just another way to dictate who receives contracts with the state.
Jim Hood was right and too many people are brainwashed on the Mississippi GOP's propaganda machine.
The loan level headed person left in that party is Delbert Hoseman. He practices what he preaches.
Hoping he gives Tater'burger a run for his money in the GOP's gubernatorial primary. Because if Tate Reeves becomes Governor, god help us all.
Jim Hood IS right and too many people are brainwashed (or too stupid) on the Mississippi GOP's propaganda machine... just like the chimp show in DC.
God Bless Mississippi and most states in the bible belt (lower case on purpose). There are HUMAN RIGHTS that have been ignored too long!!!
I GTFO in time....
If it's true that Hood's friends have benefited to the tune of untold millions and they keep him in office and they share the wealth with him, how can you then say Hood doesn't have enough money to compete with Tater's back account?
@ 5:19am
That's a damn good question
Hood will beat Tate in that race. Tate has been the luckiest person around to be in the right place at the right time.
@7:12, I don't know if a single political supporter of Phil Bryant's who is clammiring for a protected-status state job at Department of Mental Health. The jobs that pay the highest salaries at most executive agencies already serve at the will and pleasure of the governor, so your argument that he or anyone else is trying to stack a bunch of $30,000 a year jobs with political chums is pretty laughable.
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