In 1931, Charles Angoff and H.L. Mencken published a three-part series named “The Worst American State.” They used a wide variety of statistics and factors to determine that Mississippi was, in fact, the worst American state. Well, travel to the year 2014, 83 years later, and Mississippi is still ranked the worst American state by a recent Politico study, “The States of Our Union … Are Not All Strong.” Is it possible that Mississippi has not even made enough progress to surpass Louisiana or Alabama in state rankings?
Of all the statistics cited in these studies, I find the information regarding poverty the most striking. Year after year, Mississippi’s poverty rate is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation. With the lowest median household income, Mississippi ranks near the bottom in social mobility according to The Hechinger Report.
You would think, with all of these atrocious rankings, that alleviating poverty would be a major goal of Mississippi’s elected officials. However, Gov. Phil Bryant didn’t feel the need to mention poverty or any plans to help the poor in his most recent State of the State address.
Granted, Bryant’s speech did mention slight progress in education, workforce development and job creation — all areas that can indirectly alleviate poverty. However, Bryant’s policy suggestions in these areas do not even begin to put a dent in the issue.
Furthermore, instead of focusing on helping the poor, it seems Republican legislators are more concerned with marginalizing them. With Bryant’s approval, Republican legislators are working to pass a bill that calls for the drug testing of recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Officials cite their support of this policy as a way to efficiently spend state funds and ensure recipients of state funds are not using drugs. If this were the true concern of state lawmakers, wouldn’t they extend this policy to include all citizens who receive state funds — such as themselves?
Bryant and Mississippi Republicans have more pressing concerns than solving the perpetual problem of poverty in the state. They are working to add “In God We Trust” to the state seal. They are working to endanger the health of women and to restrict a woman’s freedom and liberties. They are working to make teacher pay a partisan issue in a state that ranks at the bottom for teacher salaries.
In a state where more than 22 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, addressing poverty and social mobility should be the first priority for every elected official. As long as Gov. Phil Bryant is in office and the Republican party dominates the Mississippi Legislature, it seems Mississippi’s poor will continue to be ignored and the American dream will continue to disappear.
Adam Blackwell is a senior public policy leadership major from Natchez.
— Adam Blackwell
ablackwe@go.olemiss.edu
