Gov. Tate Reeves and state Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said beginning Thursday state troopers, the Capitol Police and state narcotics officers will start an initiative “aimed at upholding public safety in the capital city.”
“We’re seeing it every night on Jackson’s local news, a never ending cycle of violent crime,” Reeves said at a press conference on Wednesday. “… People of Jackson are not asking for much. They’re asking for the ability to walk down the street and not fear for their lives. I stand with the residents of the city of Jackson.”
As violent crime in many large cities across the country continues to increase during the pandemic, Mississippi’s capital city is no exception. Jackson saw a record number of homicides last year — 130 — and is on pace to surpass that with killings approaching 80 so far this year. The crime wave prompted one Jackson city councilman last week to publicly propose calling out the National Guard to patrol city streets.
Lawmakers this year approved major increases in power, authority and spending for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. This included a new law that would allow Highway Patrol troopers to patrol and run radar on highways or interstates within larger cities, and another putting DPS in charge of the Capitol Police force, which previously served as more of a security force for state-owned property downtown.
Capitol Police will have an expanded presence and serve more of a law enforcement role in the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which stretches roughly from Jackson State University to Interstate 55, and up to Fondren just past the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Tindell said residents will see a greater police presence, with a “saturation” of all available Capitol Police patrol officers and vehicles downtown, troopers on Interstates 55, 20 and 220, and that the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics will increase “clandestine” drug operations with local and federal agencies inside Jackson. Tindell would not give specific numbers or shifts of patrols, but said Capitol Police has 81 officers, a number he hopes to increase to 150 soon.
No city of Jackson or Jackson Police Department officials were invited to Wednesday’s press conference, Reeves said, but he and Tindell said the new state-led effort is aimed at assisting JPD, not supplanting it. They said the state help in the Capitol Complex should allow JPD to focus officers elsewhere. Both also said repeatedly they don’t expect the sate efforts to solve the city’s crime problem.
“The goal here is to have a safer capital city,” Tindell said. “The citizens of Mississippi should be able to visit their capital city, their capital hospital and state museums without fear of being raped or murdered while visiting their capital city.”
In a statement released late Wednesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the city welcomes the state’s efforts, but “….The problem of crime is not going to be solved through policing alone.
“The state’s efforts to better streamline its law enforcement agencies and bolster communication in and around the Capitol City Complex and state highways is within its jurisdiction. The city and Jackson Police Department welcome the commitment to greater collaboration and support. However, we must also apply the same effort toward authoring solutions that address the root of the problem. The state has failed to provide adequate funding in this regard. In order to realize true impact, it is necessary to also stand up and bolster the social supports and community programs that lift up our communities by addressing issues of poverty, joblessness, mental health, gaps in education and opportunity and more.”
Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, said he encourages the governor and state leaders in the future to meet with local leaders, including the Hinds County legislative delegation, to discuss possible solutions.
“Crime is up in the city of Jackson, and there needs to be a solution,” he said.
Bell said the initiative unveiled Wednesday by the governor and Tindell would help by providing a “show of force.” But he said efforts need to be made on the local and state levels to look for “grants that are available to provide raises for officers. That will help increase the size of the force.”
Reeves urged the city of Jackson and Hinds County to use a portion of about $95 million the local governments are receiving in federal American Rescue Plan funds to beef up law enforcement in Jackson.
Bell said most of the crime issues are located within neighborhoods, many outside of the Capitol Improvement District.
“The real issue is to have officers patrolling in neighborhoods, not on the highways,” he said.
Bell also stressed that it is important while providing that show of force not to have law enforcement harassing people for no reason.
“I am not saying it is happening,” he said, but added that should be kept in mind.
“While we are very appreciative of the efforts of Commissioner Tindell, we need dialog to continue going forward,” Bell said.
Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, said, “Like many other parts of the country, crime in Jackson has grown considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lot of lawlessness regarding driving behaviors and certainly violent death have risen exponentially.
“Concern about the rise in violent deaths is about the only thing that supersedes concerns about our crumbling infrastructure,” Horhn continued. “That’s why the Legislature took the actions it took, and I’m glad the governor is moving swiftly to implement these changes.”
The new law allowing MHP to patrol and run radar on interstates within large cities was authored by Jackson’s state Senate delegation. It was in response to an incident early this year where people shut down part of Interstate 55 for about an hour holding an impromptu drag racing and burnout session, and reports of similar recent incidents. The new law also requires cities to notify state troopers whenever a federal roadway is blocked. Previously, highway patrol officers were prohibited from setting up radar or patrols inside cities of 15,000 or more.
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said the measure was also supported by representatives of other large cities across the state.
“The future success of Jackson depends on a cooperative relationship between the state government and city government,” said Blount, the primary author of the bill giving troopers the authority to operate radar on state highways in cities above 15,000. He said the Jackson delegation supported both the bill placing the Capitol police under the Department of Public Safety and the radar bill.
“We think the bills will be positive steps for the city of Jackson,” Blount said.
While DPS is not officially a state police force overseeing all state law enforcement like in some other states, the agency is seeing major expansion in its duties and authority. The agency already oversees the Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, state office of Homeland Security and the crime lab and medical examiners. But the attorney general, state auditor and other agencies still retain their own state-level law enforcement.
Besides taking over Capitol Police and the expansion of Highway Patrol’s authority inside large cities, DPS is now taking over commercial traffic enforcement duties from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations was designated the lead agency for officer-involved shootings statewide.
Lawmakers also approved allowing other state agencies to contract with DPS for law enforcement work, such as for state Child Protection Services and the Board of Medical Licensure and other agencies that frequently need law enforcement or investigative authority and officers.
Lawmakers also appropriated $24 million to DPS this year to complete a new headquarters for the agency in Rankin County. Groundbreaking on the headquarters, with a total cost of $60 million to $80 million, is expected in early 2022, and will allow the agency to bring all its enforcement divisions under one roof.
Lawmakers did not approve DPS’ request for a 6% raise for officers, although some officers should see raises from an across-the-board state employee discretionary merit pay raise.
In the inaugural episode of Crooked Letter Sports, hosts Rick and Tyler Cleveland caught up with former Mississippi State Bulldog, reigning SEC hits king and the pride of the Binghampton Rumble Ponies, Jake Mangum, about his transition to AA ball and his take on what makes Mississippi baseball so much fun.
Stream all episodes here, and read the transcript below.
Tyler: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast, a show about Mississippi sports and the folks who play them. I’m Tyler Cleveland with Scorebook Live Mississippi. I’m here with the person I’ve always wanted to co-host a podcast with, my dad, Mississippi Today columnist Rick Cleveland.
Rick: [00:00:24] Yeah, Tyler, this is gonna be a lot of fun.
I’ve always wanted to do a project, some journalism project with you, and this promises to be a fun one.
Tyler: [00:00:33] Yeah, I hope so. We’re going to, you know, we’re going to talk to guests. We’re gonna banter back and forth. I’m really looking forward to it, but we want to cover everything. We want to cover from high school sports on up to the, you know, the pro level.
And I think, you know, there’s definitely no shortage of things in Mississippi for us to talk about.
Rick: [00:00:52] Yeah, and we’re going to talk a lot about Mississippi sports history, something that’s near and dear to me. And speaking of Mississippi sports history, we’re going to begin the podcast today with Jake Mangum, who’s possibly one of the most popular, not possibly. He is one of the most popular college baseball players in Mississippi history.
