Mississippi is on the move. Over the past five years, economic output rose more than it did over the previous fifteen.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Mississippi’s economic output has soared by $41.4 billion, climbing from $116.1 billion in 2019 to $157.5 billion in 2024. That’s more growth in half a decade than we saw in the previous fifteen years combined.This growth did not happen by chance. It came about thanks to deliberate, pro-growth policies that are transforming our state.
In 2021, we saw labor market deregulation with a bill to reform occupational licensing. Then in 2022 came a substantive tax reform bill, which paved the way toward the income tax elimination bill passing in 2025. At the same time, Mississippi has kept energy costs low and rolled out the red carpet for inward investors. Every one of these victories came about thanks to principled conservative leaders who fought for change against fierce opposition from leftist lawmakers wedded to the status quo. At the time that these reforms were proposed, there was no kumbaya consensus in favor of any of it. Change only happened because a handful of conservative leaders – and dare I say it conservative organizations - were willing to go out on a limb for it. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) recently honored some of those in our legislature that truly are committed to this pro-growth agenda, and we should all celebrate their determination. But the question remains: Is your local lawmaker part of Mississippi’s new pro-growth agenda, or are they standing in the way? Did your own Representative and Senator help lead Mississippi’s growth, or are they one of the one’s that opposed everything but showed up for the cameras?
Despite Mississippi’s strong conservative majority, we often fall short on basic conservative priorities like school choice. Too many solid bills mysteriously “die in committee” with no explanation, no recorded votes, and no accountability. Lawmakers who oppose pro-growth policies have gotten away with vague soundbites on Supertalk, dodging any real consequences. That ends now.
The new Mississippi Freedom Index, which you can access by logging on to our website at mspolicy.org, empowers everyday Mississippians to hold their representatives accountable. This tool shows how your lawmaker voted on key pro-growth policies, details their campaign finance contributions, and even lets you message them directly. We’ve identified four flagship growth policies that define Mississippi’s economic surge—any lawmaker who opposed them doesn’t meet our definition of a conservative, plain and simple. So, where does your representative stand? Log on to mspolicy.org and click on the Freedom Index to find out. If any lawmaker disagrees with their rating, they’re welcome to reach out. They can post their remarks, or if they’re willing to publicly commit to supporting the policies they didn’t vote for, we’ll reconsider their score. Mississippi is on the rise. Check the Freedom Index today—because our state’s future depends on leaders who deliver, not ones who hide. Douglas Carswell is the President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy sponsored this post.
17 comments:
So, where does your representative stand?
Mine ususally stands next to a lobbyist, waiting on a free meal.
@11:36 Mine us obediently serving the AIPAC lobbyist. She unironically says she stands with them though.
They can't pass a basic operational budget. Missippi ain't goin' nowhere soon.
Let’s see. Cal Maine was just revealed to have gotten 44 Million Tax Dollars in GubMint Bailouts in one year and tripled profits to nearly a hall Billion dollars while price gouging. I don’t think Middle Class Americans are being held back by anything but Lawmakers and Lobbyists and YOU guys using our tax money to rake in the dough as they price gouge and dodge taxes.
Interesting that Nissan is slowly pulling the stakes up in Canton as the corporate welfare is coming closer to the cut off. Was it 30 years?
Conservatives hate welfare, but love corporate handouts.
I don’t need to read this article or see any evidence to know the answer is a resounding “yes”. Not only are they holding us back, they’re actively dragging us down. The problem is this moronic 2 party system and the fact that 95% of the population is dumber than a sack of rocks and they do, and believe, whatever Fox News or CNN tells them. I’m pro disenfranchisement. Every voter should be required to take an I.Q. test. and anyone lower than 3 digits is banned. There are various other problems to be pointed out but alas, this is a silly blog comment and will achieve absolutely nothing. The United States is doomed. I honestly never thought I’d see it fall in my lifetime but every day it becomes more and more a possibility.
Nice long comment about Nissan, seriously. Too bad you ruined it w one sentence in the first paragraph
12:58, we hate welfare due to its ability to hamper people's growth potential. To be on welfare, you have to agree to be poor. You can make more money if you invest in yourself and learn a marketable skill set. But that takes more effort.
11:36 and 11:48 mine is in the same line. Especially if a nice sporting event is on the menu.
Amend our constitution to half the number of representatives, senators, and counties, and you will see things progress much faster. Hey, a guy can dream.
One LNG plant in Louiana is worth about 30 B in investment, they get a few regulatory breaks , a couple of tax breaks hire 10k construction workers for 7 years and then hire 1000 workers making 100k a year. The governor doesn’t call a special session or anything they just do it. Shit like that happens every other month !
mr carswell you dont know much about mississippi do you?
freedom index?.... in this state the ultimate ''freedom '' is riding around in your $90,000 pickup truck , (which you owe $99,000 on) ,talking on your iPhone and spitting copenhagen into a plastic bottle which you throw on the side of the road when full.
the biggest growth industry in mississippi is and will always be government.
per capita, we got a legislature thats 4x the size of california's.
we are also the runaway leader when it comes to federal government spending
"Spitting copenhagen into a plastic bottle" is a very accurate description of some of our lawmakers. However, I believe you may not be too familiar with Mr. Douglas Carswell.
He knows what he talks about. I think this new Mississippi Freedom Index is great way to see how these legislators voted on specific topics.
I also feel this index will have an impact on future elections.
My hope is that the MCPP will launch an aggressive public relations campaign to educate the public about this new asset.
Wait! I'm fine with a list of votes on bills. But, does this wonderful improvement in our economy mean the Biden stimulus package helped Mississippi as well the FEMA funds and infrastructure federal money? Maybe we need a Money Source Index for all our legislators too!
I encourage going to FRED St. Louis web site to view other states gdp growth charts. Whether conservative or liberal, most states have much higher growth rates since 2020. Maybe from all the federal government “stimulus “ since COVID? Maybe giving MS politicians too much credit?
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