Gov. Phil Bryant’s State of the State address left Mississippians with more recycled talking points than substance Wednesday evening. I cannot say I’m shocked. Bryant has little to show when it comes to accomplishments for this state. Although he says Mississippi is progressing, it looks as if he is stuck in the wrong decade. Bryant is consistently pushing for antiquated “solutions” and holding our state back at every opportunity.
Let’s look at health care as the first example. Although Mississippi has one of the highest rates of uninsured individuals in the nation, Bryant dedicated a mere paragraph to health care in his speech. And it had nothing to do with expanding access to needy Mississippians. According to Reuters, the governor’s refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is depriving 300,000 adults access to much needed health care services.
Never mind the fact that Mississippi leads the nation in poverty, is second-highest in obesity, is highest in diabetes and is highest in pre-term births. Never mind the fact that Bryant turned down $426 million in funds from the federal government to cover Medicaid for the next year and $2.2 billion over the next seven years.
Our governor’s political grandstanding is costing Mississippians access to quality health care and maybe even their lives. Republican governors across the nation are beginning to accept Medicaid dollars because it’s practical — Gov. Bryant needs to do the same.
Instead of proposing ways to increase access to health insurance or reducing poverty in Mississippi, Bryant had more important issues to propose, you know, like changing our state motto to “In God We Trust.” Democrats in the state legislature should agree to change the state motto as soon as the governor agrees to change the state flag.
And in another shot at the Constitution and reproductive freedom, Bryant said his goal is to end a woman’s right to choose in Mississippi. It’s as if the state motto and the few abortions in Mississippi are more problematic than the hundreds of thousands of Mississippians who lack basic health care services, access to a quality public school and are hungry each day.
Bryant’s lip service to education was also far from impressive. Although the modest increase in funding for public schools is much appreciated, it falls short of what Mississippi schools need. High standards for students are meaningless if our priorities are grossly underfunded. The budget for fiscal year 2014 will underfund Mississippi schools by almost $300 million. In fact, our state has decreased the amount we spend per student in past years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Education reform should also include an across-the-board pay raise for Mississippi teachers. Merit pay is not the immediate answer as Bryant suggested. Teachers need incentive and salary security if we want to attract more quality educators to Mississippi.
If Gov. Bryant truly wants Mississippi to make progress, the political grandstanding needs to stop. Enough with the talking points. Enough with the decades-old policies from the 1950s. Let’s make meaningful changes that expand civil liberties and rights in Mississippi. First, we should expand the voting franchise by allowing early voting and online registration. We should make voting easier, faster and more accessible. Second, Mississippi needs to expand Medicaid. This is a no-brainer. The federal government is subsidizing the vast majority of the cost. Bryant needs to stop obstructing progress in our state. Finally, we need to fully fund Mississippi public schools and pay teachers a salary they deserve. The state of our state would be stronger with these actual solutions — it’s time for Gov. Bryant to get on board.
Sean Higgins is a junior political science major from Brookings, S.D.