Tyler: [00:01:13] Yeah. And loved to play. Obviously, just from watching him, you can tell right off the bat that he loves the game, respects the game. And I think that kind of connected with fans.
Rick: [00:01:22] Yeah, and as popular as he was with Mississippi State fans, fans of the other schools, they had different feelings about it.
Tyler: [00:01:30] They might’ve had different opinions, but I think he always had their respect, you know. Maybe, maybe not enough. It’s at a couple of times, different times when they could have pitched around him. But you know, when a guy who gave back, you know, you remember at the College World Series, his, you know, his final parting press conference was about college baseball and how important it was, and you know, I’ve always respected him.
Rick: [00:01:52] Yes, sir. So without any further ado, let’s get into our interview with Jake Mangum. He’s coming to us from Binghamton, New York, where he’s playing AA baseball now in the New York Mets organization. Jake, welcome to the pod. We are so happy to have you, and thank you for being with us from Binghamton.
Jake: [00:02:13] Binghamton, New York! That’s right.
Rick: [00:02:15] Yeah. Last time, the three of us, Tyler and you and I, were together was—
Jake: [00:02:21] Good, good place to be. Hopefully, the dogs can get back there.
Rick: [00:02:24] Yeah. Tyler had a… tell him.
Tyler: [00:02:27] Oh, yeah. I was just… We were talking about it this morning, and I remember. We were sitting outside one of those bars in the market district, and I was having a drink with a couple of TV reporters and—
Jake: [00:02:38] Y’all were at the German place, right?
Tyler: [00:02:39] Yeah. Yeah. And we… I remember one of the TV reporters was talking about your perfect jawline when you walked up behind us, I think with your girlfriend in tow. And I don’t know if you heard her or not, but man, she turned blood red, and we had a laugh about that for the rest of the day.
I mean, it was probably the highlight of my Omaha adventure that year. I know it wasn’t for you. But it was a, it was a blast for me.
Jake: [00:03:05] That’s pretty fun. It’s a good city to be, man. It’s a lot more districts, a lot of fun. It’s a lot of stuff to do, a lot of good places to eat. Yeah. It’s fun, man. I miss Omaha.
Rick: [00:03:16] Yeah, well, we’re recording this on June the ninth, and I’m hoping I’ll be in Omaha next week. For I’d love for it to be both State and Ole Miss.
Jake: [00:03:27] I know. I was about to say if you’re there it’s 50/50 if my team made it or not, but you know, I’m, I’m pulling for both. It’d be cool to see Ole Miss and Mississippi State in Omaha.
Rick: [00:03:36] Well, let’s talk about your career right now. You’ve already been promoted once this season, and you are now playing for the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies in the Mets organization. What exactly is a rumble pony?
Jake: [00:03:53] Binghamton, it’s known for a few things, but one thing it’s known for, well, first off, IBM started here. Fun fact. IBM started here, but number two: Binghamton is known for, like, a bunch of merry-go-rounds, like, carousels.
So they were, whenever they changed the name from the Binghamton Mets, they, it was the Rumble Ponies to the Stud Muffins. So Rumble Ponies won because I guess the city, you know, has some ties with ponies. I’m driving home last night. I see a little, just a little, you know, one pole sticking out around the front yard and it’s one of those merry-go-round ponies. So there’s something going on with Binghamton and merry-go-round ponies. Not sure what it is. I guess it’s been around for a year for a while now. Just excited to be a Rumble Pony. Couldn’t be more excited.
Rick: [00:04:41] That’s great. What’s better, though, is the fact that you’re hitting, you’re hitting a lot of… You’re hitting better at AA than you hit at single-A, average-wise, at least. And the other thing is you’re hitting for more power.
Jake: [00:04:55] Yeah. Just, I spent a lot of work in 2020, trying to change some things in my game that I felt I needed to change for pro ball. Pro ball is a different beast, man. This is, you know, high school to college. It was a jump in, regardless of the arms I faced.
Don’t get me wrong. I saw great arms in college. I’m seeing great arms now, but the difference is the defense is a lot crisper, man. The ground balls don’t find as many holes. You’re not always playing on fields that are allowing the ball to just skip through, and no one values that. And that’s the big thing.
And no one values, just a ground ball base hit, really, in pro ball. And all. So I spent the entire 2020 year just trying to backspin a baseball and just try to hit it harder. And I’ve done that now, but there’s a lot of things I still need to progress with. The fact that I’m in AA is a blessing, first off.
I’d like you guys to know that, everybody back in Mississippi, that the fact that I’m in AA is nothing short of just a… it’s a blessing from God. Not many guys out of the 2019 draft class are in AA already. And somehow I’m here. I wasn’t putting up great numbers in high A, but they, they took a chance on me.
And since then, I’ve, I’ve kind of taken off a little bit, but you know, it, it happens quick. I tell a lot of guys that in baseball, it happens quick. It goes up or down real quick. So you better stay even keel about it. Never too high. Never too low. Because one game can, can change everything. So it’s you know, we’re right back at it tonight. I had a tough night last night.
0-4 at the plate, but you know, right back at it tonight.
Tyler: [00:06:24] Yeah. I was going to ask you, Jake. You hear a lot of people say that, you know, the weekend pitching in the SEC is kind of, you know, what you would see in high A or AA, what’s your impression? And does that hold true?
Jake: [00:06:36] Last night, I haven’t told you, we faced the number one pitching prospect in minor league baseball, and his fastball is something I’ve seen plenty of times by now. His curveball is something I’ve seen plenty of times by now. I’ll give him credit. Change up was really, really good. A different type change-up I’ve ever seen. It’s all the same stuff, man.
It really is. Like, from high A to AA, it’s the same exact type stuff you’re seeing Friday, Saturday, and the SEC, same exact stuff we saw. The only difference is, you know that every, every now and again, you’d face dude on Tuesday night and the midweek in college, that was good. But majority of the time you were facing mid-eighties with, you know, lacking secondary stuff.
But now. It’s just, it’s everyday man. It’s every day. There’s something that everyone that steps on the mound does well. There’s some, there’s one pitch that they can rely on to get you out, or at least they think, to get you out. And that’s, that’s the difference. You don’t really run into arms anymore that just don’t have anything to get you out.
Everybody has at least one pitch, and it’s similar. It’s a Friday night, Saturday night arm type deal from college, you know, the elite bullpen arms. It’s like that. It’s an adjustment. The big thing for me is I have to understand the strike zone’s smaller. That’s a big thing in college that, you know, to be successful, you have to protect six inches off, four inches in, six inches up, six inches down.
The zone is just bigger. And that’s not, that’s not saying the umpires are bad. It’s just kind of where the set strike zone is. Like, “Hey, we’ll give you a little off in college.” In pro ball, man, like, you know, now that I’m in AA, the strike zone has gotten smaller. Now I have to adjust to that. My entire life I’ve been a protective hitter. That’s been slap and run, but to do damage, I’ve gotta be more selective. So, that’s the process I’m in right now. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take patience, but I’m going to get to it. I know I’ll figure it out. God willing, stay healthy along the process.
Rick: [00:08:28] You know, Jake, 50-something years of covering college baseball, I’ve never seen any player enjoy playing the game more than it always looked like you did. And I’m just wondering, is going from Mississippi State into professional baseball, is it as much fun?
Jake: [00:08:51] Look, is it more fun to play in Binghamton than a super-regional with 15,000 people?
