Mississippi was the second fastest growing state in the last quarter of 2024, according to new data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Output per person in the Magnolia state increased faster than any state besides Arkansas.
One set of data might be a fluke, but then the previous quarterly data told a similar growth story. We are starting to see a trend as Mississippi takes off economically. Mississippi’s been stuck at 50th out of 50 for so long, some struggle to believe we could be anywhere else. But here’s the kicker: our per capita GDP zipped past Britain’s in 2023 and is set to overtake Germany’s this year. If the explosive growth from late 2024 keeps up, we’ll leapfrog several U.S. states in the next decade. That “last place” label? It’s starting to peel off. What’s behind this turnaround? Free market reforms—plain and simple. Mississippi was held back by high taxes, stifling regulations, and cartels—especially the one under the Capitol dome in Jackson—calling the shots. A generation ago, Mississippi’s economic development strategy was to send long serving politicians to Washington DC to hustle for handouts. If federal subsidies made a state rich, ours would have been the wealthiest state in the Union.
But today, we’re growing because bold leaders—backed by your support—are pushing pro-growth policies: 1. Tax Cuts: Since we started trimming the income tax to a flat 4% in 2022, the Mississippi Development Agency estimates there’s been a whopping $19 billion inward investment. Businesses are flocking here, confident that their payroll taxes will tumble. 2. Flexible Labor Market: Already an “at-will” employment state, Mississippi passed a little noticed law in 2021 to ease occupational licensing. Local boards are increasingly under pressure to reduce onerous red tape. 3. Business-Friendly Planning: While other states drown companies in approval processes, Mississippi rolls out the welcome mat. 4. Cheap Energy: Two new data centers are coming, and they’ll need oodles of electricity. Good thing Mississippi’s natural gas and nuclear keep our electricity cheap—around 13.43 cents per kWh versus California’s wallet-busting 34.26 cents. Affordable energy is turbocharging our growth. Mississippi has only adopted pro-growth policies because a handful of bold conservative leaders have been prepared to fight for them. Just three weeks ago, our Senate’s current leadership was maneuvering against income tax elimination. Imagine what we could achieve if the Senate was on board with free market reform? We’re surrounded by states with school choice, but our Senate blocked even a modest public-to-public option. Healthcare’s tangled in “certificate of need” nonsense, and Senate leaders killed that fix too. Mississippi is on the rise, but we need to double down on pro-growth reforms, especially school choice. Thank you for standing with us—together, we’re making Mississippi boom!
Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. The Mississipi Center for Public Policy sponsored this post.
22 comments:
Thank you President Trump!
It's been proven again and again. When good policy removes barriers and restrictions, and lowers taxes, the result is growth and prosperity.
I think ol' sleepy Joe was in charge during this time period.
@11:53 ol’ sleepy Joe was never in charge at any point. Trump was holding rallies and promising to hold China accountable. He was energizing the people. Of course, we now know that the left tried to assassinate him twice. He still won and is keeping his promises. I’m excited to see the re-growth when all of those factories come back to America. And the Chinese can go back to starvation and cannibalism.
More spin...comparisons with Great Britain and Germany? ...the sixth and fourth largest economies in the world? Two economies where the citizens aren't paying for expensive insurance or medical care and the tax structures are very different? Britain's poverty rate is the same but figured differently and Germany's is 3% lower. They based their poverty rates on median incomes. The U.S. has the highest poverty rate of 26 western countries. The median income in the U.S. is $39800, Mississippi's median income is $ 30181 but it's disposable income that matters for a citizen and both countries have more disposable income. If you are going to play "economic games" you need to play with all the "game pieces" and not " pick and choose". The economic board is large , not tiny. You might ought to also consider that we have a small population . We might be 49th now but even that it begs the question of what is going to be done with the money now "unspent"? How are our kids doing in education and health and we don't even have some competitive sports like indoor track. How are we doing on SATs and ACTs?
If brits and krauts have so much disposable income, then why did they bitch and moan about the cold when they couldnt get cheap Russian heating fuel for the last 3 years?
Also, why dont they have their flags on the Moon?
I just want to remind everyone that during my lifetime, as a millennial, Apple had a factory in Fremont that made Macs.
The only thing that moved them to China and kept their factories overseas, was the lack of tariffs. Tim Apple was born and raised in Mobile, AL. He could easily build a factory in the South, and he knows it.
Another benefit of MS and most of the southeast is water. We have plenty and, consequently, take it for granted. Many of the western states struggle to have enough water to meet the needs of their population.
You could have fooled me. The job market is still crap. Looks like we had good growth for a quarter, and I’m guessing that’s primarily from the Amazon investment into their data center. How do we get the biggest investment in our lifetime to repeat itself every quarter?
Just finished Richard Grant's book about Arizona. That state has a real water problem.
and just whom do we owe for all this prosperity? .............well, the beautiful people of the southeastern conference of course.
Thank you, 12:16. I was about to put my house on the market, but your reasonableness convinced me that I'm not living in Florida quite yet.
to 12:26.... and what about them krauts?.......please be advised that the average german has 10x the education of your obese, green teeth around here.
as for flags on the moon......thats like the iraq war under W bush. what da hell did it ever do for anyone?
Richard Grant sucks. His Arizona book proved he was just some tourist trying to monetize his two years that he lived in Mississippi.
I have a business where we meet people from all over the US (and other countries!). They continually say that MS is the last real America. People talk with each other and are generally nice, have manners, good food, cheap to live... I had a friend just move here from Colorado and he loves it! I continually say 'do not bring crazy here' or 'if you believe we all are barefoot uneducated rednecks do not come'. As bad as MS may be, it is still a great place to live and raise a family
Yeah, if you want to play economic games, you can't pick and choose the game pieces. You have to use all of them. Like the Left does; right?
When you go from a very low output number to a higher number, it's not difficult to rise enough to get to number 2. Going from 1 to 2 is a 100% increase.
Mississippi is still a high tax state, when it comes to things like sales tax. But of course that mainly affects the poor, so I guess it doesn’t count.
What is Britain ‘a per capita GDP? And what’s the population relative to Mississippi ? Which states has the state zipped pass? You would think that the supporting data would be shared if there were any significant changes .
...and if you can stand that religious hypocrisy everyone portrays. Mississippian's can be corrupt to the bone, yet they go to church more often, and think others are idiots that don't see their bullshit.
80s kids will remember that in the 1980’s, Mississippi ETV produced a sci fi series better than Doctor Who that also aired on ETV at the same time. Tomes and Talismans
You know that is a very low blow and it does count no matter who you are. You can’t look down on others. They may be low in finances but there are other areas of their life they are up in and you are low in. So I ask you to ask God to bless them in that area. Cus it can be easily taken from you. I’m sure you said it to get a laugh but it can easily be you.
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