Obviously, I’d be lying if I told you that, you know, a minor league, regular-season game’s more fun than playing at Dudy Noble post-season. But I truly believe God put me on this earth to play baseball like this. Like that’s my calling. That’s what I’m pursuing my life in. That’s what I spend every waking minute of the day focused on and practice like to be the best I can be to help my team/organization win.
Like that’s what I feel like God finds joy in me doing and what he put me on the earth to do. I miss Mississippi State a lot, but you know, this is where I need to be right now. I’m making major strides in my game day by day, here in Binghamton. I’m continuing to get better. And, you know, someone told me, someone in the Mississippi State alumni circle told me this.
He said, “everything that’s bad about the minor leagues is all worth it once you make it,” he said. And I’m sure… he won’t… I think he said it on the air, but you know, it, it was, it was Brantley. He told me that. You know, the, the thing is, I think he’s right. You know, like, there’s a lot of stuff that is tough about the minor leagues, the travel, you know, sometimes the food. It’s gotten better.
The food’s gotten better. There’s a lot of things that if you could script it, like you would change in the minor leagues. There’s no doubt about that. But I kinda love that part of it, you know, like that’s what makes it a little harder. Cause if it, if it was easy, everybody would do it, and I’d probably be out a job, but just a difficulty level helps a lot.
You know, it kind of keeps you grounded. It keeps you humble. I just love playing ball, man. I’ll play ball anywhere I can, but once I make it, I think it’ll all be worth it. If I make it. We’ll see.
Tyler: [00:10:31] Yeah, Jake, we want to… one of the things we wanted to ask you about as we were talking about this last night as we were watching the Braves, we were trying to think of athletes in Mississippi, who, while they were in college would have benefited from a name, image and likeness, you know, law so that they could, a college athlete could benefit a little bit.
And I think the consensus was that you definitely could have. I mean, we hear your commercials on the radio now. I just wanted to kind of get your take on that. And you know, whether or not you think that it would have benefited you while you were still in school?
Jake: [00:11:03] Yeah, sure. It, I could have had some opportunities that would have been, you know, that would have been there if it would have been legal, I guess, while I was in college, but you know, here’s, here’s the thing, man.
It’s such a gray area. There’s so many opportunities for that to be leading into cheating, leading into jealousy, leading into, you know like John Cohen said it very, very well. “Well, if you pay the quarterback, well, what about the offensive lineman? If you pay the pitcher, then what about the catcher? If you pay the four-hole hitter, what about the three-hole hitter?
There’s just a lot. There’s a lot of gray area with this, man. And I think the NCA needs to tread carefully because the game’s so pure right now, man. I tell everybody in pro ball that makes fun of me, “Well, why do you watch so much college baseball?” Because it’s so pure, man. It’s just a pure game.
Like you’re seeing dudes that just are competing for the universities. They’ve been through a whole entire fall program together. They’ve been through a whole entire regular season. Now it’s go time, back against the wall, fight or flight. It’s just a pure game, man. And that’s why a lot of people love college baseball so much, just because it’s just such a pure game.
So if, once we start getting dollar signs involved in it, that doesn’t change the fact that we need to grow the game in regards to the [unintelligible] assistant coach and the scholarship ordeal, the game does need to grow, but name, image, and likeness is just a sketchy, sketchy area, man. And the more you think about it, the more you look around, like the more you get dollar signs involved with such a pure game, it’s going to get… it’s going to open up a lot of opportunities for things that aren’t good for the game.
Rick: [00:12:40] That brings up another thing I wanted to talk to you about. In some ways, there’s dollar signs already because college coaches have to figure out how to divide up 11.7 scholarships, you know, among a 35 man roster.
Jake: [00:12:58] You’re exactly right. 35 man roster, 11.7 scholarships.
Rick: [00:13:03] Yeah. So what’s your take on that?
I mean, it’s, it seems to me that it’s crazy that a third-string, long snapper can be on full scholarship and a high level, SEC pitcher might have a 50%.
Jake: [00:13:19] Yeah, man. I’ve, I’ve played with a lot of dudes that helped win us a lot of baseball games that had student loans. It’s crazy, but it is, it is a part of it. So I just think that they need to add scholarships.
It’s crazy that there’s only 11.7 scholarships in baseball.
Rick: [00:13:38] Don’t you think college baseball’s reached the point that maybe anybody who’s on, maybe not the whole 35 man roster, but the 25 man, the travel roster, shouldn’t they be on scholarship?
Jake: [00:13:50] They absolutely should be on scholarship.
Without question. At least, add some scholarships at first, like we don’t have to go 11.7 to 27 off the bat. Let’s periodically start raising this bar a little bit. And if that means that not everyone wants to support the, you know, raising scholarships, then that’s fine. Then your program, your university shows that they’re not going to take a lot of pride in baseball.
That’s fine. We’ve got like 400 Division I baseball teams, way too many. Like, football — they do it pretty right. There’s a Division I…D1-1A, D1-2A. Split it up. Like, you know what I mean? Like this is a great opportunity for… Now, I know that that means that there’s not going to be any more Cinderella 4-seed regionals teams. Sucks, but in order for the game to grow, you have to add more scholarships. You have to, you know, invest more money in the game.
And this is just an opportunity for the 400 Division I baseball teams to decide, do we value baseball? Do we value this sport on our university campus? And, you know, man, over the last year and a half we’ve already seen a lot of programs, a lot of university presidents kind of whack baseball program.
So, I’m not trying to break the hearts of the small, like, really small D1 schools, you know, their College World Series hopes. It’s just the reality of it is: the game’s growing rapidly. Some universities aren’t going to invest money into baseball, and that’s fine if that’s the route they take.
But the last thing I want is this kid that loves baseball that goes to this small D1 school, and they whack the program his junior year. That is like the last thing you want. Like, I don’t want that to happen, but it’s really starting to get to the point. If we add scholarships, you’re going to see real quickly what universities value baseball and what universities really care about having them on campus.
Tyler: [00:15:47] You talked about growing the game. Can you talk about somewhere where the game is not growling? Because it’s fully growed, and that appears to be Mississippi. You know, we were talking earlier about Southern Miss fighting Ole Miss in that regional.
You know, Ole Miss, Mississippi state, you know, both advancing in the playoffs. I mean, and it, you just go level to level. I mean, Jackson State went undefeated in the SWAC this year, and Delta State is always in contention. I don’t have to tell you, but the high school scene in Mississippi is unreal right now.
Your Alma mater won another championship. Shout out to the Patriots.
Jake: [00:16:22] Patriots, best in the country, baby. We rolling.
Tyler: [00:16:25] And, you know, like Madison Central was just unbelievably good… When people ask you why you watch college baseball or anything, like, I mean, do you just kinda have to explain to them what it’s like here?
Jake: [00:16:35] Yeah. I don’t think people realize what magnitude it is. Like you know, when I talk to all my pro ball friends, like they get it. They don’t understand, if that makes sense. You know, in the locker room, I have the regional playing on my laptop, and everybody just kinda, you know, just walks by, checks it out like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool, man.” And, like, everybody walks off, and then the guys will actually break it down with me. Like, like I just try to explain like “Man, it’s different. Like it’s just different.” It’s not 14,000 people at a baseball game. It’s 14,000 people invested into every pitch, like genuinely invested into each pitch that’s thrown. Not each batter, not each inning. It’s like each pitch they’re invested in, and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s Major League Playoff atmosphere for nine innings, and it’s pretty cool.
Rick: [00:17:26] Jake, why do you think that Mississippi is so different in that regard? I’ll give you Arkansas.
Arkansas has maybe that kind of atmosphere for one school, but in Mississippi, I mean, it’s, it’s life or death here. People really, really care about… Why?
Jake: [00:17:45] Because we don’t have a Major League or professional football team. That’s it. Mississippi has to choose to rally what university, and Mississippi has this great dynamic of, you know, majority of families are pulling from Mississippi State, Ole Miss or Southern Miss, like that’s the majority of families.
And, you know, you have your pockets of Jackson State, you have pockets of Delta State, a lot of great programs. I keep going on about the programs. And the other thing is man, like Mississippi is known, like, man, we produce athletes. Like we produce really, really good athletes. You look across the board like arguably the best player from every sport ever has come from Mississippi.
It’s pretty insane, what type of talent Mississippi has. So people rally behind sports, man, and we’re an SEC country, all the SEC states love them some SEC football. So in the fall, you know, we got football and the other great thing is man, in the state of Mississippi, yeah, we don’t have a professional team, but year-round we can rally behind our university.
Like as soon as baseball ends, it’s football season. As soon as football season ends, we’re halfway through basketball season. Basketball and baseball overlap, and it’s a nonstop circle. It just keeps rolling. And then you can rally behind that all year. And that’s what people enjoy to do.
Rick: [00:18:59] Speaking of Mississippi sports history, you’re the third generation of Mangums that I’ve watched play and actually cover. Your granddaddy, Big John… big star.
I mean, he was a tremendous defensive lineman for Southern Miss. And of course, your dad was a high school Player of the Year in Mississippi. And then you know, 10-year pro was it? With the Chicago Bears and starred Alabama. And now you. You got to take a lot of pride in that.
Jake: [00:19:31] It’s pretty cool, man. I quit football after ninth grade.
My dad was cool with it, but I remember quitting, and I was like, “Dang, I’m gonna be the first person in a while that hasn’t played college football, but yeah football wasn’t for me, man. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Like I said, I think God put me on the Earth to hit a baseball. So I’m going to keep doing that for as long as he’ll allow me to do it.
Tyler: [00:19:53] What position did you play?
Jake: [00:19:55] Defensive back.
Rick: [00:19:56] Yeah, but your dad who, although his background was in football, and he was a great football player, he was integral in your becoming the baseball player you are.
Jake: [00:20:07] ‘Course, man. If it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t have made it out of high school. And my dad’s… he’s instilled a lot of things in me that I’ve gotten from him, just like my mom.
My mom and dad both have given me a lot of traits that I’m very thankful for. And yeah, man, the amount of hours my dad spent with me hitting is…it’s crazy how much he sacrificed for, to allow me to, you know, fall in love with the game that I would have naturally fallen in love with, but he helped me do it… a better way to do it, I guess you could say. Yeah, I mean, after if it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be here. No, there’s no if, ands or buts about it.
Rick: [00:20:38] Best advice he ever gave you.
Jake: [00:20:40] He’s given me all of my advice, if you really want to get into it, man. Like that dude, that dude don’t mess. He don’t mess. And he’ll piss me off sometimes, you know, but he’s the best, man.
The best advice he ever gave me. It’s back to this: never get too high, never get too low. You know, I’d have out of a four-for-five game in college. He’d want to talk about the out. He just wants the best for me. And he’s always challenging me. He’s always, you know, wanting me to be the best I can be.
And I’m really thankful for that, man. I’m very, very thankful for my dad. And I never got a chance to meet my grandfather. He passed away before I was born, but Big John was… I heard he was a hit, man. A lot of people liked him. He was a big ole dude, and I wish I could have met him.
Rick: [00:21:18] He was a big ole, strong dude. He was country strong. That’s before they lifted weights or anything. Big John didn’t need weights.
Jake: [00:21:27] He didn’t need weights I bet he was working in McGee, man. And, and my uncle, Chris, he’s the same thing, man. The crazy thing is my dad’s 5’10”. Uncle Chris is like 6’5″.
It’s crazy. I was hoping I would get Chris’s height, but I didn’t quite get that. I got my dad though, by a little bit.
Rick: [00:21:41] That’s right. Listen, Jake, we have really enjoyed having you, and we look forward to watching you play for the New York Mets.
Jake: [00:21:49] Long way to go, Rick. Long way to go.
Rick: [00:21:52] Long way to go. But, and you know, Jake, I thought you were an underdog coming in because of your age and everything.
Jake: [00:21:58] You best believe that. I’m an underdog. I’m clawing my way up there. We’ll see how it goes.
Rick: [00:22:03] Well, good luck to you. And we appreciate you being here with us.
Jake: [00:22:07] Thanks so much, guys. It’s great to see y’all
Rick: [00:22:10] Yeah, it was good to see you.
Tyler: [00:22:12] Thanks to all of you for listening in to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast. That was a lot of fun talking with Jake.
We really appreciate him being on the show, being our first guest. You know, when we were talking about putting the show together, we thought maybe he would be one of the guys that would be most willing and easy to talk to. And it turned out that way. We hope Jake the best. And Pop, what do you think? Do you think he’s got a shot?
Rick: [00:22:36] Well, he’s an underdog. I mean, he’s, he’s a late starter in professional baseball. I mean, he’s, he’s at AA and he’s 25 years old. And there, there are, you know, younger players in that at AA and, two, the game is shifting so much to where it’s a power game, which is, you know, not Jake’s game. But the thing about Jake is I’ll just never bet against him because he, he just has a way of coming out on top.
Tyler: [00:23:08] He does seem to be driven. And I think that he’s, you know, it’s not like he wasn’t, you know, a top prospect coming out of high school and he wasn’t a valued commodity coming out of college. I mean, obviously, there’s a whole lot of talent there. I think what you’re talking about is the intangible of just being the guy and, you know, the leader, the Mayor of Starkville, you know?
Rick: [00:23:35] Yeah. He’s a unique individual and, I really do wish him the best. He has always been forthcoming and always been… He was always the go-to guy in the State locker room. He was the guy you went to if you really wanted to know what was going on. And, and I’m sure that will translate well on the Major League level, if he ever, if he makes it, and I’m not betting against him.
Tyler: [00:24:02] Well with that, we’re going to wrap up our first episode. Thanks again for listening in to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast. I’m Tyler Cleveland with Scorebook Live Mississippi. He’s Rick Cleveland with Mississippi Today. Remember to follow us online, on social media, @TylerCleveland, @rick_cleveland.
And thanks to the folks at Blue Sky Studios in Jackson for producing this podcast. Have a good one, everybody.
In this week’s episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with Mississippi Public Broadcasting Executive Director Ronnie Agnew.
Agnew, a native of Saltillo and graduate of Ole Miss, joined Mississippi Public Broadcasting in August 2011 as the agency’s executive director after a career in the newspaper industry spanning nearly three decades. At MPB, a state licensee, Agnew has oversight of radio and television programming and the agency’s legislative, education and digital initiatives.
During his time at MPB, Agnew has successfully overseen the launch of new shows that further the agency’s mission of delivering strong content across all platforms, focusing on issues affecting Mississippi, with an emphasis on early-childhood education, job skills training, healthcare and Mississippi politics. Before joining MPB, Agnew served as executive editor of the Clarion-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper. Under his leadership, the Clarion-Ledger won dozens of awards for investigative reporting and was among the Gannett Co., Inc.’s most decorated newspapers nationally for coverage of civil rights issues. During his long newspaper career, Agnew worked in the Delta, in Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, in Dothan, Ala., and Cincinnati, Ohio. He has served on numerous boards and judged the Pulitzer Prize four times.
Ramsey and Agnew talk about mentorship, resilience and surviving in a changing world.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 641 new COVID-19 cases on July 14, further documenting the hold the Delta variant has on the state. Just one week ago, MSDH reported 427 new cases, which was the largest single-day caseload seen since March.
Over the past three weeks, the number of confirmed Delta cases in Mississippi has increased nearly sevenfold, up from 29 to 231. Those 231 cases only represent a small surveillance sample, so it is undoubtedly a small fraction of the Delta infections in the state.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has repeatedly stressed that Mississippians have the choice of getting vaccinated or contracting COVID-19, and that in every scenario a vaccinated person is going to have a better outcome.
“At this pace, and given the sort of external dynamics that are in play here, we’re going to remain vulnerable for a long time,” Dobbs said. “I don’t think that we’re going to have some miraculous increase in our vaccination rate over the next few weeks, so people are going to die needlessly.
The vaccines are nearly as effective against the Delta variant as the original strain, greatly minimizing the chance of infection and nearly eliminating the risks of developing a serious illness. Studies suggest, however, that being fully vaccinated is the only adequate protection against the Delta variant, as a single shot of either of the two-dose mRNA vaccines provides only weak protection against infection. The Delta variant, first identified in India, is believed to be about 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant and up to twice as contagious as the original strain of COVID-19.
Delta is now also the dominant variant across the United States. Nationally, the average number of new cases has started to trend upwards due to localized Delta outbreaks in places such as Mississippi with low vaccination rates.
The Delta variant has considerably increased the already high risks posed by the virus to unvaccinated people. Between June 3 and July 1, 95% of all COVID infections in Mississippi were among the unvaccinated. During that period, the same group also accounted for 90% of hospitalizations and 89% of deaths.
Despite the wide availability of vaccines and the risks posed by variants, Mississippi continues to rank last in the nation in the share of its population that has been vaccinated. With over 2 million shots administered, only 31% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated.
One of the main hurdles the state faces in getting more people vaccinated is combating the troves of vaccine misinformation that regularly circulate online. The problem is so bad that on Tuesday, MSDH removed the ability to comment on COVID-related posts on its Facebook page.
The department has said that allowing misinformation to spread on its own page is “directly contrary” to the state’s public health mission and the ability to comment will be restored when the department develops an effective plan to moderate them.
While MSDH has made new recommendations in response to the Delta spread to protect the most vulnerable, they are just that. Mississippi has had next to no COVID-related restrictions at the state level since Gov. Tate Reeves repealed most of them in March.
As he tours the state selling his plan to eliminate Mississippi’s individual income tax and increase sales taxes, House Speaker Philip Gunn utters a common refrain: “No one has really been able to tell me why from a policy standpoint it’s a bad idea … From a policy standpoint, no one’s been able to poke a hole in it.”
But leaders and groups across the political spectrum have poked holes in or raised concerns about his plan. And those holes and concerns have been based primarily on policy — the particulars of Gunn’s proposal, not politics.
Advocates for poor and moderate income Mississippians say the plan would unfairly shift more of the state’s tax burden onto them. Ditto for retirees.
Big business interests such as manufacturers fear the sales tax increases in the plan would increase their “input” costs drastically down their supply chains. Small businesses fear this, too.
Some of Gunn’s fellow Republican lawmakers fear the sea change in tax structure would tank the state budget. Democratic lawmakers fear this, too.
Farmers, teachers, business leaders, conservatives, progressives, the lieutenant governor and Senate, the governor — who himself advocates eliminating the income tax but opposes corresponding sales tax increases — have expressed skepticism, if not outright opposition, to Gunn’s proposal. Analyses by state economics experts have been mixed, and even the conservative think tank Gunn credits with the impetus for his proposal has panned some particulars of the plan.
So far, no Mississippi statewide elected leader or major business or policy group has fully endorsed Gunn’s plan, and even those who support the concept do so with caveats, reservations and concerns about its particulars and unintended consequences.
Mississippi’s National Federation of Independent Businesses, which represents the state’s small businesses, briefly endorsed Gunn’s plan when he rolled it out in February. In a statement at the time, NFIB said: “Our members are behind this 100% … Eliminating the personal income tax would provide much-needed financial relief to small business owners struggling to recover from the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pademic.”
But within a couple weeks, NFIB walked back its endorsement, saying in a new statement: “While our members support the idea of eliminating the state individual income tax, the devil’s in the details, and (the plan) would end up helping some small business owners but raising taxes on specific industries … We will continue to work with legislators … on a final bill that doesn’t pick winners and losers but helps small businesses.”
Economist Art Laffer, an adviser to former President Ronald Reagan, in March endorsed Gunn’s tax plan. But in a subsequent interview with Supertalk Radio, Laffer admitted he had not read the particulars of the plan, and mainly just endorses the idea of personal income tax elimination.
But Gunn says his plan is based upon good “economics 101” principles — “more sound and better tax structure is one based on consumption rather than income tax.” He said the nine U.S. states with no income tax, including Florida, Tennessee and Texas, are economically thriving and attracting more people unlike Mississippi, one of just three states to lose population since 2010.
No state has ever phased out an individual income tax. Alaska, the only state to eliminate an existing income tax, did so in one fell swoop. For Mississippi, the shift would be seismic: Individual income taxes generate about $1.8 billion a year, or 32% of the state’s revenue.
“Those states that don’t have an income tax, they seem to be prospering very well,” Gunn said. “I know other factors come into play — don’t get me wrong, Florida has got Disney World and they’ve got beaches — but it is a factor. You see retirees and young millennials going to those states.”
Gunn’s proposal, the “Mississippi Tax Freedom Act,” would exempt most Mississippians from individual income taxes in its first year, and totally phase out the tax over 10 years or more depending on growth “triggers” being met.
Gunn says that for individuals under his plan, “$1,500 stays in your pocket right off the bat, and for a married couple that is $3,000 that stays in your pocket.”
“In five to seven years, we raise that exemption to $100,000 per taxpayer, $200,000 per couple, and that would be $9,000 that stays in their pockets,” Gunn said. “That’s real tax relief. That will help attract young people, help make them stay or at least give them a reason to stay in Mississippi.”
It would phase out the income tax through exemptions. In the first year, the personal income exemption would increase to $47,700 for individuals, $95,400 for joint filers. This, Gunn said, would mean that 60% of Mississippians would pay no income taxes starting in the first year.
For each year after, exemption increases would be funded by any revenue growth over 1.5%. Gunn said that given historic growth data, this should totally exempt all taxpayers within 10 to 12 years.
“Growth in Mississippi over the last 10 years has averaged 3.2%,” Gunn said.
To offset the revenue lost from the income tax exemptions, Gunn’s plan would increase the state sales tax from 7% to 9.5% on most retail purchases.
Purchases of many big-ticket items currently at less than 7% would also see an increase of 2.5 cents on the dollar. For instance, automobiles, now subject to a 5% sales tax, would see that increase to 7.5%.
The proposal also would raise excise taxes on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack.
But Gunn’s plan would also phase in a cut on sales taxes on groceries from 7% to 3.5% over five years. This is one of Gunn’s major selling points of the plan, and a way to combat complaints of more regressive taxation hurting people with low incomes or retirees who are already exempt from income taxes. Since some cities, particularly small towns, rely heavily on grocery sales tax revenues, Gunn proposes increasing the state sales tax “diversion” to cities to make up for any grocery tax losses.
While the income tax and grocery tax breaks would be phased in over years, the increase in sales and other taxes would begin immediately. The breaks would cost about $269 million the first year, but some estimate the increased sales taxes would bring in about $1 billion. This imbalance, which could last for years, has raised some concerns. But Gunn proposes about $500 million from this initial windfall be placed into a budget stabilization fund in case of shortfalls.
Gunn has been touring the state for months now, promoting his plan to various local leaders and civic groups. He’s also been countering arguments and concerns.
“In every scenario, we’ve calculated and determined most people end up with more money in their pocket,” Gunn said. “Putting more money, disposable income, in the pockets of our citizens is a good thing.
“I don’t know who could argue that.”
One analysis of Gunn’s tax proposal, by the progressive Washington-based Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, said the bottom 60% of Mississippi wage earners would end up paying more taxes while the top 40% would pay less.
The study said that lower and middle-income Mississippians already have a greater tax burden than the state’s wealthiest, and the new plan would exacerbate that. The study reported those earning less than $49,100 would see a net increase from the consumption tax increases, in a state where the median household income is $45,792. A person making $23,000 a year, the study said, would see an overall tax increase of $270 a year, while a person making $924,000 a year (the top 1%) would see a tax decrease of $28,610.
Gunn says such projections are wrong, and his plan “provides relief to the poorest of the poor first, and that’s unusual — it’s usually a top-down thing.”
Gunn and other proponents of the plan note that the poorest people in Mississippi — those receiving food benefits — already don’t pay taxes on most groceries, and that the companion grocery tax cuts will help others of modest means.
“Most of what you spend your money on is not subject to the sales tax,” Gunn said. “In Mississippi, we don’t tax gasoline via the sales tax — we put an excise on that. We don’t tax medicines, your mortgage and your insurance are not, so many things are not subject to a sales tax … This puts the power in the hands of the taxpayer … Here, to a degree, you decide how much tax you pay. You control that by deciding what your tolerance is for taxes, or you don’t buy the things that cost you taxes.”
But advocates for the poor say sales tax increases result in a higher burden for poor people, who are forced to spend more of their income for basic needs. Currently, with Mississippi’s already relatively high sales tax rate, those earning less than $16,100 a year pay more than 10% of their income in state and local taxes. Those making more than $162,000 pay 6.5% of their income on state and local taxes. Advocates say the new plan would exacerbate disparities.
And as he sells his plan to various civic leaders across the state, Gunn has made comments that would appear anathema to helping the poorest of the poor.
“We all benefit from all the stuff that government provides,” Gunn said. “It only makes sense that everybody share in that. Right now, not everybody pays income tax. You’re broadening the pool of taxpayers, so the burden is less on everyone. Secondly, you’re bringing in out-of-staters, people traveling through the state, using the roads and services.”
House Minority Leader Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, is one of a handful of Democrats who voted for Gunn’s plan in the House in the 2021 session. He said the Democratic Caucus hasn’t endorsed it, and he’s still got concerns about the plan and believes it needs more work. But he believes Gunn is making an effort to create an egalitarian tax structure. He said he was impressed that Gunn was willing to raise taxes on “people who have had tax breaks for years” to balance out income tax elimination — although he noted that Gunn is already backtracking on sales tax increases on manufacturing and farm equipment after an outcry from their lobbies.
“The fact that he would even entertain that is promising,” Johnson said. “He didn’t just say, ‘I’m going to cut taxes and eat it and cut a bunch of agencies budgets to do it’ … The people that elect us and work and pay taxes, the working man and woman out there, would see an immediate benefit, and the grocery tax cuts … I think this will take more work. But I’m confident there will be input, and we’d like to be more involved.”
One group that doesn’t pay Mississippi income taxes is retirees, and Gunn has had to fend off criticism that his plan would hurt them financially with increased sales taxes.
“A lot of retirees say, ‘I don’t pay income taxes, but you’re raising my sales tax,’” Gunn said. “I have walked through the scenario with those folks who are willing to share their financial situation with us, and in no situation is anyone being cast into poverty.
“You sit retirees down and ask what do you spend your money on,” Gunn said. “Medicine, gasoline, grandkids — most of it is not subject to sales tax. What you’re generally left with is groceries and grandkids, and this is cutting the grocery tax. Take that couple living on $40,000 a year fixed income, and they usually spend about 1/4 on stuff subject to sales taxes, about $10,000 a year. That means their increase in tax is about $250 a year, around $12 a month, so you ask them could they absorb $12 a month, and the answer is usually yes.
“But wait a minute, we’re not done,” Gunn said, “because we are cutting the grocery tax in half … Do the math on that, and it’s about $364 a year they are paying in taxes on that, and we are cutting that in half. So on the one hand they’re going up $250, but we’re giving them back $182, for a net loss of less than 70 bucks a year, less than $10 a month. They say they can absorb that — but wait a minute, what better to give your grandkids than to eliminate the income tax for them?
“Imagine how much money any of us would have if when we started our careers we didn’t have to pay income tax to the state of Mississippi,” Gunn said. “If I had that money back in a mutual fund somewhere, no telling how much that would be …. Every one of them I’ve talked with say, ‘Absolutely, I’m willing to do that.’”
Gov. Tate Reeves has also proposed eliminating the state’s personal income tax. But he says it should be eliminated without any offsetting increases in sales or other taxes. He says economic growth would cover the cuts, and has otherwise not presented a very detailed proposal.
Reeves has said he appreciates fellow Republican Gunn bringing income tax elimination to the fore in the Legislature, but has criticized the speaker’s plan for its consumption tax increases.
“I wouldn’t want to be a Republican that votes to increase taxes substantially for certain segments of the public,” Reeves said. “… I personally support tax cuts, not tax swaps or tax transfers or tax increases … I don’t think we ought to sit here and pick and choose who to take money from. I think we ought to take less from everybody.”
Gunn says simply eliminating the personal income tax without replacing the revenue will not work.
“We have a $6 billion budget,” Gunn said. “By the time you eliminate the income tax and cut the grocery tax in half, that’s $1.9 billion. You can’t just cut a third of your home budget, or your business budget or your church budget and survive. You just can’t do it, and government can’t either. That’s what they tried in Kansas, and ended up raising taxes a couple of years later by $400 million.”
Led by Gunn and then Lt. Gov. Reeves, the Legislature next year is wrapping up a multi-year phase-out of the lowest, 3% personal income tax bracket on the first $5,000 of people’s income. This leaves a 4% tax on income from $5,000 to $10,000 and a 5% rate on income exceeding $10,000.
Reeves says the phase out of the bottom bracket shows Mississippi could eliminate the rest of the income taxes over time through growth without raising other taxes. Gunn disagrees.
“Some have said just phase it out like we did the 3%, half a percent a year or so,” Gunn said. “If we did that, it would take until 2051 to get rid of the income tax, and that’s assuming 3% growth. If we had 2.5% growth, it would take until 2085. We’d all be dead.
“We are trying to get some immediate tax relief,” Gunn continued. “We are trying to retain our young people, to stop what we call brain drain … Young people would not be sitting there saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to move to Mississippi because 30 years from now they are not going to have an income tax.’”
Analyses of Gunn’s plan from economists, tax think-tanks and business groups have been mixed as to the net results for the state and particular interests.
The conservative Tax Foundation, which generally supports cutting taxes and shifting from income to consumption taxes, has served as Gunn’s spirit animal in his push for the tax change. But the foundation’s analysis of Gunn’s plan has been somewhat critical of particulars.
For starters, it says phasing out the tax through expansion of exemptions “is inferior to an approach which gradually lowers rates.” And, in direct opposition of the Institute of Taxation analysis, the Tax Foundation says the cut in grocery taxes would benefit middle and higher income people more than lower income people.
“I would suggest reducing rates over time instead of dramatically increasing the personal exemption — which would immediately eliminate taxes for 60% of taxpayers, but would still leave many on the hook for years,” said Katherine E. Loughead, senior policy analyst with the Tax Foundation. “I think that would create some complications in terms of filing, making it difficult for people to know whether they’re still being taxed — just create complexities for those at or near that threshold and a choppier process. The better approach is to phase out the rates, so people are still filing and still owe some, but the amount is reduced until it’s gone.”
Loughead said that while cutting the grocery tax may be “pretty popular politically on both sides of the aisle,” it likely wouldn’t help the people it’s intended to help the most.
“The middle and higher income people spend more on groceries,” Loughead said. “It’s great in theory, but it would be better for lower income people to pay as low a rate as possible overall on all consumption.”
Loughead said broadening the sales tax base overall would be better than picking and choosing certain areas to increase or exempt, although she said the plan should try to avoid sales taxes on “inputs,” such as equipment and supplies for manufacturing. This results in “tax pyramiding” that ends up hitting consumers with multiple taxes, some of which they don’t clearly see when they happen down the supply chain.
“I know it’s not popular, but currently motor fuels are subject to an excise, for roads, but not sales taxes,” Loughead said, “and including motor fuels in the sales tax base would generate a lot of revenue. Applying sales tax to fuels and to consumer services, things like hair salons and other personal services, would broaden that base.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, one of the architects of Gunn’s tax plan, said he understands the Tax Foundation’s principles, but realpolitik means some of those have to be compromised to pass a tax plan through the Legislature.
“We’ve had some of those conversations, and I wouldn’t say (a gas sales tax) is totally off the table, but you also have to get your votes, and from a political standpoint, so far our plan doesn’t tax anything new that’s not taxed,” Lamar said. “Taxing haircuts — if you really want to tick people off, tell every hairdresser in the state there’s going to be a tax on haircuts … I understand how things should be in a perfect world, and the Tax Foundation lives in a perfect tax world. Other factors come into play — not saying they are wrong — it’s just also what can you actually get the votes to do.”
So far, no major business groups are joining Gunn in his push for the tax plan, and some, like NFIB, have raised concerns. The Business and Industry Political Education Committee, a group that scores lawmakers each year with its “Business and Jobs Report Card,” gave House lawmakers who voted for Gunn’s tax plan lower scores, deeming a vote for it as anti-business.
“(Gunn’s plan) would have increased taxes on the following industries: manufacturing, farming, timber, dairy and automobile dealers,” BIPEC said in a statement. “Electric power associations would have also faced increased costs that would likely be passed on to consumers, including business customers … While (an amendment) removed tax increases on some industries, many still faced significant tax increases on business inputs.”
The conservative Empower Mississippi group supports lowering or eliminating the state income tax and has said Gunn’s plan has some merits, but has not fully endorsed it.
“Empower believes there is a path to eliminate the income tax that leads to more jobs, higher wages and greater economic and population growth, but the mechanics matter,” the group said in a statement. “The bill that emerged from the House was a good starting point for an important discussion, but we believe there is an opportunity for more stakeholders to come together and improve upon it.”
The major long-term effects of the plan have been the subject of debate since it was unveiled this year. One study, by two economics professors at the University of Mississippi, found the proposal would increase the state’s gross domestic product by $371 million a year and make the tax structure more efficient. Another study by the state economist and others with IHL’s University Research Center, commissioned by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, found the plan would produce only minuscule growth in GDP, jobs and population through the year 2035.
Gunn’s plan got no hearing or vote in the Senate during the 2021 legislative session, and Lt. Gov. Hosemann and his leadership team have been lukewarm on it at best. But the Senate is planning to have hearings on the issue this summer, likely in August.
Asked for comment from Hosemann recently, his Deputy Chief of Staff Leah Rupp Smith in a statement said: “Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins will hold hearings on tax reform in August. These hearings will likely inform legislation introduced in the 2021 session.”
Otherwise, Hosemann and Senate leaders have said they favor reducing taxes, but urge caution and said any major change in tax structure should be thoroughly vetted.
“We are working to put hearings together for the Senate members to really go over this, and look at all phases of our fiscal policy, income, our revenue, our tax exemptions, diversions — everything that has to to with fiscal policy,” said Harkins, R-Flowood. “For instance, people would be amazed at how much of what we collect is taken off the top in diversions … Texas is booming, with no income tax, but let’s take a close look at Texas — they have 90 something different business services they tax. South Dakota has over 100. Mississippi has only 76, like we don’t pay a sales tax when we get a hair cut for instance. They’ve expanded their base and draw sales tax from more than we do … I want to make sure everybody understands where everything is coming from and where it’s going.”
Harkins said the Senate hearings will likely include numerous economic and tax experts.
“This is a major policy decision,” Harkins said. “… This is a third of our budget, so it’s important to get it right. I just want to make sure we don’t get out over our skis on this. We will investigate it and make sure whatever we do is prudent and responsible and going to work.”
Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, said vetting of any plan would include ensuring it doesn’t result in cuts to already underfunded services, and that it doesn’t disproportionately benefit wealthy people.
“Any proposal to overhaul our already regressive tax code would need extensive study,” Simmons said. “Many policymakers are concerned about how we continue to fund vital functions of government such as education, healthcare, infrastructure and how we reward and retain state employees.”
Gunn said, “We are going to make sure the functions of government are not compromised,” and said any talk that his plan would gut education or other spending “is a red herring.”
Gunn continues to sell his plan across the state.
“The only way this will happen is if the people decide they want this — you, the people, will have to get behind this,” Gunn said at a recent forum arranged by Empower Mississippi.
“We’ve got to get the Legislature on board,” Gunn said. “I can’t go down there and do that, the people in the Legislature have got to hear from their constituents, the grassroots. I’m here to preach the gospel of income tax elimination, make converts and then make disciples. That’s why I’m here today. I hope I made some converts in this room, and now we need to go out as disciples and spread the word. Everything in the Legislature operates on votes, and we can’t pass Mother’s Day if we don’t have the votes.”
The latest surge of COVID-19 cases in Mississippi, caused by the Delta variant, is also hitting the state’s younger population, increasing concerns over the return to schools next month.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted Tuesday that 7 minors have been hospitalized due to Delta infections in Mississippi, and 2 of them are now on ventilators. The earlier strains of COVID-19 were much less transmissible and did not infect children to the extent seen with the Delta variant.
Over the past three weeks, the number of confirmed Delta cases in Mississippi has increased nearly sevenfold, up from 29 to 231. Those 231 cases only represent a small surveillance sample though, so it is undoubtedly only a small fraction of the Delta infections in the state.
With great and personal apologies – MS with 7 children in ICU with 2 on the ventilator (life support). A hospital has corrected it’s report to us from last evening. And yes – 7 children with COVID.
Please be safe and if you are 12 or older – please protect yourself
During an interview on SuperTalk Radio’s Gallo Show on Monday, Dobbs predicted that infections in younger people will cause a large wave of infections and negatively impact school district plans to reopen fully with in-person instruction.
“It’s going to be disruptive,” Dobbs said. “I think Delta’s going to take its toll on having a successful, vibrant school year because kids are going to have to be quarantined, they’re going to have to be isolated. We’re going to have outbreaks and all that kind of stuff.”
What those outbreaks look like will be dependent on virus circulation in a school district’s surrounding community and individual districts’ policies on mask wearing and social distancing, since no requirements will be coming at the state level.
“Governor Reeves has no intention of requiring students or staff to wear masks when they’re in school this Fall,” Reeves’ press secretary, Bailey Martin, said in an email to WLBT this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance on Friday, urging schools to fully reopen in the fall, naming safe in-person instruction as a priority. The agency said all people who are not fully vaccinated should wear masks while inside school buildings, and classrooms should maintain a physical distance between students of at least three feet. However, they also said that schools should forgo the distance recommendation if it would prevent them from reopening fully and instead rely on other prevention strategies.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said on July 9 that MSDH will release Mississippi-specific components to back to school guidance, which will include recommended mask wearing for unvaccinated teachers and students.
The differences between individual school districts’ approaches to limiting virus spread can already be seen in their back to school plans. Masks will be required in all Jackson Public Schools, for example, but Clinton and Madison County schools will start the fall semester off with masks being optional.
The vast majority of minors in Mississippi are not currently vaccinated. According to MSDH, only 6% of 12-15 year-olds are fully vaccinated, and only 13% of 16-17 year-olds are. Despite the wide availability of vaccines and the risks posed by variants, Mississippi continues to rank last in the nation in the share of its population that has been vaccinated. With over 2 million shots administered, only 31% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated.
A component of MSDH’s plan to increase the number of inoculated minors is making vaccinations available in schools. Every Mississippi school district has the option to partner with a vaccine provider to give shots on-site, though it is unclear how many will utilize the opportunity.
“We hope that they all take advantage of it,” Dobbs said.
New recommendations released by MSDH last week in response to the Delta surge urge all people 12 and older to get vaccinated. Dobbs has said that the risk for severe outcomes among infected minors is small, but is still present, and there is a much larger risk that they will spread the virus to someone more vulnerable.
“Most (infected minors) are not going to be hospitalized. There will be some severe illnesses, and we’ll probably sadly see some more deaths in young folks, but it’s not that common,” Dobbs said.
The surge of Delta infections Mississippi is experiencing is already hitting hospitals and ICUs. While hospitalizations are nowhere near their February peak, the increase in recent weeks has been sharp. Between June 26 and July 10, hospitalizations increased 128%, from 97 to 222. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs has increased 155% over the past week, from 33 to 84.
Dobbs said that the increase in hospital and ICU admissions is straining the hospital systems in parts of the state, like Jackson and Hattiesburg, that have seen non-COVID procedures fill up their ICUs.
“There’s not a lot of slack in the system,” Dobbs said.
School board members for the Holmes County Consolidated School District promoted the daughter of the new superintendent from a $47,000-a-year position in the district to the director of technology, a district-level position with an annual salary of $82,920.
At a special called board meeting last month, the board voted to approve the hire of Superintendent Debra Powell’s daughter with only one member opposing, according to the meeting minutes.
The board first approved Powell’s recommendation of Shimelle Mayers as assistant superintendent of the district. Shortly after, Mayers presented the job description for the technology director position and recommended Powell’s daughter for the position.
The district came under fire for similar practices under former superintendent James Henderson. A report by the state auditor’s office revealed “widespread problems” in the district, including that the district paid $14,000 to businesses owned by relatives of Henderson, and that the relationships were not disclosed to the board.
In May, the Mississippi Department of Education launched an investigation of the embattled district and appointed a financial adviser to oversee the district’s finances. Holmes County schools have received a failing grade for six consecutive years.
State law has a general nepotism statute that says “no public servant shall use his official position to obtain, or attempt to obtain … pecuniary benefit for any relative or any business with which he is associated.” The Mississippi Ethics Commission, the body that issues advisory opinions regarding the state’s conflict-of-interest and ethics laws, has also sounded off on a similar situation.
“If a superintendent recommends his or her relative to the school board for employment or renewal, then the superintendent will violate” the law, a 2017 opinion states. It continues to outline what it calls a “step aside” provision in the law which allows a superintendent’s designee to recommend the superintendent’s relatives to no more than two positions at a school.
“The Office of the Attorney General has opined that Section 37-9-17 is applicable only to employees of schools and is not applicable to employees of the district office,” the opinion continues.
An organizational chart for the Holmes County district shows the technology director position is a district-level position that reports to the assistant superintendent.
Questions submitted to Powell and Winters, including whether they sought the advice of the Ethics Commission before the school board approved Powell’s daughter, were not returned.
Shimelle Mayers, the newly appointed assistant superintendent in the district, said in a statement that Karmeen Powell-Childress, Powell’s daughter, “was selected because of her knowledge and experience in technology and business.”
“As it relates to the position of Director of Technology, there were three internal candidates and two external candidates. The interview committee scored the applicants and sent them to me; we did not discuss our selection with each other … Dr. Powell was not on the interview committee, nor was she present on the campus during the interviews.”
At the same meeting, the board also hired the son of Board President Louise Winters as a teacher in the district. The minutes show Winters recused herself from the vote. A 2006 opinion by the Mississippi Ethics Commission says this is allowed as long as the child and parent are financially independent and the parent recuses him or herself from the vote.
Shella Head, president of the P-16, a council made up of public members that is legally required in failing schools, said she believes more qualified candidates were overlooked for the position.
“The fact that this woman (Debra Powell) was hired by the board May 10 (as superintendent), and the first thing she did as superintendent was to put her daughter in an $82,000 job and overlook qualified people is very concerning,” said Head. “As president of the P-16 council, my concern is with the children of Holmes County and their education and their future.”
Head also said she does not believe Powell and the board are leading the district in the right direction. Since May, the P-16, a council with the goal of engaging members of the public in the happenings of the school district, has been inexplicably removed from the board agenda and told it must pay a $400 fee to hold its meeting in one of the district schools, according to emails between district officials and council members. It has also still not received data it requested from the district in May, according to Head.
“The problem (in the district) is not the staff, it’s not that the kids cannot learn. The problem we have is in the district office with the superintendent and the board of education,” said Head.
The school board hired Powell, a Holmes County native, in May of this year. She was a former principal in Missouri. This is her first district level position in her career.
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In April we launched NextGen Mississippi, our longterm reporting project focused on the realities of why Mississippians stay or leave. Dozens of creatives responded to our survey and shared why they took their talents to other states.
Some shared experiences of “belonging” when they left the state to pursue their crafts while others highlighted “lack of opportunities and support” in Mississippi.
We want to hear from more creatives for an episode of MT Speaks, our new video series. If you are willing to be featured in this episode by speaking with a Mississippi Today reporter about your experience as a creative in Mississippi, please fill out the form below.
